Ahmed Kuftaro or Ahmad Kaftaru (
Arabic: أحمد كفتارو; December 1915 – 1 September 2004) was the
Grand Mufti of Syria
The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...
, the highest officially appointed
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
representative of the Fatwa-Administration in the Syrian Ministry of Auqaf in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Kaftaro was a Sunni Muslim of the
Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
order.
Biography
The family of Kuftaro is
Kurdish who have their origins in the village of
Karma in
Ömerli District
Ömerli District is a district of the Mardin Province of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country locate ...
of
Mardin Province,
Turkey. In 1878, the Kuftaro family moved to
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
and settled near the Abu al-Nur mosque in the Kurdish quarter. Kuftaro's father, Amin Kuftaro, 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', 'Abd al-Qadir and Rabi'a.
Classic education in Damascus
Kuftaro's father insisted that he first receive a classic education in
Quran,
Tafsir,
Hadith and
Islamic jurisprudence
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
, namely
Shafi'i Madhhab with Muslim scholars in Damascus.
Career in the Ifta' Administration
In 1948, Kuftaro worked as a mosque teacher in
Quneitra before moving to Damascus in 1950. 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
Adib al-Shishakli (1909 – 27 September 1964 ar, أديب الشيشكلي, ʾAdīb aš-Šīšaklī) was a Syrian military leader and President of Syria from 1953 to 1954.
Early life
Adib Shishakli was born (1909) in the Hama Sanjak of Ott ...
.
[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] Kuftaro's political instinct aligned him with the Syrian
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
in 1955. He reportedly supported the Baath Party candidate in the 1955 election for an open seat in parliament.
Advocacy of interreligious dialogue
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. 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
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
1425
AH) by
King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of
Jordan.
[Jordan's 9/11: Dealing With Jihadi Islamism]
, Crisis Group Middle East Report N°47, 23 November 2005
References
External links
Kaftaru Homepage
Obituary for Kuftaro in Islamica MagazineHomepage of Shaikh Ahmad Kaftaru Center, former Abu al-Nur Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuftaro, Ahmed
1915 births
2004 deaths
Syrian Kurdish people
Syrian imams
20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
Syrian Sunni Muslims
20th-century imams
21st-century imams
Syrian Sufi religious leaders
Grand Muftis of Syria
People from Damascus