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The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including Al-Aqsa. [1] The position was created by the British military government led by Ronald Storrs in 1918. [2] [3] Since 2006, the position has been held by Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, appointed by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was a position created by the British Mandate authorities. [2] The new title was intended by the British to "enhance the status of the office". [4]
When Kamil al-Husayni died in 1921, the British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel appointed Mohammad Amin al-Husayni to the position. Amin al-Husayni, a member of the al-Husayni family of Jerusalem, was an Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. As Grand Mufti and leader in the Arab Higher Committee, especially during the war period 1938-45, al-Husayni played a key role in violent opposition to Zionism and closely allied himself with the Nazi regime in Germany. [5] [6]
In 1948, after Jordan occupied Jerusalem, Abdullah I of Jordan officially removed al-Husayni from the post, banned him from entering Jerusalem, and appointed Hussam Al-din Jarallah as Grand Mufti. On the death of Jarallah in 1952, Jordan's Jerusalem Islamic Waqf appointed Saad al-Alami as his replacement. [7] The Waqf appointed Sulaiman Ja'abari in 1993, following the death of al-Alami. [8]
After Ja'abari's 1994 death, two rival muftis were appointed: the Palestinian Authority (PA) nominated Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, while Jordan named Abdul Qader Abdeen, head of the Religious Appeals Court. [9] [10] This reflected a discrepancy between the Oslo I Accord, which envisaged a transfer of authority from Israel to the PA, and the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, which recognised Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites. [10] Local Muslims endorsed the PLO's view that Jordan's action was an unwarranted interference; Ja'abari's popular mandate meant that Abdeen's claim "soon faded away altogether" [10] and he formally retired in 1998. [11]
Sabri was removed in 2006 by PA president Mahmoud Abbas, who was concerned that Sabri was involved too heavily in political matters. [12]
Abbas appointed Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, who was perceived as a political moderate. Shortly after his appointment, Hussein made comments indicating that suicide bombing was an acceptable tactic for Palestinians to use against Israel. [12]
the Mufti of Jerusalem died in the summer of 1994 and the Government of Jordan appointed his successor (as it had done since 1948, including the period since 1967)[reprinted in Blum, Yehuda Zvi (2016). Will "justice" bring peace? : international law-selected articles and legal opinions. Leiden: Brill. pp. 243–265. doi:10.1163/9789004233959_016. ISBN 9789004233959.]
Mohammed Amin al-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Mandatory Palestine. Al-Husseini was the scion of the al-Husayni family of Jerusalemite Arab nobles, who trace their origins to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri is a religious leader and former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine from October 1994 to July 2006. He was appointed by Yasser Arafat.
The Supreme Muslim Council was the highest body in charge of Muslim community affairs in Mandatory Palestine under British control. It was established to create an advisory body composed of Muslims and Christians with whom the High Commissioner could consult. The Muslim leaders, however, sought to create an independent council to supervise the religious affairs of its community, especially in matters relating to religious trusts (waqf) and shariah courts. The British acceded to these proposals and formed the SMC which controlled waqf funds, the orphan funds, and shariah courts, and responsible for appointing teachers and preachers. The SMC continued to exist until January 1951, when it was dissolved by Jordan and its function transferred to the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf.
Raghib al-Nashashibi (1881–1951), CBE (hon), was a Palestinian public figure and wealthy landowner during the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate and the Jordanian administration. He was a member of the Nashashibi clan, one of the most influential families in Palestine, and mayor of Jerusalem from 1920 to 1935.
Sunni Islam is a major religion in Palestine, being the religion of the majority of the Palestinian population. Muslims comprise 85% of the population of the West Bank, when including Israeli settlers, and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip. The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are Sunnis, comprising 85% of the total Muslim population.
Sheikh Taissir Bayood al-Tamimi (Arabic: شيخ تيسير التميمي is the chief Islamic judge of the Palestinian National Authority.
Husayni is the name of a prominent Palestinian Arab clan formerly based in Jerusalem, which claims descent from Husayn ibn Ali.
The Palestinian people are an ethnonational group with family origins in the region of Palestine. Since 1964, they have been referred to as Palestinians, but before that they were usually referred to as Palestinian Arabs. During the period of the British Mandate, the term Palestinian was also used to describe the Jewish community living in Palestine.
Muhammad Ahmad Hussein is the incumbent Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He was appointed in July 2006 by Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority. Abbas raised Hussein as an immediate successor to Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, who was reportedly removed from the position due to his growing popularity amidst his open expressions of highly contentious political views and his condoning of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Mohammed Tahir Mustafa Tahir al-Husayni was the Qadi of the Sharia courts of Jerusalem and was the father of Kamil al-Husayni and Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, both of whom held the equivalent position in the British mandated period of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
Hussam al-Din Jarallah was a Sunni Muslim leader of the Palestinian people during the British Mandate of Palestine and was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1948 until his death.
Sulaiman Ja'abari was a Sunni Muslim religious leader of the Palestinian people and the fifth Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He became Grand Mufti in 1993 until his death in 1994.
Kamil al-Husayni was a Sunni Muslim religious leader in Palestine and member of the al-Husayni family. He was the Hanafi Mufti of Jerusalem from 1908, and in 1918 the British Mandate authorities appointed him as the first “Grand Mufti of Jerusalem“, a title they had copied from the Grand Mufti of Egypt. The British referred to him as “the representative of Islam in Palestine and a member of the oldest nobility of the country”.
Rashid al-Haj Ibrahim (1889–1953) was a Palestinian Arab banker and a leader of the Independence Party of Palestine (al-Istiqlal). He was one of the most influential Arab leaders of Haifa in the first half of the 20th century and played a leading role in both the 1936–39 Arab revolt and the 1948 Battle of Haifa.
Racism in the Palestinian territories encompasses all forms and manifestations of racism experienced in the Palestinian Territories, of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, irrespective of the religion, colour, creed, or ethnic origin of the perpetrator and victim, or their citizenship, residency, or visitor status. It may refer to Jewish settler attitudes regarding Palestinians as well as Palestinian attitudes to Jews and the settlement enterprise undertaken in their name.
The Arab Higher Committee or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and comprised the leaders of Palestinian Arab clans and political parties under the mufti's chairmanship. The committee was outlawed by the British Mandatory administration in September 1937 after the assassination of a British official.
This is a timeline of intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine.
Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine. Originally formed in the early 20th century in opposition to Zionism, Palestinian nationalism later internationalized and attached itself to other ideologies; it has thus rejected the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the government of Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestinian nationalists often draw upon broader political traditions in their ideology, such as Arab socialism and ethnic nationalism in the context of Muslim religious nationalism. Related beliefs have shaped the government of Palestine and continue to do so.
Islamic Leadership in Jerusalem refers to the leading cleric (ulema) of the Muslim community in Jerusalem. Historically, the primary religious leader was the Qadi. During the late Ottoman Empire, the Muftis became pre-eminent, particularly the Mufti of the Hanafi school, and during the British military administration the post of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was created, which continues today.
Saad el-Din el-Alami was a Sunni Muslim religious leader of the Palestinian people and the fourth Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in office from 1952 until his death.
