A muftiate is an administrative territorial entity, mainly in the

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

and Southeast European states, under the supervision of a

mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

. In the post-

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

states, spiritual administrations similar to the muftiate are called '' riyasat''. A grand muftiate is more significant than a muftiate, and is presided over by a

grand mufti A Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is a title for the leading Faqīh, Islamic jurist of a country, typically Sunni, who may oversee other muftis. Not all countries with large Sunni Muslim populations have Gra ...

. A grand muftiate or muftiate is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the directorate, and oversees the local boards, clerics, mosques, and trusteeships. The structure of Russian- and south-eastern European muftiates were never prescribed by Islamic doctrine, but instead are based on the principle of an all-encompassing legal and administrative order in parallel fashion to

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s with the purpose of regulating the Islamic religion.

History

In 1788 the Russian Empire under Empress Catherine II established the first muftiate in Russia named “The Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly” governed by a supreme mufti who oversaw the appointment of imams and the management of mosques across the empire. The mufti was initially appointed by the emperor, but with a decree signed by Emperor Alexander I in 1817, it was determined that the mufti should be elected by the Muslim community with imperial approval. Most of the muftis, their assistants and ordinary mullahs were elected from the Kazan Tatars. The mufti's duties included overseeing the Muslim clergy, clerical appointments, the construction of mosques, marriages and divorces, inheritances, property disputes, endowments (

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

), cases of disobedience to parents by children, the correctness of the execution of Muslim worship, and birth registrations. With the creation of the Soviet Union the Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly was replaced with the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims. After 1944 the management of spiritual affairs of the Muslim population in Russia was carried out by four independent spiritual boards: The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (Tashkent), The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus (Baku), The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Northern Caucasus (Buynaksk), and The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European Part of the USSR and Siberia (Ufa). The breakup of the four spiritual boards came with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Today, each of the former Soviet Republics with significant Muslim populations have their own independent Spiritual Boards. Attempts have been made to unite all the Islamic religious organizations in Russia into one single umbrella organization without success. In the 19th century the Austrian Habsburgs and Russians expanded into southeastern Europe, carving territory out of the Ottoman Empire and helping establish newly independent countries. The Muslim population in these countries were organized under muftiates in a similar fashion to those in Russia. Today, the majority of muftiates in south-eastern Europe are independent from government control.

Countries

Former Soviet Union

Former republics of the Soviet Union that retained muftiates or "spiritual boards" after the breakup of the USSR: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Four spiritual directorates presided over the territory of the Soviet Union until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The newly independent countries established their own independent muftiates or "spiritual administrations" based on the remnants of the Soviet system, such the Central Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Russia, the

Clerical Board of Ukraine's Muslims Clerical may refer to: * Pertaining to the clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their ...

, the Religious Council of the Caucasus, the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan, and others.

South-Eastern Europe

Countries in southern-eastern Europe who inherited large Muslim populations after gaining their independence from the Ottoman Empire between the 17th and 19th centuries include: Albania, Bosnia-and-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Many of these muftiates or riyasats were established by these countries following their independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Structure and organization

At the top of the structure of a grand muftiate is a grand mufti and his council, followed by muftis and their councils. Independent muftiates are governed by a mufti and a council. In Russia (as was during the Soviet Union) a muftiate is further divided into qadiyats which are led by

qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

s. Directly subordinate to qadiyats are muhtasibats which are headed by a

muhtasib A muḥtasib (, from the root ''ḥisbah'', or "accountability"Sami Zubaida (2005), Law and Power in the Islamic World, , pages 58-60) was "a holder of the office of al-hisbah in classical Islamic administrations", according to Oxford Islamic St ...

(originally an Ottoman official charged with supervising proper weights and measures in markets and the proper conduct of certain rituals). In some muftiates the qadis rank below a muhtasib. Each mahalla or congregation is managed by an elected body called a mutavalliat composed of members of the congregation. The level of governance differs from country to country and even from muftiate to muftiate. In some countries muftis are elected by adherents while in others they are appointed to the post by the council of muftis or appointed by the government.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Islamic organizations Islamic legal occupations Religious leadership roles Types of geographical division