weren't the Muslims considerably better to the Jews right up until 1948? I recognize that there's been persecution from the get-go, but it seems to me that the Arab "persecution" began with conflicting national interests.
Yes, I know Jews in African Arabian countries (Egypt to Morocco) had a significant Jewish population and a huge social and economical presence, historically I know of a lot of Egyptian Jews who had big trademark stores like Sidnawi, famous actors and singers like Layla Murad, Dawood Hosni and Rakia Ibrahim, mayors and politicians like 3 ministers in Mostafa Elnahas 7 ministers government.
But I don't think the fall out started in 1948, it started in mid to late 30's through WW2 during which most Arab countries hoped for an Axis triumph to stop the Jewish settlements built by evacuations of Arabs from parts of Palestine with the full support of the British occupiers. (And through that dilemma Germany was able to recruit Muslims in both the Arab world and Eastern Europe to fight for the Wehrmacht, against the Russians in Europe and against the British in north Africa (with the Afrika Korps).
In the 50's with the Arab/Israeli problem taking uglier shape; the Egyptian Jews started facing discrimination and hard times, a lot of the Jewish celebrities converted to Christianity or Islam to survive and keep working, a lot of wealthy Jews left Egypt to the U.S and south America while most left to Greece or Italy where they would catch a boat to Israel, by the late 50's they were all gone except for a couple hundred across Egypt who wouldn't identify themselves beyond close circles of friends.
An Israeli guy once told me that Egyptian Jews who moved to Israel and became Israelis were the only group his dad -who was a journalist- observed to have home sickness in Israel, not sure if that was true.