The Jews of Mauritania: Between Extinction and Assimilation

Investigative Report by:
Mohamed Abdarahman Ould Abdallah
Journalist, Nouakchott

The Jewish presence in Mauritania was never alien throughout its history; on the contrary, their spread was striking in the major cities and old commercial centers. Historical documents attest to their presence in Chinguetti, Ouadane, Oualata, and Tichitt. History even preserved a remarkable episode when the jurist and judge Mohamed Yahya al-Walati al-Dawudi issued a ruling in favor of Jewish merchants—clear evidence of their integration into the economic and social life of that time.

What is puzzling, however, is the complete disappearance of these communities from the Mauritanian desert—a phenomenon that continues to perplex researchers. For Jews, throughout history, have been known to cling to their lineage and religion; cases of total assimilation into other societies are extremely rare, almost unheard of—except here. This raises profound questions: Was it gradual assimilation, perhaps coerced by religious and social transformations? Was it organized migration under political and economic pressures? Or was it simply the peculiarity of this vast desert, which swallowed entire chapters of history into its sands?

With this pioneering investigative report—the first of its kind in Mauritania—we aim to explore the subject comprehensively, documenting whatever can be substantiated of Jewish presence in the old Saharan towns (Chinguetti, Ouadane, Oualata, Tichitt), and investigating the reasons behind their assimilation or disappearance. Our method relies on credible historical sources, while explicitly distinguishing between what can be affirmed with certainty and what remains within the realm of conjecture, in respect of intellectual integrity.

■ Introduction: Local Narratives, Historical Puzzles

Mauritanian memory still carries echoes of Jewish—or “Judaized”—communities in the caravan towns, especially Oualata, with tales of judicial and commercial dealings involving them. Yet when we attempt to transform memory into documented evidence, we collide with the scarcity of direct records in local archives, compounded by the fact that many private family libraries remain unindexed. Some of these collections may still hold sensitive, unpublished secrets. What, then, can be proven today from written sources? And what must remain in the domain of uncertainty and historical oblivion?

■ I. What Can Be Established with Certainty?

Jewish presence in Oualata and surroundings during the 15th–16th centuries:
A peer-reviewed study by Idrissa Ba specifically examines the “continuity/discontinuity of Jewish presence in Oualata and the West African Sahel from the 15th to the 19th century.” It concludes that our current knowledge rests on two main testimonies, one attributed to João Rodrigues, linking Oualata with Jewish groups in that era. This provides a solid academic basis, albeit stressing the rarity of surviving direct evidence.

The Four Towns as Caravan Nodes:
The role of Chinguetti, Ouadane, Tichitt, and Oualata in trans-Saharan trade is well-documented in UNESCO literature and urban history. This framework explains why merchants of diverse origins—including Jews—naturally converged there.

The Wider Saharan Context—Tuat (southern Algeria):
Tuat was a major Jewish hub until its violent eradication in 1492. Historical studies show that the preacher Mohamed ibn Abd al-Karim al-Maghili led a campaign that destroyed synagogues and killed or expelled Jews. Significantly, this coincided with the Spanish decree expelling Jews from Iberia. The upheaval sparked southward migration along caravan routes, profoundly reshaping the geography of Saharan Jewry.

Trade Networks: Sijilmasa–Taghaza–Oualata:
The classical route from Sijilmasa via Taghaza to Oualata appears in historical sources, explaining the logical flow of professional groups—including Jewish merchants—into Mauritania’s caravan hubs.

■ II. The “Judicial Document” Attributed to al-Walati

Local narratives frequently cite a judicial ruling in favor of Jewish merchants allegedly issued by the renowned jurist Mohamed Yahya al-Walati (d. 1912). Yet, searches through the available digital catalogues of his writings and biographies have not produced the actual text of this ruling, nor any authenticated archival reference. What is confirmed, however, is al-Walati’s esteemed role as judge and his prolific work on legal contracts and judicial practices, such as commentaries on Tuhfat al-Hukkam. Thus, the “Jewish merchants’ lawsuit” remains a local tradition awaiting documentary corroboration—perhaps hidden in private libraries of Oualata.

■ III. Why Did This Presence Fade Away?

Historians propose four interlinked causes:

1. The Structural Blow of 1492:
The destruction of the Tuat Jewish community dismantled a key financial-commercial hub in the north, destabilizing southward links (Oualata–Timbuktu). This did not instantly eliminate all Jewish presence but precipitated its institutional decline.

2. Gradual Social Islamization:
From the 18th–19th centuries, rising influence of local scholars and Sufi networks fostered assimilation. Minority groups, including those with distant Jewish lineage, integrated through marriage, conversion, and occupational shifts.

3. Changing Trade Routes and Economic Decline:
The waning of gold, salt, and slave trade, coupled with the colonial-era shift to coastal centers, drained the four towns of their prosperity and, with it, their migrant communities.

4. Legal-Political Pressure Across the Sahara:
Al-Maghili’s teachings and subsequent fatwas curtailed Jewish privileges (e.g., riding horses, proximity to power). Even in areas without massacres, such restrictions reduced Jewish visibility in public life.

■ IV. Surviving Textual Traces in Mauritania Today

Private Libraries:
Family libraries in Chinguetti, Oualata, Tichitt, and Ouadane preserve tens of thousands of unindexed manuscripts. It is plausible that undiscovered contracts involving Jewish merchants lie hidden within.

Al-Walati’s Texts:
Works such as Husam al-‘Adl wa al-Insaf are accessible digitally, but they are theoretical rather than case records. Access to actual legal registers, if extant, remains essential.

■ V. Between “Jews” and “Judaized” Groups

Some local sources point to ethnocultural blending: Judaized Soninke, Berber Zanata groups, and northern minorities. Whether these were practicing Jews or hybrid communities adopting certain rituals remains an open anthropological and linguistic question, requiring further fieldwork and textual scrutiny.

■ Conclusion

The existence of Jews—in the strict religious sense—in Oualata and nearby Mauritanian towns is highly probable and supported by academic studies, though local documentary evidence remains scarce. The strongest corroboration comes from northern contexts (Tuat/Tamentit) and caravan literature.

Their disappearance is not a unique enigma but the product of multiple forces: the Tuat purge (1492), expansive social Islamization, economic decline of caravan trade, and political-legal restrictions. These combined to produce assimilation rather than sudden vanishing.

As for the ruling attributed to Judge al-Walati in favor of Jewish merchants: no authenticated copy has surfaced in public collections. Should it emerge from a private archive, it would decisively enrich the historical debate. Until then, it must be treated as a plausible but unverified claim.