[Rezension von: Heckman, Alma Rachel, The Sultan's communists]
For connoisseurs of Moroccan studies, the title of this book—The Sultan’s Communists—is quite telling. Heckman deliberately refers in her title to the notion of the merchants of the sultan (tujjar al-sultan), which was attributed to Jewish traders whose occupation was highly dependent on the sultan....
| Published in: | A journal of church and state |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2022
|
| In: |
A journal of church and state
|
| Review of: | The Sultan's communists (Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2021) (Leṿi, Andreh)
The Sultan's communists (Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2021) (Leṿi, Andreh) The Sultan's communists (Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2020) (Leṿi, Andreh) |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Communism
/ Judaism
/ Morocco
|
| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism KBL Near East and North Africa |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
|
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | For connoisseurs of Moroccan studies, the title of this book—The Sultan’s Communists—is quite telling. Heckman deliberately refers in her title to the notion of the merchants of the sultan (tujjar al-sultan), which was attributed to Jewish traders whose occupation was highly dependent on the sultan. Important to the book’s main point, however, that status implied not only economic dependency, but also political subordination. From medieval days to modern times, these Jews served not merely as merchants but also as emissaries of Moroccan rulers. They have represented the will and interests of the makhzan (Moroccan "state" apparatus). The title of the book thus points at a recent ironic and unexpected turn in the status of radical Moroccan Jewish communists from subversive political players to actors who serve the will of the makhzan, or follow, even if unintentionally, its political agenda. In Heckman’s words, "Moroccan Communist Jews, once despised by the state and the majority Jewish community alike, ultimately emerged as belonging to the state as icons of tolerance and patriotism" (p. 12). This brief claim on the appropriation of radical Jews is highly informative: it sets the timeframe of the plot (by and large, the twentieth century), it marks its heroes (a handful of communist Jews), and it demarcates the context within which these heroes have operated (mainly vis-à-vis the broad Moroccan society and its small Jewish community). |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2040-4867 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: A journal of church and state
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jcs/csac006 |