Father Thomas, a French priest from Sardina, disappears in Damascus. Jews are blamed and some who are suspected of his murder are taken into custody and tortured. Other Jews throughout Damascus are persecuted.
Several of those imprisoned will die from the torture; others are forced to convert to Islam. This becomes known as the infamous "Damascus Affair" and is an example of the suspicion, animus, and persecution which Jews have had to endure in Arab Muslim countries.
