ABSTRACT
Judaism possessed a far greater affinity with Islam than with Christianity. Both Judaism and Islam were Semitic religions; the cultures they spawned originated in the Middle East, and both shared generally similar religious views and practices. Muslim culture thoroughly pervaded that of the Sephardis. By the time Turks, Berbers, Persians, and even Arab populations were adopting the conquering faith of Islam, Sephardis were making common cause with the Moors of Muslim Spain. The Golden Age of prosperity, intellectual creativity, and cultural symbiosis between Jews and Muslims in Spain preceded the rise of the Ottoman Empire by about seven hundred years. Sephardi scholars were also far more worldly than their ultraorthodox brethren in Europe. The Sephardi Council tried to raise as much revenue as it could from its impoverished constituents. Taxes over and beyond what the Turks and the Muslims demanded were levied on the sale of wine, meat, and other goods, not to mention marriage certificates and tombstones.
