Back مختار Arabic Muxtar (vəzifə) Azerbaijani Mukhtar German Moukhtar French Mukhtar Hausa מוח'תאר HE Мухтар (статус) Russian
A mukhtar (Arabic: مختار, romanized: mukhtār, lit. 'chosen one';[1] Greek: μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule".[1] According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures".[2] They "were not restricted to Muslim communities"; even "Christian and Jewish communities in the Arab world also had mukhtars."[2]
Mukhtars are headmen or clan elders. They traditionally linked villagers with the state bureaucracy. Some of the mukhtar’s duties included registering life events (births, marriages, etc.) and notarizing documents.[3] Quoting Tore Björgo: "The mukhtar was, among other things, responsible for collecting taxes and ensuring that law and order was prevailing in his village".[4]
- ^ a b Amara, Muhammad (1999). Politics and Sociolinguistic Reflexes: Palestinian Border Villages. John Benjamins. p. 251. ISBN 90-272-4128-7.
- ^ a b Cheshin, Amir S.; Hutman, Bill; Melamed, Avi (2009). Separate and Unequal. Harvard University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-674-02952-1.
- ^ "Inside Gaza: The Challenges of Clans and Families" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 20 December 2007.
- ^ Björgo, Tore (1987). Conspiracy Rhetoric in Arab Politics: The Palestinian Case. p. 46.