Grand Mufti
This page is about the title and persons carrying the title. For the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (1921-1948), see Mohammad Amin al-Husayni The title of
Grand Mufti () refers to the highest official of religious law in a
Sunni Muslim country. The Grand
Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts,
fatwa, on interpretations of Islamic law 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 fataawa (plural of "
fatwa") 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.
In the
Ottoman Empire the Grand Mufti was a state official, and the Grand Mufti of Constantinople was the highest of these. The British retained the institution in some Muslim areas under their control and accorded the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem the highest political stature.
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.
The following
clerics, among others, carry the title of Grand Mufti:
*Republic of
Albania's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Hafiz Sabri Cocki*
Australia and
New Zealand's Grand Mufti (unofficial), Shaikh
Taj el-Din Al Hilaly*Republic of
Bashkortostan's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Talgat Tadzhuddin*
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Grand Mufti,
Dr. Mustafa Ef. Cerić*Arab Republic of
Egypt's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Ali Gomaa *
France's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Soheïb Bencheikh*
Lebanese Republic's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Muhammad Rashid Kabbani*Sultanate of
Oman's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamed al-Khalili*Islamic Republic of
Pakistan's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Rafi Usmani*
Finland's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Juha-Pekka Jäpölä*
Jerusalem and
Holy Land's Grand Mufti, Sheikh
Ekrima Sa'id Sabri*
Russian Federation's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Ravil Gainutdin*Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Abdul-Azeez bin Abdullaa bin Muhammad Aal ash-Shaikh*
Tunisia's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Kamal-u-Din Ja'eit*
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'
Shaikh as-Sayyid Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani*Republic of
Uzbekistan's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Abdurahman Bakhromov.
*The
Palestinian Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem,
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni (deceased July 4, 1974)
*
Syrian Arab Republic's Grand Mufti,
Shaikh Ahmad Kuftaro (deceased September 1, 2004)
*
Islam
