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Solika " Sol" Hachuel (; ; ; 1817 – June 5, 1834) was a Moroccan Jews woman from Tangier who, according to later recounts, was executed by decapitation in Fez in 1834, at the age of 17, for apostasy after her Muslim neighbors testified that she had converted to Islam. Her story has been retold in a variety of languages and genres over the following century, with each retelling affected by its own language, cultural context, and historical circumstances. There are variations in the accounts—on matters such as the role of Sultan Abd al-Rahman of Morocco in her fate, whether or not she might have actually converted to Islam, the meanings or lessons to be taken from the story, and even invented additions such as a French attempt to save her. She is widely regarded as a martyr and among Jews and as Wali among Moroccans—Jews as well as Muslims—celebrated and revered for her loyalty to her faith.
Hachuel's self-sacrifice served as an inspiration to many painters and writers. One of the most detailed accounts, based on interviews with eyewitnesses, is from Spanish writer Eugenio María Romero. His book El Martirio de la Jóven Hachuel, ó, La Heroina Hebrea () was first published in 1837 and republished in 1838. Hachuel's story was also the subject of a song by French musician Françoise Atlan on the record Romances Séfardies ().
In the 1860s, French artist Alfred Dehodencq painted multiple versions of a work depicting the execution of a Jewish woman in Morocco; one of these paintings was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1861 under the title Exécution d'une juive, au Maroc. Some scholars say that Dejodencq was inspired by the story of Sol Hachuel; however, his friend and biographer, the French philosopher Gabriel Séailles, states explicitly in more than one book that Dehodencq was an eye-witness to the execution he depicted.
According to the account of Israel Joseph Benjamin, a Romanian Jewish explorer who visited Morocco in the middle of the 19th century, "never had the sun of North Africa shone on more perfect beauty than". Benjamin wrote that her Arabs neighbours said that "It is a sin that such a pearl should be in the possession of the Jews, and it would be a crime to leave them such a jewel."
According to Eugenio María Romero's account, Tahra Mesmudi, a devout Muslims girl and Hachuel's friend and neighbor in Tangier, falsely claimed she converted Hachuel to Islam.
Another account states that "she fell in love with a Muslim boy", who demanded her hand in marriage. The father of the boy threatened her family with bitter suffering, if they don't let her convert to Islam and marry his son. In another account, the pasha of Tangier promised to marry her if she converted to Islam. Rabbi Jacob Tolédano wrote in his 1911 book Ner ha-Ma'arav () that Lalla Solica had converted to Islam to get close to Sultan Moulay Abderrahmane of Morocco, as "she was part of his harem from 1817 to 1820". According to Tolédano, the Sultan forced her to convert to make her his favorite concubine. The Jews of Tangier, learning about this, tried to reason and dissuade her from converting. She was consequently accused of apostasy.
According to Spanish scholar Paloma Diaz-Mas, in her book "Sephardim: The Jews from Spain":
The reasons are not entirely clear, but it seems that a young Muslim who was in love with Sol and a neighbor woman, also Muslim, were involved. Both attempted to convince her to convert, but when she refused, they denounced her to the governor, who had her executed.
The girl responded:
The pasha imprisoned Sol in a windowless and lightless cell with chains around her neck, hands, and feet. Her parents appealed to the Spanish vice-consul, Don José Rico, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
The pasha sent Hachuel to Fez, where the sultan would decide her fate. The fee for her transfer (and eventual execution) was to be paid by her father, who was threatened with 500 Foot whipping if he did not comply. Eventually, Don José Rico paid the required sum because Sol's father could not afford it.
In Fez, the Sultan appointed the qadi to decide Sol's punishment. The Qadi summoned the Jewish sages of Fez and told them that unless Sol converted, she would be beheaded and the community punished. Although the urged her to convert to save herself and their community, she refused. She was convicted and sentenced to death, and the qadi ruled that her father would bear the cost of her burial. The sultan's son also tried to convince her to convert to Islam for her beauty, but she refused.
Sol was beheaded in a public square in Fez. Romero described the emotions of the citizens of Fez on the day of the execution:
Apparently, the sultan instructed the executioner to wound Sol first, hoping that the sight of her own blood would frighten her into accepting conversion.
The Jewish community paid for the retrieval of her corpse, her head and the bloodstained earth for a Jewish burial at the Jewish cemetery. She was declared a martyr.
The Jews called Hachuel "Sol ha-Tzaddikah" (), and the Arabs called her Lalla Suleika (). Her grave became a place of pilgrimage for both Jews and Muslims alike.Schloessinger 1901-1906, V. 5 p. 381 Léon Godard explains the custom in his Description et histoire du Maroc:
| + ! colspan="2" | Translations of text on the headstone of Sol Hachuel in Jewish Cemetery in Fez |
| French: | Hebrew: |
| Here lies Miss Solica Hatchuel,
born in Tangier in 1817
refusing to enter into the Islamic religion Arabs assassinated her in Fez in 1834 uprooting her from her family. | The gravestone of the righteous Soliqa Haguel, a virgin maiden who
greatly sanctified the Name of Heaven and died a martyr
in the glorious city of Fez in the year 5594 (1834) and buried here. May the Lord protect her. May her merit protect us. |
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