Thread by @HistoricalJW

The story about the Jewish woman “Sol Hachuel” from Tangier, that was publicly depcaptiated at age 17 for refusing conversion. (THREAD).

Sol was born in the city of Tangier in Morocco to Jewish parents. Her beauty has made everyone in the neighborhood attracted to her, it was also said that her beauty was so charming that it was a shame she’s Jewish which makes her a Dhimmi.

Dhimmis were Jews, Christians, Hindus and other religious groups that were not members of the Islam and had to pay tax for protection from the Islamic empires. In some places, Dhimmis were persecuted, considered inferior to Muslims and couldn’t observe their religious customs.

A neighbor of Sol, a young muslim man from a wealthy family fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. In the Muslim version of that story, Sol converted to Islam and then returned back to Judaism, a great sin in Islam.

In the Jewish version of the story, the man came to Sol’s parents and told them he wants to marry her and therefore she has to convert, if she refuses he’ll kill her. Sol refused and was denounced by the man who told the governor about her refuse to conversion.

The soldiers brought her to the governor claiming that she had converted to Islam, abandoned it and returned to Judaism and now refused to convert. The governor threatened her saying he’ll load her with chains and her body will be torn apart by wild beasts.

Sol wasn’t afraid of his threats, said she would let her body be torn apart by beasts, she would let herself perish of hunger, she would never see daylight ever again but she would never intend to abandon her Jewish faith.

The governor transferred her to the Sultan of Fez, there the Qadi (Islamic judgement) summoned the Jewish sages of the city and told them that unless Sol converted, she would be beheaded and the community punished.

The Jewish sages told her to convert so she can save herself from death but she was stubborn and said that she was born Jewish, and she’s going to die Jewish. Sol was beheaded in a public square in Fez.

The government didn’t allow the Jewish community to burry her. They had to pay for the retrieval of her corpse, her head and her blood that was dripping on earth, after that, they were brought her to burial.

On her grave was engrave in french “Here rests Mademoiselle Solika Hachuel born in Tangier in 1817 refusing to enter into the Islamic religion. The Arabs murdered her in 1834 in Fez, while she was torn away from her family. The entire world mourns this saintly child”.

The tragic end of Sol echoed throughout the world, Muslims called her “Lalla Suleika” (the holy lady Solika), plays were written about her and described her story. Her grave became a place of pilgrimage for both Jews and Muslims alike.