Overview

Based on archival and primary sources in Persian, Hebrew, Judeo-Persian, Arabic, and European languages, Between Foreigners and Shi'is examines the Jews' religious, social, and political status in nineteenth-century Iran. This book, which focuses on Nasir al-Din Shah's reign (1848-1896), is the first comprehensive scholarly attempt to weave all these threads into a single tapestry. This case study of the Jewish minority illuminates broader processes pertaining to other religious minorities and Iranian society in general, and the interaction among intervening foreigners, the Shi'i majority, and local Jews helps us understand Iranian dilemmas that have persisted well beyond the second half of the nineteenth century.

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Reviews

Daniel Tsadik's impressive study of Iranian Jewry in the nineteenth century utilizes extensive archival and other Persian, Hebrew, and European sources to narrate the multifaceted story of Jewish community's interaction with the Qajar state, the Shi'i clerical establishment, the European powers, and the Iranian society at large. This is an original and timely study that fills a major gap in the historiography of modern Iran. - Abbas Amanat, Yale University

Tsadik recaptures the history of their everyday life, along with that of the Muslim majority and other minority communities. This approach makes significant departure from the existing scholarship and is thus praiseworthy. Tsadik skillfully integrates a wide range of sources, written in Persian, English, Hebrew, and French. - Lior Sternfeld, H-Net Reviews This is an important, pioneering historical study of the Jewish minority of Persia, using the canons of contemporary Western academic scholarship ... Highly recommended. - L. D Loeb, Choice Daniel Tsadik's detailed and abundantly-sourced study certainly goes a long way to furthering knowledge in regard to the position of Iran's Jewish community in the mid-to-late nineteenth century... Tsadik's excellent study... not only sheds light on the plight of the Jews in Qajar Iran, it also provides valuable insights into issues facing other religious minorities in the country, and into Qajar society in the Nasiri period as a whole. - Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, Iranian Studies Based on numerous sources... a thoroughly documented and original critical essay... up to this day, this is the most exhaustive research on the fate of Jews in Iran in the 19th century... a noteworthy work. - Jean Calmard, Studia Iranica ...Daniel Tsadik has written an excellent book, illuminating the complexities of the social dynamics of Iranian cities in the late nineteenth century. - Moojan Momen, Baha'i Studies Review Tsadik weaves the story of Iranian Jews within the larger context of the vicissitudes of reform attempts in Iran, its widening and problematic ties with Europe, and within the broader Jewish story of the period. In providing this rich and multifaceted picture, Tsadik's book is a welcome addition to the field, and is highly recommended to anyone interested in the nineteenth century history of Iran, in the history of Middle Eastern Jewish communities and all Middle Eastern religious minorities. - Meir Litvak, Middle Eastern Studies Between Foreigners and Shiis is an engagingly written and meticulously documented account of the dynamics of Jewish life in Qajar Iran. With linguistic skill, first-hand cultural familiarity, and impressive analytical acumen, Daniel Tsadik has mined a wide range of archival and printed sources in various Middle Eastern and European languages. The historical tableau that he has painted is carefully nuanced and shaded. He shows the complex interplay of different internal attitudes and trends, outside intervention by western Jewish elites and European governments, and the coping strategies of Iranian Jews themselves. Tsadik is careful to show the vicissitudes of Jewish life in a pre-modern, traditional Shiite state while always pointing out that attitudes of Muslim clerics and theologians were by no means monolithic. This book could not have appeared at a more opportune time. First, it fills in a major gap in the history of Jews in the Persian-speaking world. Second, it provides much needed background to understanding the theological and socio-legal framework of today's Islamic Republic of Iran which is home to the largest Jewish community remaining in the entire Islamic world. This is a major contribution to both Judaic and Islamic historical studies and will - I believe - remain the standard work on the subject for a long time to come. - Norman A. Stillman, University of Oklahoma Daniel Tsadik's impressive study of the Iranian Jewry in the 19th century utilizes extensive archival and other Persian, Hebrew, and European sources to narrate the multifaceted story of Jewish community's interaction with the Qajar state, the Shii clerical establishment, the European powers and the Iranian society at large. This is an original and timely study that fills an important gap in historiography of modern Iran. - Abbas Amanat, Yale University

Author Information

Daniel Tsadik researches the modern history of Iran, Shi'ah Islam, and Iran's religious minorities. A Fulbright scholar, he earned his Ph.D from the History Department at Yale University.

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