The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including Al-Aqsa. The position was created by the British military government led by Ronald Storrs in 1918. Since 2006, the position has been held by Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, appointed by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (2006–present)
Al-Aqsa or al-Masjid al-Aqṣā is the compound of Islamic religious buildings that sit atop the Temple Mount, also known as the Haram al-Sharif, in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock, many mosques and prayer halls, madrasas, zawiyas, khalwas and other domes and religious structures, as well as the four encircling minarets. It is considered the third holiest site in Islam. The compound's main congregational mosque or prayer hall is variously known as Al-Aqsa Mosque, Qibli Mosque or al-Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā, while in some sources it is also known as al-Masjid al-Aqṣā; the wider compound is sometimes known as Al-Aqsa mosque compound in order to avoid confusion.
Aerial view of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound atop the Temple Mount
Southwest qanatir (arches) of the Al-Aqsa. Qubat al-Nahawiyya is also partially visible to the right.
The main mosque prayer hall along the southern wall of Al-Aqsa
A 19th-century chromolithograph of the prayer hall's interior. The mosaic designs on the drum of the dome, the pendentives, and the archway in front of the mihrab date from the mid-11th-century Fatimid reconstruction
