Extension of Almohad measures to Ifriqiya

The Almohad advance reached Ifriqiya. Tunis and Mahdia passed under the new power, and with them the Jewish communities of the coast, heirs to those of Kairouan.

The synagogues were closed, conversions imposed, and a distinctive mark — a particular headdress and garment — was then applied to the converts, whose sincerity was suspected. This status of the suspect convert, specific to the Almohad world, has no equivalent: it denied those concerned both the status of a protected person and that of a Muslim.

The communities of southern Tunisia and Djerba, more difficult to access, appear to have weathered the period better; the Djerbian tradition holds that this island served as an ancient refuge, and its synagogue of the Ghriba remains the most important pilgrimage site in the Maghreb.