Muslim Custodians of Jewish Spaces in Morocco

Exploring the roles of Muslim guards and guides in Jewish cemeteries in Morocco, Cory Thomas Pechan Driver suggests that these custodians use performances of ritual and caring acts for Jewish graves for multiple reasons. Imazighen [Berbers] stress their close ties with Jews in order to create a moral self intentionally set apart from the mono-ethically Arab and mono-religiously Muslim Morocco. Other subjects, and particularly women, use their ties with Jewish sites to harness power and prestige in their communities. Others still may care for these grave sites to express grief for a close Jewish friend or adoptive family. In examining these motives, Driver not only documents the flow of material and spiritual capital across religious lines, but also moves beyond Muslim memory of the past on the one hand and Jewish dread of the future on the other to think about the Muslim/Jewish present in Morocco.

Considers an under-explored community of Muslim Moroccans and their stewardship of Jewish spaces Examines the flow of material and spiritual capital across religious lines and Moroccan understanding of social, moral experience Brings together performance studies methodologies and ethnographies of experience in a single, cohesive study

Auteur

Cory Thomas Pechan Driver is Professor at the Center for International Education Exchange, teaching on the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and religion in modern Morocco and the Maghreb region.

Contenu

Chapter 1. Introduction: Teaching Me How to Pray.- Chapter 2. Orientation: Arrival and Framing the Work of Ethnography.- Chapter 3. Moroccan Muslims Locating Moroccan Jews in Time and Space.- Chapter 4. Passover Professionals.- Chapter 5. Guards: Building Muslim Authority in Jewish Cemeteries.- Chapter 6. Drinking the Milk of Trust: A Performance of Authenticity.- Chapter 7. Blessings and the Business of Cemetery Tourism.- Chapter 8. Conclusion: Changing Flavor of the Milk of Trust.