Mention the word Crypto Jew, and you might think of Jews who converted to Catholicism after the Spanish Inquisition of 1492. These were Jews who were outwardly Christian, though some continued secretly to practice Judaism.
In fact, the term could just as easily refer to another group of Jews in the Muslim world. They lived in Mashhad, in the far northeastern corner of Persia, present-day Iran. The city was the second most populous after Tehran. It was also known as a holy city, an important place of pilgrimage and a center brimming with religious fervor.
Contrary to the prevailing myth that Jews and Muslims always lived in peace—at least, until the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979—the Jews of Iran had already suffered a decline in their fortunes under the 16th-century Safavid dynasty. As second-class citizens, or dhimmis, they had few rights. They were confined to ghettos and considered najas, or “unclean,” by the majority Muslim population. For instance, Jews were not allowed out in the rain in case the water splashed from them onto a Muslim.
The Allahdad broke out in March 1839. This was the name given to a brutal riot against the 2,400 Jews living in the Jewish quarter of Mashhad: 50 men, women and children were slaughtered; girls were abducted and forced to live in the imam’s harem. The rest of the Jews were faced with an impossible choice: Convert to Islam or die.
The Jews of Mashhad chose to convert. They would become known as Jadid al-Islam, meaning New Muslims, like the New Christians of Spain. While remaining outwardly Muslim, they led secret Jewish lives. They gave their children Muslim names, but also secret Jewish names.
They attended mosques and even went on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. They continued to teach Torah to their sons. They married endogamously: They had their children betrothed at a very young age to other Jews to prevent Muslims proposing marriage. Interestingly, every marriage ceremony wound up producing two ketubahs (“marriage contracts”)—one Muslim and one Jewish.
Jewish men concealed miniature tefillin inside their turbans and mini-prayer books (siddurim) inside copies of the Quran. They bought halal meat but disposed of it at home, while continuing to observe kashrut and shechita (“ritual slaughter”).
For 100 years, until many moved to Palestine, the community led a double life; in so doing, its members managed to preserve their Jewish identity. Today, Mashhadi Jews are among the most observant and close-knit of communities, not even marrying other Persian Jews.
A 15-minute film, titled “Mashhad,” will acquaint Western audiences with this extraordinary story of Jewish continuity. The film follows Miriam, a spirited young girl from Edgar, the Jewish ghetto, and her friendship with her “Muslim” neighbor. Revealing her Jewish identity would put her family in danger.
The short film was made by Sarah Solemani, an award-winning actress, writer and director born in London. She descends from Mashhadi Jews on her father’s side. Her new cinematic work, which is based on her grandmother’s lived experience, is a “story of religion as oppression and faith as survival.” It is premiering at the Hollyshorts Film Festival 2025.
The history of Jews expelled from Arab countries and Iran—one of the largest ethnic groups in Israel today—is not as well-known as the history of Ashkenazi Jewry, she tells the YouTube channel Bond on Cinema. The film, which employs Farsi-speaking actors, presents “an opportunity to work for peace between two irreconcilable histories—Palestinian and Jewish,” says Solemani. “Peace will come from listening to each other and loving each other.”
She researched this largely undocumented story by interviewing Mashhadi Jews in Great Neck, N.Y.
Solemani says she is interested in knowing what reaction the film might receive from people unfamiliar with the stories of Jews indigenous to the Middle East. So far, she finds that most people “have no idea of this piece of history and are interested in learning more.”
Film director Sarah Solemani will participate in an online Q&A with Noam Dromi of Reboot Films from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Sept. 30.
