Sheikh As'ad Shukeiri (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: أسعد الشقيري, also transcribed al-Shuqayri, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1860–1940) was a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

religious scholar political leader and mayor of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, and the Ottoman-appointed

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

from 1914 to 1918. Kamil al-Husayni was the Hanafi Mufti at the time and considered to be pro-British. Shukeiri was pro-Ottoman, favoring that

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

continue to be part of the Ottoman Empire and in 1908 and 1912, he was elected to the Ottoman parliament. From the latter year to 1914, he served as the deputy of the District of Acre. Afterwards, he held several posts in Palestine's religious judiciary, including librarian of the Imperial Library and member of the

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

court in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was appointed mufti of the Fourth Ottoman Army in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and Palestine. In 1930, he founded the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in Palestine and became head of the

Supreme Muslim Council The Supreme Muslim Council (SMC; ) was the highest body in charge of Muslim community affairs in Mandatory Palestine under British control. It was established to create an advisory body composed of Muslims and Christians with whom the High Comm ...

during the era of British rule in Palestine. One of his children, Ahmad Shukeiri, later became the first leader of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

.Palestinian Personalities
Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. (PASSIA). Shukeiri rejected the values of the Palestinian Arab nationalist movement and would work with

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

leaders regularly. He worked in multiple pro-Zionist Arab organizations from the beginning of the British Mandate until his death in 1940 and he publicly rejected Mohammad Amin al-Husayni’s use of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

against Zionism.Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917-1948. By Hillel Cohen. University of California Press, 2009. p. 84 His son, Ahmad Shukeiri, disagreed with his stance, calling on people in 1929 "to fight both imperialism and Zionism". Ahmad Shukeiri later founded the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

, and served as it's head for four years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukeiri, As'ad 1860 births 1940 deaths Palestinian imams People from Acre, Israel Palestinian politicians Arab supporters of Israel Politicians from the Ottoman Empire Muslim supporters of Israel