Grand Mufti of Jerusalem explained

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.

History

See main article: Islamic leadership in Jerusalem.

British Mandate

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]

Jordanian Waqf

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]

Palestinian Authority

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] 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]

List

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: And Darkness Covered the Land. Robert I.. Friedman. The Nation. 2001-12-06. 2007-09-13. 2007-11-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20071118091341/http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011224/friedman. dead.
  2. See Islamic Leadership in Jerusalem for further details
  3. The terminology was used as early as 1918. For example: Book: Taysīr Jabārah. Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin Al-Husayni: Mufti of Jerusalem. 1985. Kingston Press. 978-0-940670-10-5. states that Storrs wrote on November 19, 1918 "the Muslim element requested the Grand Mufti to have the name of the Sharif of Mecca mentioned in the Friday prayers as Caliph"
  4. Book: The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition: Supplement . 1 January 1980. Brill Archive. 90-04-06167-3. 68.
  5. [Ilan Pappe|Pappe, Ilan]
  6. [Aharon Cohen|Cohen, Aharon]
  7. Web site: Obituary: Saad al-Alami. February 10, 1993. The Independent.
  8. Blum . Yehuda Z. . From Camp David to Oslo . Israel Law Review . 1994 . 28 . 2–3 . y . note 20 . 10.1017/S0021223700011638 . 147907987 . 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 {{cite book |last1=Blum |first1=Yehuda Zvi |title=Will "justice" bring peace? : international law-selected articles and legal opinions |doi=10.1163/9789004233959_016 |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004233959 |pages=243–265}}]
  9. News: Rowley . Storer H. Storer . Now Muslims Argue Over Jerusalem . 2 October 2021 . Chicago Tribune . 6 November 1994.
    News: Ghazali . Said . Activist Mufti Sees Himself as Warrior for Jerusalem . 2 October 2021 . Associated Press . 6 March 1995.
  10. Book: Wasserstein . Bernard . Divided Jerusalem : the struggle for the holy city . 2008 . Yale University Press . New Haven, CT . 978-0-300-13763-7 . 338–341 . The battle of the muftis . https://archive.org/details/dividedjerusalem0000wass_p8d4/page/338 . Internet Archive . registration.
  11. Book: Rekhess . Elie . Mayer . Tamar . Mourad . Suleiman A. . Jerusalem: Idea and Reality . 9 May 2008 . Routledge . 978-1-134-10287-7 . 274–275 . https://books.google.com/books?id=qOf7tKmL_SAC&pg=PA274 . en . The Palestinian Political Leadership in East Jerusalem After 1967.
  12. Yaniv Berman, "Top Palestinian Muslim Cleric Okays Suicide Bombings", Media Line, 23 October 2006.
  13. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1943/dec/01/mufti-and-president-of-supreme-moslem An answer in the Commons to a question on notice, given by the Secretary of State for the Colonies
  14. Zvi Elpeleg's "The Grand Mufti", page 48: "officially he now retained only the title of Mufti (following the Ottoman practice, this had been granted for life)"
  15. Nazzal 1997 p. xxiii
  16. Nazzal 1997 p. 34
  17. News: Saad al-Alami Dead; Jerusalem Cleric, 82. The New York Times . 1993-02-07. 2015-10-22. 0362-4331.
  18. Nazzal 1997 xlix, p. 110
  19. Nazzal 1997 p. lvii

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