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" where even non-Arab "Christian and Jewish communities in the Arab world also had mukhtars."[2]

Quoting Tore Björgo: "The mukhtar was, among other things, responsible for collecting taxes and ensuring that law and order was prevailing in his village".[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Amara, Muhammad (1999). Politics and Sociolinguistic Reflexes: Palestinian Border Villages. p. 251.
  2. 1 2 Cheshin, Amir S.; Hutman, Bill; Melamed, Avi (2009). Separate and Unequal. Harvard University Press. p. 73.
  3. ↑ Björgo, Tore (1987). Conspiracy Rhetoric in Arab Politics: The Palestinian Case. p. 46.
  • The dictionary definition of mukhtar at Wiktionary


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