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The positive attitude that Sannu‘ expressed toward Islam gave the impression that he had been born a Muslim or converted to Islam. His use of the title “shaykh” next to his name also led some to think that he was a Muslim. As Shmuel Moreh has shown, the Jewish “shaykh” felt obliged to clarify the matter with Philip Tarrazi, a Lebanese historian who referred to Sannu‘ as a Muslim in a history of Arab journalism that Tarrazi wrote. The two corresponded about the short biographical note on Sannu‘ that Tarrazi included in the original manuscript before it was published. Having read Tarrazi’s biographical note, Sannu‘ remarked on the mistake in the following letter. You said, in the beginning of the second page, “The young man then adopted the Muslim religion.” Please omit this because I did not change the faith of my parents, although I respect the three religions [Judaism, Islam, and Christianity]. My only belief is in the omnipotence of God. This is witnessed by the conversation which took place between me and the late Muzaffar al-Din Shah when I visited him in Contrexéville ten years ago. He asked me if I were Muslim or Shi‘i? I answered him that I am one of the Children of Israel. He said: “Since you love our community, defend its rights, respect its law [shari‘a] and praise its kings, princes and scholars [ulama]—why don’t you convert to Islam and become one of the great men?” I answered him: “If I do that, people would say: He who is no good for his religion, would be of no good for another religion, which he only embraces in order to attain high position and fortune.” While the Muslims now respect and love this humble servant, because they see an Israelite raising the banner of Islam, demonstrating his love for Islam in front of all people and trying to strengthen the ties of friendship between Muslims and Christians; and all his life having made no mention of his own religion. In conclusion, please omit the four or five words mentioned above. 9 | Letter to Philip Tarrazi Ya‘qub Sannu‘ “Letter to Philip Tarrazi in Beirut, February 18, 1911, Paris,” quoted in, and translated by, Shmuel Moreh in “Ya‘qub Sannu‘: His Religious Identity and Work in the Theater, According to the Family Archive,” in The Jews of Egypt, a Mediterranean Society in Modern Times, ed. Shimon Shamir (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1987), 115. Letter to Philip Tarrazi | 29 Further Readings Fahmi, Ziad. “Francophone Egyptian Nationalists, Anti-British Discourse, and European Public Opinion, 1885–1910: The Case of Mustafa Kamil and Ya‘qub Sannu‘.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 28, no. 1 (2008): 170–83. Gendzier, Irene L. The Practical Visions of Ya‘qub Sanu‘. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966. Landau, Jacob. “Abu Naddara: An Egyptian Jewish Nationalist.” Journal of Jewish Studies 3, no. 1 (1952): 30–44. Levy, Lital, “Jewish Writers in the Arab East: Literature, History, and the Politics of Enlightenment, 1863–1914,” 142–67. PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 2007. Moosa, Matti. “Ya‘qub Sanu‘ and the Rise of Arab Drama in Egypt.” International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 5, no. 4 (1974): 401–33. (Reprinted in Matti Moosa, The Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction [Washington: Three Continents, 1983], 41–66.) Moreh, Shmuel. “Ya‘qub Sanu‘: His Religious Identity and Work in the Theater, According to the Family Archive.” In The Jews of Egypt, a Mediterranean Society in Modern Times, edited by Shimon Shamir, 111–29. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1987. Sadgrove, Philip C. “The First Experiments in Arab Drama: James Sanua.” In Philip C. Sadgrove, The Egyptian Theatre in the Nineteenth Century, 1799–1882, 89–124. Reading, Berkshire: Ithaca, 1996. ...

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