A mukhtar (Arabic: مختار "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 "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
- Kodjabashi
References
- ^ a b Amara, Muhammad (1999). Politics and Sociolinguistic Reflexes: Palestinian Border Villages. p. 251.
- ^ a b Cheshin, Amir S.; Hutman, Bill; Melamed, Avi (2009). Separate and Unequal. Harvard University Press. p. 73.
- ^ Björgo, Tore (1987). Conspiracy Rhetoric in Arab Politics: The Palestinian Case. p. 46.