Mellah is a walled Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco, an analogue of the European ghetto. Jews (Hebrew: יהודים, Yehudim) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and converts who joined their religion. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to some dispute as to Europes actual borders. ... Kayla at WAMS site!!! A ghetto is an area where people from a specific ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ...

In cities, mellah was surrounded by a wall with a fortified gateway. Usually, the Jewish quarter was situated near the citadel, i.e. the residence of the king or governor, in order to protect its inhabitants from the violence of the Muslim populace. In contrast, rural mellahs were separate villages inhabited solely by the Jews. for Imam Muslim, see Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ...

The first official mellah was established in the city of Fez in 1438. In the first half of the 14th century, the Merinids founded, alongside Fez, the town of Hims, which was initially allocated to the archers and the Christian militia. Then, in 1438 the Jews were driven from the old part of Fez to Hims, which had been built on a site known as al-Mallah, “the saline area”. Ultimately, the term came to designate Jewish quarters in other Moroccan cities. Initially, there was nothing derogatory about this term: some documents employ the expression “mellah of the Muslims”, and the Jewish quarter contained large and beautiful dwellings which were favored residences for “the agents and ambassadors of foreign princes”. Later on, however, popular etymology explained mellah as a “salted, cursed ground” or a place where the Jews "salted the heads of decapitated rebels”, highlighting the outcast connotations attached to this word. Fez can refer to: Fez (clothing), a type of hat Fes, Morocco (or, Fez), the name of a city in Morocco Fez (That 70s Show), a character in That 70s Show, played by Wilmer Valderrama Functional electrical stimulation, FES FeS2, Pyrite, otherwise known as fools gold [[Fez (album)], this... Merinid dynasty; a Berber dynasty in Morocco (1244-1465) Rulers: Abdalhaqq I. (1195-1217) Uthman I. (1217-1240) Muhammad I. (1240-1244) Abu Yahya Abu Bakr (1244 - 1258) Umar (1258 - 1259) Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1259 - 1286) Abu Yaqub Yusuf (1286 - 1306) Abu Tabil (1307 - 1308) Abu l-Rabia (1308 - 1310... Homs (also Himş, Arabic, حمص, population 700,000) is an ancient city in Syria, dating back to 2300 B.C.. In Roman times it was known as Emesa. ...

The mellah of Fez was not always successful in protecting its dwellers. On May 14, 1465, its inhabitants were nearly all killed by the rebels who overthrew the Merinid dynasty. That attack sparked a wave of violence against the Jews all over Morocco. The immediate cause of the anti-Jewish violence was an appointment of a Jew to the post of vizier. May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ... A Vizier (وزير, sometimes also spelled Vizir, Wasir, Wazir, Wesir, Wezir - grammatical vowel changes are common in many oriental languages) is an oriental, originally Persian, term for a high-ranking political (and sometimes religious) advisor or Minister, often to a Muslim monarch such as a Caliph, Amir, Malik (king) or Sultan. ...

For a long time, the mellah of Fez remained the only one, and only in the second half of the 16th century (around 1557) the term mellah appears in Marrakesh, with the settlement there of Jewish and Judaised populations from the Atlas and from the city of Aghmat, which had an ancient Jewish community. A Frenchman, who was held captive in Morocco from 1670 to 1681, wrote: “In Fez and in Morocco [i.e., Marrakesh]], the Jews are separated from the inhabitants, having their own quarters set apart, surrounded by walls of which the gates are guarded by men appointed by the King ... In the other towns, they are intermingled with the Moors.” In 1791, a European traveller described the Marrakesh mellah: "It has two large gates, which are regularly shut every evening about nine o'clock, after which time no person whatever is permitted to enter or go out... till... the following morning. The Jews have a market of their own..." Only in 1682 the third mellah was founded in the town of Miknas, the new capital of sultan Ismail. Marrakech (مراكش marrākish), known as the Pearl of the South, is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. ... Moor may refer to: A high altitude form of heathland habitat widespread in northern Britain; see heath (habitat). ... Medresa Bou Inania in Meknes Meknes (Arabic: مكناس) is a city in northern Morocco, located 130 kilometres from the capital Rabat and 60 kilometres from Fes. ... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Moulay Ismail the Bloodthirsty (1675-1727) was a Moroccan ruler. ...

