As'ad Shukeiri Explained

Sheikh As'ad Shukeiri
Birth Date:1860
Death Date:1940
Office:Ottoman-appointed Qadi of Palestine
Term Start:1914
Term End:1918
Office1:Mayor of Acre
Term Start1:?
Term End1:?
Office2:Founder and Leader of the Liberal Party in Palestine
Term Start2:1930
Term End2:?
Office3:Head of the Supreme Muslim Council of Palestine
Term Start3:?
Term End3:?
Party:Liberal Party of Palestine
Religion:Islam

Sheikh As'ad Shukeiri (Arabic: أسعد الشقيري, also transcribed al-Shuqayri, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1860–1940) was a Palestinian religious scholar political leader and mayor of Acre,[1] and the Ottoman-appointed Qadi from 1914 to 1918. Kamil al-Husayni was the Hanafi Mufti at the time and considered to be pro-British. Shukeiri was pro-Ottoman, favoring that Palestine continue to be part of the Ottoman Empire and in 1908 and 1912, he was elected to the Ottoman parliament.

From the latter year to 1914, he served as the deputy of the District of Acre. Afterwards, he held several posts in Palestine's religious judiciary, including librarian of the Imperial Library and member of the Sharia court in Istanbul. During World War I, he was appointed mufti of the Fourth Ottoman Army in Syria and Palestine.

In 1930, he founded the Liberal Party in Palestine and became head of the Supreme Muslim Council during the era of British rule in Palestine. One of his children, Ahmad Shukeiri, later became the first leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization.[2]

Shukeiri rejected the values of the Palestinian Arab nationalist movement and would work with Zionist leaders regularly. He worked in multiple pro-Zionist Arab organizations from the beginning of the British Mandate until his death in 1940 and he publicly rejected Mohammad Amin al-Husayni’s use of Islam against Zionism.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Miller . Frederic P. . Vandome . Agnes F. . McBrewster . John . As'ad Shukeiri . March 5, 2011 . VDM Publishing . 978-6134398138.
  2. http://www.passia.org/ Palestinian Personalities
  3. Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917-1948. By Hillel Cohen. University of California Press, 2009. p. 84