Grand Mufti

Grand Mufti of various countries:

Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, Grand Mufti of India
Shawki Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt
Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili, Grand Mufti of Oman

Abdul Aziz Juned, Grand Mufti of Brunei
Allahshukur Pashazadeh, Grand Mufti of the Caucasus
Talgat Tadzhuddin, Grand Mufti of Russia
Husein Kavazović, Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina

A Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is a title for the leading Islamic jurist of a country, typically Sunni, who may oversee other muftis. Not all countries with large Sunni Muslim populations have Grand Muftis; in those that do, the Grand Mufti is typically appointed by the state or elected by a council of scholars.^[1]^[2] The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman Empire and has been later adopted in a number of countries that were never part of the Ottoman Empire.^[1]^[2]

Muftis are Islamic jurists qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (fatwa) on a point of Islamic law (sharia). In the 15th century, muftis of the Ottoman Empire, who had acted as independent scholars in earlier times, began to be integrated into a hierarchical bureaucracy of religious institutions and scholars. By the end of the 16th century, the government-appointed mufti of Istanbul came to be recognized under the title Shaykh al-Islam (Turkish: şeyhülislam) as the Grand Mufti in charge of this hierarchy. The Ottoman Grand Mufti performed a number of functions, including advising the sultan on religious matters, legitimizing government policies, and appointing judges. After the dissolution the Ottoman Empire the office of the Grand Mufti has been adopted in a number of countries across the Muslim world, often serving the role of providing religious support for government policies.^[2]

^ ^a ^b John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "Grand Mufti". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c James Broucek (2013). "Mufti/Grand mufti". In Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone (ed.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press.

[ODI-1] John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "Grand Mufti". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018.

[PEIPT-2] James Broucek (2013). "Mufti/Grand mufti". In Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone (ed.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press.

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