At the beginning of the 19th century, around 1807, the pious sultan Sulayman forced Jews to move to mellahs in the towns of the coastal region, in Rabat, Salé, Mogador, and Tetouan. The new Jewish quarters were called mellahs everywhere except Tetouan, where the Spanish word juderia was used. In Salé, the new Jewish quarter was a long avenue with a total of 200 houses, 20 shops and trading booths, two kilns and two mills. In 1865, the mellah of Mogador, having become over-populated, was permitted to extend. Mulay Slimane or Suliman was Sultan of Morocco from 1792-1822. ... For the Maltese city on Gozo Island which can also be called Rabat, see Victoria, Malta. ... Salé is the twin city to Rabat, captital of Morocco. ... The ramparts of Essaouira Essaouira is a city and tourist resort in Morocco, near Marrakesh. ... Tétouan (Arabic: Titwan or Tittawen) is the capital and cultural centre of the region Tanga (Tangiers) in the north of Morocco. ...

Jews resented their transfers to mellahs as a sudden and bitter exile and as the manifestation of segregation. Frequently, those who were unwilling to abandon their homes and businesses avoided the resettlement by converting to Islam.

Recent History

In June 1948, soon after Israel was established and in the midst of the first Arab-Israeli war, riots against Jews broke out in Oujda and Djerada, killing 44 Jews. In 1948-9, 18,000 Jews left the country for Israel. After this, Jewish emigration continued (to Israel and elsewhere), but slowed to a few thousand a year. Through the early fifties, Zionist organizations encouraged emigration, particularly in the poorer south of the country, seeing Moroccan Jews as valuable contributors to the Jewish State. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Oujda is a city in eastern Morocco with an estimated population of half a million inhabitants. ... Poster promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s: Toward a New Life (in Romanian),The Promised Land (in Hungarian), in small (down) text is written First Palestinian sound movie 1844 Discourse on the Restoration of the Jews by Mordecai Noah, page one. ...

In 1956, Morocco attained independence. Jews occupied several political positions, including three Members of Parliament and a Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. However, emigration to Israel jumped from 8,171 in 1954 to 24,994 in 1955, increasing further in 1956. Beginning in 1956, emigration to Israel was prohibited until 1963, when it resumed.[1] In 1961, the government informally relaxed the laws on emigration to Israel; over the three following years, more than 80,000 Moroccan Jews emigrated there. By 1967, only 60,000 Jews remained in Morocco. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Template:C20YearInnTopic 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...

By 1971, the Jewish population was down to 35,000; however, most of this wave of emigration went to Europe and America rather than Israel.

Despite their current small numbers, Jews continue to play a notable role in Morocco and they are no longer obligated, tacitly or otherwise, to live in segregated communities. For example, the father of the current King retained a Jewish senior adviser, Andre Azoulay, and Jewish schools and synagogues receive government subsidies. However, Jewish targets have sometimes been attacked, notably in Casablanca Attacks in May 2003, and there is sporadic anti-Semitic rhetoric from radical Muslim groups. The late King Hassan II's invitations for Jews to return have still not been taken up by the people who emigrated. This is a partial list of Kings of Morocco. ... The Casablanca Attacks were a series of suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → A timeline of events in the news for May, 2003. ... for Imam Muslim, see Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... Hassan II (July 9, 1929-July 23, 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 to his death. ...

See also

• Ghetto
• Moroccan Jews

Kayla at WAMS site!!! A ghetto is an area where people from a specific ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. ...

References

• Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 082760198.
• Zafrani, H. "Mallah", Encyclopaedia of Islam Online, eds. P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (EI) is a scholarly encyclopaedia covering all aspects of Islamic civilization and history. ...

External links

• A history of Mellah