Grand Mufti

The Grand Mufti (Arabic: مفتي عام‎‎ muftī ʿām , "general expounder" or كبير المفتين kabīr al-muftīn , "the great of expounders") is the highest official of religious law in a Sunni or Ibadi Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatāwā, on interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases. The collected opinions of the Grand Mufti serve as a valuable source of information on the practical application of Islamic law as opposed to its abstract formulation. The Grand Mufti's fatāwā (plural of "fatwā") are not binding precedents in areas of civil laws regulating marriage, divorce, and inheritance. In criminal courts, the Grand Mufti's recommendations are generally not binding either.

The painting of an Ottoman Grand Mufti by Jean Baptiste Vanmour.

History

Muftis are Muslim religious scholars who issue influential legal opinions (fatwas) interpreting Sharia (Islamic law).^[1] The Ottoman Empire began the practice of giving official recognition and status to a single mufti, above all others, as the Grand Mufti.^[2] The Grand Mufti of Istanbul had, since the late 16th century, come to be regarded as the head of the religious establishment.^[3] He was thus not only pre-eminent but bureaucratically responsible for the body of religious-legal scholars and gave legal rulings on important state policies such as the dethronement of rulers.^[3] This practice was subsequently borrowed and adapted by Egypt from the mid-19th century.^[2] From there, the concept spread to other Muslim states, so that today there are approximately 16 countries with sizeable Muslim populations which have a Grand Mufti.^[4] The relationship between the Grand Mufti of any given state and the state's rulers can vary considerably, both by region and by historical era.

Types

State-appointed Grand Muftis

• In the Ottoman Caliphate, the Grand Mufti was a state official, and the Grand Mufti of Constantinople was the highest of these.
• Throughout the era of British colonialism, the British retained the institution of Grand Mufti in some Muslim areas under their control and accorded the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem the highest political stature in Palestine.
• During World War I (1914–1918), there were two competing Grand Muftis of Jerusalem, one endorsed by the British and one by the Ottoman Empire.
• When Palestine was under British rule, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was a position appointed by the British Mandate authorities.
• In the Palestinian National Authority, the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Grand Mufti is appointed by the president.
• The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia is appointed by the King.
• The State Mufti of Brunei is nominated by the Sultan.
• According to Article 78 of the 2014 Constitution, the General Mufti of Tunisia is appointed and can be dismissed by the President of the Republic.^[5]

Nations with elected Grand Muftis

• In countries such as Australia where the office of Grand Mufti receives no official seal of government imprimatur, clerics can be elected to the position by one segment of the Islamic community in that country and yet not be recognised by other Muslim communities in that country.^[6]

Nations with collective Grand Muftis

• Indonesia has a system of collective mufti, in which the position of Grand Mufti is held by the Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia). This assembly can make fatāwā.
• Malaysia also has a unique system of collective mufti. Nine of the fourteen Malaysian states have their own constitutional monarchy; nine are ruled by their own constitutional monarch while the country is led by a monarch elected from the nine. These nine monarchs have authority over religious matters within their own states: therefore, each of these nine states have their own mufti who usually controls the Islamic Council or Islamic Department of the state. At the national level, a National Council of Fatwa (Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan) has been formed under the Department of Islamic Advancement of Malaysia (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia or JAKIM). JAKIM appoints five Muftis for the five states which do not have monarchs. The muftis of the nine monarchical states, together with the five officials appointed by JAKIM in the National Council of Fatwā, collectively issue fatāwā at the national level.
• Sri Lanka has a system of collective ulama from different traditions of Islam. The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama has a President who oversees the decisions but does not necessarily have the powers to overturn any decisions made by rest of the ulama. The concept is similar to a democratic coalition system. The current President is Ash-Sheikh Mufti M.I.M. Rizwe.

Prominent past Grand Muftis

• Ismail Omar Abdul Aziz (First State Mufti of Brunei)
• Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (1910–1999), Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 1999
• Dr Asri Zainul Abidin, Mufti of Perlis, in Malaysia
• During World War I (1914–1918), the Ottoman Empire claimed that As'ad Shuqeiri was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
• Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from October 1994 to July 2006
• Kamil al-Husayni, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1908 to 1921
• Syrian Arab Republic's Grand Mufti, Ahmed Kuftaro (deceased September 1, 2004)
• Hussam Al-din Jarallah, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1948 to 1954
• Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1921 to 1948
• Mohammed Tahir al-Husayni, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from the 1860s to 1908
• Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (1950 to 1981), Grand Mufti of India (Barelvi movement)
• Pakistan: Grand Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani
• Abul Qasim Noori, Grand Mufti of Sunni Bangladesh
• Indonesia: Shaykh Abdul Qadir Hassan son of Hassan Bandung
• Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1969
• Sulaiman Ja'abari, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1993 to 1994
• Bosnian ex-Grand Mufti, Mustafa Cerić (1993 to 2012)
• Australian ex-Grand Mufti, Taj El-Din Hilaly
• Shaykh Mufti Radha al-Haq (1987 to 1997), Grand Mufti of South Africa, now Retired
• Mufti Ismail Kacholwi, Grand Mufti of Europe (since 1988). In 2007 Mufti Sahib migrated to India, although he still remains the Grand Mufti of Europe. In 2007, The President of The Islamic Consultative Assembly of Europe, His Excellency – Shaikh Muhammad Yusuf Motala Sahib appointed Mufti Muhammad Shabbir Ahmed Patel Sahib, of Darul-Uloom Bury as a Deputy of Mufti Ismail Kacholwi Sahib, as Mufti Ismail Kacholwi Sahib does come over to the UK frequently!

