Some background on how the British created/structured the post of Grand Mufti in Palestine and why. For more read Rashid Khalidi’s The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood.
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Saminaz Zaman: Britain pursued the same “divide and rule” communitarian policies in Palestine that it did in other areas under its colonial rule, such as India or Egypt. Britain co-opted Jerusalem’s leading Palestinian families and created new structures of power to prevent the Palestinians from forming their own national institutions. The single most illuminating section of The Iron Cage details the British invention of new Islamic institutions in Palestine. As with Anglo Muhammadan Law drafted and enacted in India, these new institutions nominally upheld tradition but actually “had no precedent in that country’s history, or indeed in the entirety of Islamic history.” For example, the British created a Shari’a court system and network of religious charities that did not exist in Ottoman times. Khalidi argues that the creation of these structures showed how the British could only view colonized cultures as motivated by religion over nation. Most significantly, the British created the new position of “Grand Mufti of Palestine,” endowing the role with a power and prestige that contradicted Islamic law and custom. Traditionally, this role offered prestige but no power over other muftis. In Islamic jurisprudence, a qadi judges cases while a mufti just advises. Khalidi devotes a substantial portion of his book to the young Hajj Amin al-Husayni, Britain’s unlikely choice of mufti, and scion of one of Jerusalem’s most prominent and wealthy families. The selection of al-Husayni as mufti involved an implicit agreement whereby Palestinian elites would not criticize the Mandate and the incipient Jewish state that prevented the possibility of any form of topdown opposition. Al-Husayni did not have the religious education or background usually required for such a position and he did not have the charisma or public persona to lead the masses. The British also chose al-Husayni because his older relative, Musa Kazim al-Husayni, the former mayor of Jerusalem, represented the major opposition to the British. By appointing his relative, the British undermined Musa’s legitimacy and waged a micro version of divide and rule within the same family. Khalidi clearly presents the Grand Mufti as a cautionary tale to the current Palestinian leadership.