Syrian Jews and their Non-Jewish Neighbors in Late Ottoman Times

Abstract

As the chapters by Mark Cohen and Allan Meyers show, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are governed both by the dictates of Muslim law and by a variety of local circumstances. Relations change under different regimes, as we find in Iran (Loeb, ch. 18). The situation in Syria in the late Ottoman period presents a still different situation. It is a context in which the large indigenous Christian minority and powerful Europeans play important roles. Economic rivalry and jockeying for power and prestige remain important forces in this environment, alongside the insecure Muslim majority’s efforts to remain dominant.