A mukhtar (;
) is a village chief in the
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the
Ottoman rule".
According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and
Avi Melamed
Avi Melamed () is an Israeli author, educator, and independent Middle East strategic intelligence analyst. Melamed is an author of two books entitled: ''Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth'' ...
, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures".
They "were not restricted to Muslim communities"; even "Christian and Jewish communities in the Arab world also had mukhtars."
Mukhtars are headmen or clan elders. They traditionally linked villagers with the state bureaucracy. Some of the mukhtar’s duties included registering life events (births, marriages, etc.) and notarizing documents.
Quoting
Tore Björgo: "The mukhtar was, among other things, responsible for collecting taxes and ensuring that law and order was prevailing in his village".
Gaza
British rulers in Palestine before Israel's establishment in 1948 depended on mukhtars to rule. In Gaza, there are still dozens of families that function as powerful clans. These families derive their influence from overseeing businesses and have the allegiance of hundreds to thousands of relatives. The leader of each family is known as a mukhtar.
See also
*
Kodjabashi
The kodjabashis (; singular κοτζάμπασης, ''kotzabasis''; ; from from and ) were local Christian notables in parts of the Ottoman Balkans, most often referring to Ottoman Greece and especially the Peloponnese. They were also known in G ...
*
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
References
External links
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Arabic words and phrases
Ottoman Empire
{{Ottoman-stub