The Mufti of Jerusalem: Al-Hajj Amin Al-Husayni and the Palestinian National Movement

181 Pages·1988·2.78 MB·English

by  Philip Mattar

Muhammad Amin Al-Husyani (1595-1974]
by John Mattar, Guelph, Canada.
The Mufti of Jerusalem
Al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni and the
Palestinian National Movement
Philip Mattar
Columbia University Press
NEW YORK 1988
Columbia University Press
New York Guildford, Surrey
Copyright © 1988 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mattar, Philip, 1944-
The Mufti of Jerusalem : Al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni and the
Palestinian national movement/Philip Mattar.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-231-06462-4 (alk. paper)
1. Uusayni, Amin, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, 1893-1974.
2. Palestinian Arabs—Biography. 3. Politicians—Palestine—
Biography. 4. Jewish-Arab relations—1917-1949. 5. Palestine—
History—1917-1948. I. Title.
DS125.3.H79M37 1988
956.94'4—dci9 87-33314
CIP
Clothbound Columbia University Press editions are Smyth-
sewn and printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper
Book design by Ken Venezio
To Evelyn and Christina

Contents
Preface xi
1. The Making of a Palestinian Nationalist: The Formative Years i
2. Rise to Religious Power 19
3. Political Struggle Over the Western Wall, 1928-1929 33
4. The Politics of Moderation and the General Islamic Congress 50
5. The Arab Revolt: The Challenge 65
6. The Arab Revolt: The Response 73
7. Iraq's Quest for Independence, 1939-1941 86
8. The Nazi Years 99
9. Decline of Power 108
10. The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Politics of Palestine:
An Overview and Assessment 115
Notes 127
Bibliography 147
Index 155

Illustrations
Frontispiece: Muhammad Amin Al-Husyani {1895-1974) by John Mattar,
Guelph, Canada.
These illustrations appear as a group after page 80.
As an Ottoman officer in 1917.
Two of the Mufti's aides: Jamal al-Husayni (right) and Emile al-Ghuri
(left), London, 1947.
Al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni (right) and King Faysal of Iraq (left), Jaffa Har­
bor, 1925 (W. Khalidi, Before Their Diaspora),
The Arab Higher Committee, formed April 1936. Front row, left to right:
Raghib al-Nashashibi, al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni, Ahmad Hilmi, 'Abd al-
Latif Salah, and Alfred Roch. Second Row, left to right: Jamal al-Husayni,
Dr. Husayn al-Khalidi, Ya'qub al-Ghusayn, and Fu'ad Saba (W. Khalidi,
Before Their Diaspora),
The Mufti (far right, front row) standing with Musa Kazim al-Husayni
(center) and Raghib al-Nashashibi (left) as members of the Palestinian
delegation, London, April 1930 (W. Khalidi, Before Their Diaspora).
In Lebanon in 1949.
X Illustrations
With Jamal 'Abd al-Nasir, President of Egypt (right) and Shukri al-Quwa-
tli, President of Syria, Cairo, 1958.
The Mufti with King Husayn of Jordan, Amman, 1967.
In Beirut, June 1974, weeks before the Mufti's death.
Preface
Muhammad Amin al-Husayni (1895-1974), the Mufti of Jerusalem, was
the principal leader of the Palestinian national movement and a popular
personality in the Arab world during most of the years of British rule over
Palestine (1917-1948). Yet the accounts of his life are barely adequate.
The absence of a balanced consideration of al-Husayni's political career is
not remarkable in view of the passion his name has always inspired.
The biographers of the Mufti, also known as al-Hajj Amin, often told
us more about themselves than about the Palestinian leader. They were
written by Jewish nationalists, such as Moshe Pearlman, Joseph Schecht-
man (a Revisionist Zionist), and Eliahu Elath who attempted to vilify him
and discredit his movement; by Arab nationalists, such as Zuhayr al-Mar-
dini, who lauded him and his cause; or by German national socialists who
portrayed him as the Muslim leader seeking to liberate the Arab and Is­
lamic lands from British oppression. The accounts were so partisan and
polemical that the historical al-Husayni and the movement he led were
scarcely discernible.
These works were flawed further by their meager use of oral and un­
published primary sources, and by the lack of familiarity with the Mufti