List of current Grand Muftis

States recognised by the United Nations

State		Grand Mufti	Office assumed
Albania		Skënder Bruçaj	March 2014
Australia		Ibrahim Abu Mohamed	September 2016
Bangladesh		Abul Qasim Noori
Bosnia and Herzegovina		Husein Kavazović	November 2012
Brunei		Abdul Aziz Juned	1 September 1994
Bulgaria		Mustafa Hadji	2008
Egypt		Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam	February 2013
India		Akhtar Raza Khan
Iraq		Rafi' Taha al-Rifa'i al-Ani
Jordan		Abdul Karim Khasawneh	23 February 2010
Kazakhstan		Yerzhan Mayamerov	2013
Kosovo		Naim Tërnava	2008
Kyrgyzstan		Maksatbek Toktomushev	2014
Lebanon		Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan	10 August 2014
Macedonia		Sulejman Rexhepi
Malaysia		Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri (Mufti of the Federal Territories)[7]	20 June 2014
		Mohd Tahrir Samsudin (Mufti of Johor)[8]	13 November 2008
		Syeikh Muhamad Baderudin Ahmad (Mufti of Kedah)[9]	2009
		Mohamad Shukri Mohamad (Mufti of Kelantan)[10]
		Abd Halim Tawil (Acting Mufti of Malacca)[11]
		Mohd Yusof Ahmad (Mufti of Negeri Sembilan)[12]	1 April 2009
		Abdul Rahman Osman (Mufti of Pahang)[13]
		Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor (Mufti of Penang)[14]	7 June 2014
		Harussani Zakaria (Mufti of Perak)[15]	December 1985
		Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (Mufti of Perlis)[16]	2 February 2015
		Bungsu Aziz Jaafar (Mufti of Sabah)[17]	10 August 2012
		Kipli Yassin (Mufti of Sarawak)[18]
		Mohd. Tamyes bin Abd. Wahid (Mufti of Selangor)[19]	16 March 1998
		Zulkifly Muda (Mufti of Terengganu)[20]	1 April 2013
Montenegro		Reif Fejzić
Nigeria		Sharif Ibrahim Saleh Al Hussainy
Oman		Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Khalili
Pakistan		Muhammad Muneeb ur Rehman	2005
Palestine (list)		Muhammad Ahmad Hussein	July 2006
Russia		Ravil Gainutdin	1 July 1996
Serbia		Sead Nasufović	July 2016
Syria		Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun	July 2005
Uzbekistan		Usman Alimov	8 August 2006
Zimbabwe		Ismail ibn Musa Menk

Sui generis entities

Entity	Grand Mufti	Office assumed
Caucasus	Allahshukur Pashazade	1992
Europe	Muhammad Shabbir Ahmed Patel

See also

• Imam
• Mufti
• Muftiate

References

1. Vogel, Frank E. (1999). Islamic law and legal system: studies of Saudi Arabia. pp. 16–20. ISBN 978-90-04-11062-5.
2. Vogel, Frank (1999). Islamic Law in the Modern World: Legal System of Saudi Arabia. p. 5. ISBN 978-9004110625. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
3. Faroqh, Suraiya N. (ed.) (2006). The Cambridge History of Turkey: Volume 3, The Later Ottoman Empire, 1603-1839. p. 213. ISBN 978-0521620956. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
4. Janin, Hunt Janin; Kahlmeyer, André (2008). Islamic law: the Sharia from Muhammad's time to the present. p. 85. ISBN 978 9004110625.
5. "Title four, chapter one, article 78". THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TUNISIAN REPUBLIC (Unofficial english translation) (PDF). UNDP and International IDEA. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
6. Alexander Moore (1998). Cultural Anthropology. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 389. ISBN 0-939693-48-8.
7. Mufti of the Federal Territories
8. Mufti of Johor
9. Mufti of Kedah
10. Mufti of Kelantan
11. Mufti of Malacca
12. Mufti of Negeri Sembilan
13. Mufti of Pahang
14. Mufti of Penang
15. Mufti of Perak
16. Mufti of Perlis
17. Mufti of Sabah
18. Mufti of Sarawak
19. Mufti of Selangor
20. Mufti of Terengganu