Sheikh Muhammad Hussein is a Palestinian religious figure, educator, preacher at Mescid-i Aksa, President of the High Fatwa Council, and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine. After serving in educational institutions, waqf organizations, and Islamic councils in Jerusalem, he was appointed mufti in July 2006. During his tenure, he focused on the religious and administrative status of Mescid-i Aksa, the right to worship in Jerusalem, Palestinian access to holy sites, and the occupying forces’ practices of repression, detention, injury, and displacement.

Muhammad Hussein was born in Jerusalem in 1950. He received his religious education at the Al-Aqsa Sharia School in Jerusalem and graduated in 1969. He then studied at the Faculty of Islamic Law at the University of Jordan and completed his higher education in 1973.

After university, he taught at the Islamic Orphanage School and Al-Aqsa Sharia Middle School in Jerusalem. In 1976 he was appointed director of Al-Aqsa Sharia School, a position he held until 1981.

This period paved the way for Hussein’s transition from education to religious institutional leadership. Following his directorship, his professional focus intensified around Mescid-i Aksa, waqfs, and Islamic institutions in Jerusalem.

Hussein began serving at Mescid-i Aksa in 1982 as an administrator and preacher. He delivered Friday and holiday sermons and spoke on religious, social, and developments affecting the Palestinian people.

In 1986 he became a member of the Supreme Islamic Council and served as its secretary. Between 1987 and 1990 he served on the Waqf Council, participating in work related to Islamic waqfs, holy sites, and the administration of Mescid-i Aksa in Jerusalem.

In 1990 he was awarded a medal by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and in 1997 by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. ^【1】 In December 2004 he received the Jerusalem Award from the Palestinian National Authority’s Ministry of Culture, shared with Orthodox religious figure Atallah Hanna.^【2】

Muhammad Hussein was appointed Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine in July 2006 by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. In subsequent years he served under the titles of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine and President of the High Fatwa Council.

The muftiate encompasses issuing fatwas, making decisions and statements on religious matters, delivering sermons at Mescid-i Aksa, determining religious holidays, and representing religious institutions in Palestine. Hussein continues to hold this position as of 2026.

In November 2016 he opposed the Israeli administration’s regulation aimed at limiting the use of loudspeakers for the adhan from mosques.^【3】 Although the regulation was justified as a measure to reduce nighttime noise, he stated its true aim was to prevent the morning adhan.^【4】 Hussein emphasized that the adhan is a religious act and an Islamic symbol, and declared that the occupying authority would not accept any decisions regarding it.^【5】

On 14 July 2017, while arriving at the Lions’ Gate of Mescid-i Aksa to lead Friday prayers for Palestinians gathered there, he was detained by Israeli police.^【6】 His son Omar Hussein stated that force was used during the detention.^【7】 Hussein was released the same day.^【8】 During the incident, the gates of Mescid-i Aksa were closed and Palestinians were denied access to perform Friday prayers.^【9】

In April 2018 he attended the 9th International Islamic Bayt al-Maqdis Conference in Ramallah. He participated in the opening of the “Jerusalem Through Documents” exhibition alongside officials from Turkey and Palestine. During the event, a cooperation protocol was signed between the General Directorate of Turkish State Archives and the Palestinian State Heritage and Islamic Research Center.^【10】

In May 2018, during a speech in Tanger, Morocco, he called for the implementation of decisions to sever relations with countries that recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He urged Arab and Islamic countries to act in unison on the Palestinian issue.^【11】 He stated that visits to Jerusalem must not be interpreted as recognition of the occupying authority but must be conducted within the framework of worship at Mescid-i Aksa and the preservation of Jerusalem’s Palestinian identity.^【12】

In July 2018 he condemned fanatical Jewish groups entering Mescid-i Aksa under Israeli police protection.^【14】 He said these incursions heightened tensions in Jerusalem, aimed to alter the historical and religious status of Mescid-i Aksa, and if continued, would increase the risk of religious conflict.^【15】

In October 2018, during a Friday sermon at Mescid-i Aksa, he urged Palestinians living in East Jerusalem not to sell their properties to Jews.^【16】 He deemed such sales religiously forbidden and a betrayal of the Palestinian people.^【17】 In the same sermon he also opposed Israeli police interference with Christian clerics in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.^【18】

In August 2019, in response to calls by fanatical Jewish groups to stage incursions into Mescid-i Aksa on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the time for Eid prayers was moved from 06:30 to 07:30.^【19】 He joined a collective decision to close other mosques in Jerusalem and concentrate Muslim worship at Mescid-i Aksa.^【20】

