THE ROLE OF THE OTTOMAN VAQFS IN THE SOLUTION OF THE ISSUE OF HEBRON WITH A FAVOR OF MUSLIMS

Authors : Mustafa Güler

Pages : 27-44

Doi:10.21021/osmed.217945

View : 12 | Download : 8

Publication Date : 2016-01-23

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Hebron where is the second most important holy city in Palestine with Jerusalem received great demand and respect in the Ottoman centuries just as all Islamic history. Sultan Selim, who visited the cityafter Jerusalem bestowed and provided great amounts of needs for his folk. From this date, all of directors in the centres and provinces of the Ottoman State took steps for the care and repair of sacred placesin Hebronwithout any delay. In parallel with this precision, these directors revive the previous vaqfs and add new ones when necessary in order to meet the needs of these places  and pay the salaries of the working staff.  Additionally, they allocated appropriation from Surra primarily to the Mosque Hebron and other people worked for vaqfs in the city as well as to a part of the folk just as in Mecca and Madina. Both thevaqfsservices and otherallocationsfrom Surra have continued till late Ottomanperiod. The places in and around Hebron in the period after the occupation, the Jews’ claims and damages to the properties of Muslim and Islamic Works of art bothered not only Palestinian Muslims but also all Muslims in the World. In this regard, in the forming of the legal basis for the holdings of the Muslims’ living areas and in the protection of holy places, the reveal of deed records of the Ottoman archives and vaqfs accounts require an urgent necessity. In this study we deal with the documents of vaqfs around Hebron by covering the previous periods of occupation namely at the end of XIX. Centruy and beginning of the XXth Centruy. In doing so, the original or copies of title deed of the vaqfs will be applied. We hope that this study contributes to the issue of the holy places in favor of the Muslims in the Palestinian cause.
Keywords : ottoman awkafs, hebron, muslims, ottoman period