The Change Legal Status of Jews in Morocco (1856-1956)

This book is an attempt to find an answer for questions such as how Jews moved from Dhimmis to citizens, and to what extent Jews achieve emancipation - the end to Dhimmi status. The aim is to highlight the legal status which had been obtained by the Jews in the aftermath of independence in 1956, and how and why these changes happened. It explores the shifting relationship between the Makhzan and Jews in Morocco in legal terms as well as in the emergence of new discourses of "equality" which the Makhzan began to use to describe treatment of Jews (how Jews should be treated) between 1856 and 1956. This will be through three chapters. The first one addresses the development of legal status of Jews in Moroccan Islam through constitutional texts up to modern time. The second looks at the changing of Jewish legal status in Morocco during the 19th century in reality and the attitude of Moroccan government about this change. The third chapter, presents the ambiguous legal status of Jews during the time of French Protectorate in Morocco 1912 until 1956.