On Eid day, over 150,000 Muslims performed prayers in the Haram al-Sharif.^【21】 Hussein addressed the congregation gathered at the Bab al-Maghariba gate alongside Abdulazim Selheb, President of the Jerusalem Supreme Islamic Waqf Council.^【22】

In January 2020 he opposed the plan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, dubbed the “Deal of the Century,” in a Friday sermon at Mescid-i Aksa.^【23】 He argued that the plan aimed to resolve the Palestinian issue by erasing it.^【24】 He called on Palestinian political factions to act in unity and on Arab and Islamic countries to support Jerusalem and Palestine.^【25】

In May 2020 he condemned Israeli occupation forces for blocking the adhan at the Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque in Hebron and restricting Palestinian access to the mosque.^【26】 He viewed the detention of Mescid-i Aksa’s Imam and Preacher Sheikh Ikrima Sabri during the same period as part of a broader effort to silence religious figures in Jerusalem.^【27】

In July 2020, ahead of Eid al-Adha, he called on Palestinians to travel to Jerusalem and Mescid-i Aksa in response to planned incursions.^【28】 He held the Israeli occupation administration responsible for any consequences arising from facilitating such incursions.^【29】

In the same month, following the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, he made a statement in the courtyard of Mescid-i Aksa.^【30】 He stated that Hagia Sophia was a waqf of Fatih Sultan Mehmed and argued that the protection of Mescid-i Aksa is the responsibility not only of Palestinians but of all Muslims.^【31】

In August 2020 he declared that visits to Mescid-i Aksa under the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates were forbidden.^【32】 He argued that such visits did not end the occupation and served the political agenda of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.^【33】

In September 2020 he received Ahmet Rıza Demirer, Temporary Head of the Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem, at his office.^【34】 The meeting addressed the situation in Palestine, relations between the Turkish and Palestinian peoples, and Turkey’s support for Palestine.^【35】

In February 2021 he delivered the Friday sermon at Mescid-i Aksa after a six-week quarantine period.^【36】 He condemned the Israeli administration’s restrictions on access to Mescid-i Aksa during quarantine and called on Palestinians not to abandon Mescid-i Aksa.^【37】

In his March 2021 Friday sermon he addressed the situation of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods of East Jerusalem facing threats of eviction from their homes.^【38】 He urged residents to defend their homes and rights against eviction efforts by the Israeli administration favoring fanatical Jewish groups.^【39】

In May 2021, Israeli police attacked worshippers at Mescid-i Aksa with sound bombs, tear gas, and plastic bullets, injuring 305 Palestinians.^【40】 In a statement at Bab al-Asbat, Hussein said the attack targeted Mescid-i Aksa and the Palestinian people.^【41】 He called on the Islamic world to support the Palestinian people and Mescid-i Aksa.^【42】

In June 2021 he characterized Israeli forces’ intervention against Palestinians protesting insults to Prophet Muhammad at Mescid-i Aksa as a “hostile attack.”^【43】 He stated that the occupation forces had violated the sanctity of the Haram al-Sharif and were seeking pretexts to alter the status of Mescid-i Aksa.^【44】 Several Palestinians, including a journalist, were injured during the intervention.^【45】

Hussein asserted that Mescid-i Aksa, including its courtyards, gates, mosques, madrasas, and other structures, constitutes a single religious space.^【46】 He opposed unilateral Israeli administration efforts to alter the status of Mescid-i Aksa.^【47】

In January 2023 he condemned the entry of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir into Mescid-i Aksa under Israeli police protection.^【48】 He said this incursion revealed the political intent to change the status of Mescid-i Aksa and had plunged the area into instability.^【49】

In August 2023, marking the 54th anniversary of the 1969 arson attack on Mescid-i Aksa, he stated that the consequences of the attack and ongoing violations continued to persist.^【50】 He opposed efforts to divide Mescid-i Aksa temporally and spatially.^【51】

In March 2025, ahead of Ramadan, he called on Palestinians and other Muslims to visit Mescid-i Aksa.^【52】 He stated that visits must not be limited to Fridays alone and that Mescid-i Aksa must remain active with worship throughout the year.^【53】

In August 2025 the Israeli occupation authorities extended the entry ban on Mescid-i Aksa for six months.^【54】 Long-term entry bans were also imposed on Mescid-i Aksa’s Imam and Preacher Sheikh Ikrima Sabri during the same period.^【55】

On 10 July 2026, after delivering the Friday sermon and prayers, he was detained again by Israeli occupation forces.^【56】 After hours of detention he was released, but his entry to the Mescid-i Aksa Külliyesi was banned for seven days.^【57】 No justification was provided for the detention.^【58】 At that time, Hussein was serving as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine.