מסמך משפטי: JCC Richards IX

תיאור

Muslin court document from 1456, thoroughly describing the legal status of Jewish synagogues in Cairo and Fustāt, as well as Christian churches. The document was preserved in the Qaraite synagogue Dār Simḥa, where it was identified and photocopied by D.S. Richards in 1969. He later published a transcription and translation of the text. The current whereabouts of the original document are not clear, but it seems it was deposited in the Egyptian National Library (see Rustow, A Lost Archive, p. 496 note 8). The document is 6 meters long and contains more than 300 lines. It is not complete – some lines are missing from the top (including 2 lines that were still there when the document was first published by Gottheil in 1907), and an unknown portion is missing after line 67. The document first describes earlier events, decrees and court decisions concerning the legality of non-Muslim prayer houses, the imposition of the Covenant of ʿUmar on the non-Muslims and their leaders’ acceptance of it. Then (line 25 onwards) a petition was brought before the Ḥanafī Qāḍī by “ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq, shaykh tāʾifat al-yahūd al-qarāʾiyīn” and “Iṣḥāq rayyīs al-yahūd al-rabān” (lines 34-35). The Qāḍī considered it in light of previous rulings and the non-Muslim leaders’ commitment around the events of 1442-1443 CE (discussed in Mark Cohen’s article in BSOAS 47). He ordered his deputy, Afḍal al-Dīn, to look into the situation. The said deputy, with several scholars and architects, went to inspect “the two synagogues of the Qaraite Jews, in Cairo and in Fustāt – in Cairo in Ḥārat Zuwayla”. Here (line 67) there's a gap in the text, where the inspection (kashf) was detailed (some of the missing text might be PGPID 40664). When the document resumes, a different synagogue (apparently the one in Fustāt) is described in detail, including all that needs to be repaired or rebuilt. Its boundaries are described in lines 90-94 and it is stressed that the synagogue is surrounded by ruins from all sides, except a mosque on the northern side which also needs repairs. The deputy Qāḍī testified to the findings on 27th of Ramaḍān 859 AH (10.9.1455 CE) and said that renovations should be permitted. This permission was resisted by others. The four Qāḍīs convened, and the synagogues in Fustāt were inspected again, among them “the synagogue in the neighborhood (khut) of Maṣāṣa, in the ruins of Fustāt” (line 151). This synagogue was found to be standing according to what was permitted, but some Christian churches were found to be renovated without permission (lines 160-161). The Qāḍīs convened again, and another survey went on its way. It was found that the Church of Abū Gurg was renovated without permission. The person in charge of the church, Mikhāʾīl b. Sharkīs (line 184), was held responsible, flogged, paraded and imprisoned. Some of the attendees wanted to destroy all the non-Muslim prayer houses. A prolonged discussion on the exact permission included in the Covenant approved in early 1443 followed. It was eventually decided by the Ḥanafī Qāḍī that repairs should be permitted (lines 235 forward). The deputy Qāḍī, Afḍal al-Dīn, went once again with several inspectors and engineers, and they gave permission for renovations in the Qaraite synagogue “in Ḥārat Zuwayla, within the Qaraite neighborhood (bi-dākhil ḥārat al-qarāʿiyīn) in the aforementioned neighborhood” (line 242). The shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq received the permission. Then follows the copy of the Covenant of ʿUmar to which the non-Muslim leaders committed to back in 1443 CE, along with the names of the leaders. The Ḥanafī Qāḍī and his deputy approved the deed on the ninth of Ṣafar 860 AH (18.1.1456 CE). Then follows a list of minor corrections, and the signatures of the witnesses and engineers who participated in the inspections.