Dhimma governance and the Zaydī madhhab spectrum: the forced conversion of Jewish orphans, its Islamic legal background, and political relevance
Keywords:
Late mediaeval to modern Yemen, Zaydiyya, Qāsimid State, anti-Qāsimid Opposition, 'Sunnisation of Zaydism'Abstract
This paper discusses two fatwas from the reign of the Qāsimid imam al‑Manṣūr ʿAlī b. ʿAbbās (r. 1189–1224/1775–1809) concerning the forced conversion of Jewish orphans to Islam. It examines the legal opinions of four authors regarding whether it is permissible, forbidden, or even considered a religious obligation (wājib) to ‘remove’ (intazaʿa) minor dhimmī orphans from their non-Muslim surroundings and raise them as Muslims. These authors are Ḥusayn b. ʿAbdallāh al‑Kibsī (d. 1223/1808), Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al‑Shawkānī (d. 1250/1834), ʿAbdullāh b. Muḥammad al‑Amīr (d. 1242/1826), and Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd al‑Qādir b. Aḥmad al‑Kawkabānī (d. 1223/1808).
The Islamic sources cited by all four authors to support their opposing opinions include both Sunnī and Zaydī texts. This paper, however, looks beyond the binary conception of the two schools juxtaposed against one another. Specifically, it aims to identify a third group within the central Yemeni legal sphere that advocates for orphan ‘removal’, referencing the practice of imam Sharaf al‑Dīn Yaḥyā (d. 965/1558) as a precedent. Based on the analysis of the two fatwas and their political‑historical background, towards the end of the article a brief reference will be made to the role of imam Yaḥyā Ḥamīḍ al‑Dīn (d. 1367/1948) regarding the forced conversion of Jewish orphans that took place within his realm.
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