Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World

Jewish mysticism, which since medieval times has also been known as Kabbala (Heb. acceptance, tradition), is a variegated conglomerate of spiritual models, types of experiences, and modes of expression that developed in different countries and continents. kabbalistic writings have been preserved in thousands of literary works of various genres, mostly in Hebrew. Kabbala has developed since the medieval period over the span of almost a millennium, and was preceded by earlier mystical writings and…

In addition to the creation of a Judeo-Persian literary tradition that recast Jewish themes in a classical Persian mold and illuminated manuscripts with Judeo-Persian miniature paintings in the Persian style, the acculturation of Iranian Jewry in the Middle Ages and the premodern era included an attraction to Ṣūfism, Islam’s most transcendental expression. This attraction manifested itself in literary topoi, explicit polemics, and occasional adherence of Jews to Ṣūfīsm.      Literary topoi. As is well known, classical Persian poetry, from the twelfth century on, is rep…

The Mzab is a vast region of some 8,000 square kilometers (3,089 square miles) in the northern Sahara desert, located in the Ghardaia province of Algeria, approximately 500 kilometers (311 miles) south of Algiers. It is a stony plain cut by deep winding valleys. There are five major cities situated along a 72-kilometer (45-mile) stretch in the Mzab Valley: El Atteuf, Bou Noura, Beni Isguen, Melika, and the largest settlement, Ghardaia. For centuries, the Mzab Valley was one of the most important oases along the trans-Saharan trade route. The region was historically populated by…