Sheikh Muhammad ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Jisr (; 1881–1934) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the

Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon The legislative speaker of Lebanon is the highest office in the legislative body of Lebanon. The current legislative body is the Parliament of Lebanon, headed by the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, officially called the President of the Cham ...

from 18 October 1927 to 10 May 1932.

Early years

Born in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

during the Ottoman rule, al-Jisr was the son of Sheikh Husayn al-Jisr, an editor in Tripoli Newspaper and the founder of the National School. His son attended it, where he learned the Arabic language and the teachings 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 ...

Political career

Al-Jisr was appointed in 1926 as a Senator for the seat of Tripoli and the Sunni sect after the announcement of the constitution. He was elected on 25 May 1926 as the Speaker of the Senate, where he received the majority of 14 votes out of 16. He headed the Parliamentary Assembly, which was formed in 1927 and assigned to discuss the constitutional amendments proposed by the government. He was added to the Chamber of Deputies after the Senate was cancelled, which became the only house of the Parliament. He was elected as Speaker on 18 October with a plurality of 22 votes, against Ayoub Tabet who received 18 votes. In 1932, he announced his candidacy in the presidential election. The

Maronites Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

, as the largest sect in the country, claimed the position to be theirs, but the Muslims objected to this because the constitution did not require it. Initially, the main candidates were

Émile Eddé Émile Eddé (; 5 May 1886 – 28 September 1949) was a Lebanese lawyer and politician who served twice as the President of Lebanon. Early life and education Émile Eddé was a member of a Maronite Christian family that originated from Beirut w ...

and

Bechara El Khoury Bechara Khalil El Khoury (; 10 August 1890 – 11 January 1964) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 1st president of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption (11–22 Novembe ...

, but many deputies were leaning towards electing al-Jisr. To prevent a Muslim being elected as president, the French High Commissioner suspended the constitution and dissolved both the parliament and the government, keeping

Charles Debbas Charles Debbas (; 16 April 1884 – 22 August 1935) was a Greek Orthodox Lebanese political figure. He was the first President of Lebanon (before independence) and served from 1 September 1926 to 2 January 1934, under the French Mandate of Lebano ...

, the current president, in office. Following this decision, al-Jisr retired from politics and died in 1934.

References

{{Authority control Lebanese Sunni politicians Lebanese Sunni clerics Legislative speakers of Lebanon 1881 births 1934 deaths