Sheikh As'ad Shukeiri (also transcribed al-Shuqayri, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry) was a Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 religious and political leader in Acre, Palestine

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

 and the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

-appointed Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque.-Ottoman era:...

 from 1914 to 1918, although British Mandate authorities claimed Kamil al-Husayni

Kamil al-Husayni

Kamil al-Husayni was a Sunni Muslim religious leader of the Palestinian people and was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1908 until his death....

 was the Grand Mufti. Shukeiri was pro-Ottoman, favoring that Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 continue to be part of the Ottoman Empire and in 1908 and 1912, he was elected to the Ottoman parliament

Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)

The Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire began shortly after Sultan Abdülhamid II restored the constitutional monarchy after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. The period established many political groups...

. From the latter year to 1914, he served as the deputy of the District of Acre

District of Acre

The Sanjak of Acre was a prefecture of the Ottoman Empire, located in modern-day northern Israel. The city of Acre was the sanjak's capital.Acre was captured by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I in 1517, but the city fell into disuse soon thereafter...

. Afterwards, he held several posts in Palestine's religious judiciary, including librarian of the Imperial Library and member of the Sharia

Sharia

Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 court in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he was appointed mufti of the Fourth Ottoman Army in Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 and Palestine.

Shukeiri rejected the values of the Palestinian Arab nationalist movement and routinely collaborated with Zionist officials, meeting them regularly. He had a part in every pro-Zionist Arab organization from the beginning of the British Mandate until his death in 1940 and he publicly rejected Mohammad Amin al-Husayni

Mohammad Amin al-Husayni

Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. From as early as 1920, in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state he actively opposed Zionism, and was implicated as a leader of a violent riot...

’s use of Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 against Zionism.

In 1930, he founded the Liberal Party in Palestine and became head of the Supreme Muslim Council

Supreme Muslim Council

The Supreme Muslim Council was the highest body in charge of Muslim community affairs in Mandate Palestine under British control. It was established to create an advisory body composed of Muslims and Christians with whom the High Commissioner could consult...

 during the era of British rule in Palestine. One of his children, Ahmad Shukeiri

Ahmad Shukeiri

Ahmad al-Shukeiri also transcribed al-Shuqayri, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry, etc.), was the first Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, serving in 1964–67....

, later became the first leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization

Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...

.