Ahmad Kaftaru
Ahmad Kaftaru | |
|---|---|
أحمد كفتارو | |
 | |
| Title | Grand Mufti of Syria |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1912 or 1915 |
| Died | 1 September 2004 |
| Religion | Islam |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Spouse | Hawa Mili Sabah al-Jabri |
| Parent | Amin Kaftaru |
| Denomination | Sunni Islam |
| School | Shafi'i |
| Creed | Ash'ari |
| Tariqa | Naqshbandi[1] |
| Relations | Asma Mahmoud Kuftaro (granddaughter) |
| Muslim leader | |
| Period in office | 4 November 1964 – 1 September 2004 |
| Predecessor | Muhammad Abu al-Yusr |
| Successor | Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun |
Ahmad Kaftaru (Arabic: أحمد كفتارو, romanized: ʾAḥmad Kaftārū; December 1915 – 1 September 2004) was a Syrian Islamic scholar who served as the grand mufti of Syria, the highest officially appointed Sunni Muslim representative of the Fatwa-Administration in the Syrian Ministry of Auqaf in Syria. Kaftaru was a Sunni Muslim belonging to the Naqshbandi Sufi order.[2]
Early life and family
[edit]The family of Kaftaru is Kurdish who have their origins in the village of Karma in Ömerli District of Mardin Province, Turkey.[3][4][5] In 1878, the Kaftaru family moved to Damascus and settled near the Abu al-Nur mosque in the Kurdish quarter. Kaftaru's father, Amin Kaftaru, received a traditional education and started working at the Sa'id Pasha mosque.
His first wife was Najiya Sinjabi and he had four sons and two daughters with her: Musa, Taufiq, Ahmad, Ibrahim, Zaynab and Fatima. With his second wife, Is'af Badir, he had three children, Rabi'SS, Abd al-Qadir and Rabi'a.[6]
Classic education in Damascus
[edit]Kaftaru's father insisted that he first receive a classical education in Quran, Tafsir, Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence, namely Shafi'i school with Muslim scholars in Damascus.[7]
Career in the Ifta' Administration
[edit]In 1948, Kaftaru worked as a mosque teacher in Quneitra before moving to Damascus in 1950.[citation needed] Two years later, he became Mufti of the Shafi'i Madhhab in Damascus and a member of the Higher Ifta Council under Colonel Adib al-Shishakli.[8] Kaftaru's political instinct aligned him with the Syrian Ba'ath Party in 1955. He reportedly supported the Baath Party candidate in the 1955 election for an open seat in parliament.[citation needed]
Advocacy of interreligious dialogue
[edit]Ahmad Kaftaru advocated interreligious dialogue. He visited many countries as a representative of Syrian state Islam, including a 1985 visit with the Pope in Rome.[citation needed] He signed the Amman Message, a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27 Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II of Jordan.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Annabelle Boettcher, Syria's Sunni Islam under Hafiz al-Asad. E-book, Amazon-Kindle, 2015
- ^ Annabelle Boettcher, Syria's Sunni Islam under Hafiz al-Asad. E-book, Amazon-Kindle, 2015
- ^ Raphael Lefevre, Ashes of Hama: The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, Oxford University Press (2013), p. 155
- ^ Line Khatib, Islamic Revivalism in Syria: The Rise and Fall of Ba'thist Secularism, Routledge (2012), p. 187
- ^ Leon T. Goldsmith, Cycle of Fear: Syria's Alawites in War and Peace, Oxford University (2015), p. 122
- ^ Muhammad Bashir al-Bani, Al-Murshid al-Mujaddid, Damascus, private edition 1979, pp. 57-69.
- ^ Muhammad Bashir al-Bani, Al-Murshid al-Mujaddid, Damascus, private edition 1979, pp. 95-97
- ^ Muhammad al-Habash, al-Shaikh Ahmad Kaftaru wa-manhajuhu fi al-tajdid wa-l-islah. 2nd ed. Damascus: Dar al-Shaikh Amin Kaftaru, 1996, p. 77
- ^ "Jordan's 9/11: Dealing With Jihadi Islamism", Crisis Group Middle East Report N°47, 23 November 2005
External links
[edit]- Kaftaru Homepage Archived 2014-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Obituary for Kuftaro in Islamica Magazine
- Homepage of Shaikh Ahmad Kaftaru Center, former Abu al-Nur Center
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