SHAYKH AL-ISLAM

Honorary title for Muslim jurists.

Shaykh al-Islam (literally, Elder of Islam) is an honorific title that has been historically applied to prominent Muslim jurists, theologians, and spiritual masters in recognition of outstanding knowledge and/or piety. In the early medieval period (c. 800–1200), the title was quasi-official and conferred on an elite few through acclamation by disciples or peers. Over time, however, the title was adopted by certain highly trained jurists (that is, muftis, or "jurisconsults"), who could legitimately claim the authority to issue a formal legal opinion (fatwa). In fact, although the more elitist, quasi-official usage of this title has continued into the modern period (particularly in the form of posthumous conferral), the later medieval and early modern periods witnessed an increasingly widespread attachment of the title to official positions in state-controlled judicial administrations.

The office of Shaykh al-Islam seems to have reached its apex as part of the Ottoman imperial establishment. By the time of Süleyman I (ruled 1520–1566), the chief jurisconsult of Constantinople (now Istanbul) was designated as the unique Shaykh al-Islam and recognized as the highest-ranking and most powerful member of the extensive imperial judiciary with exclusive direct access to the sultan himself. In 1916, however, the Committee for Union and Progress transferred much of the power of the former Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam to a secular Ministry of Justice, and by 1924 the new Turkish republic completely abolished the office. It is important to note that the office of Shaykh al-Islam has been much more widely and systematically instituted in Twelver Shiʿa contexts than in Sunni contexts. It was first introduced into the Iranian Shiʿite judicial system by the Safavid Shah Abbas I (ruled 1588–1629) and remains today the official title of the presidents of municipal religious courts in the Shiʿa communities of Iran and the former Soviet Union.

see also committee for union and progress; shaykh.

Bibliography

Gilsenan, Michael. Recognizing Isla: Religion and Society in the Modern Middle East. London and New York: Tauris, 2000.

Wheeler, Brannon M. Teaching Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

scott alexander