A Jerusalemite scholar and preacher, born in 1880, was famous for his academic and political leadership, especially after he graduated from Al-Azhar in 1918. He participated in the struggles of Jerusalemites and Palestinians in general against the British Mandate and led many of them. He died in 1949 in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Birth and upbringing
Abdul Qadir Al-Muzaffar was born in the city of Jerusalem in 1880 AD. His father was the Hanafi Mufti in the city and one of its leading scholars and in Palestine in general, as he was also a supervisor of the Department of Preaching and Guidance.
In this atmosphere, the child Abdul Qadir grew up in a house of knowledge and literature and was raised in a deep religious and patriotic upbringing. His father memorized the Qur’an and taught him the principles of Tajweed and the principles of jurisprudence. He also acquired some knowledge of the Arabic language, literature and history while he was still a child.
His father died when he was 15 years old.
Study and scientific training
Abdul Qadir Al-Muzaffar studied primary and middle school in Jerusalem schools, and was taught by its leading scholars, including his father, who died in 1895 AD.
Two years after his father’s death, he traveled to Cairo to continue his studies at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, and devoted himself to his studies until he graduated with a certificate of eligibility in 1918 AD. Then he returned to Jerusalem, where he worked in trade in addition to his interest in public affairs.
Political and practical experience
Al-Muzaffar participated in the First World War with the Ottoman Empire in its campaign on the Suez Canal in Egypt, calling for the expulsion of the British from it and their killing.
In 1916, due to his dedication to serving the Ottoman Empire, he was appointed Mufti of the Ottoman Fourth Army. He also became involved in the activities of the Society of Union and Progress, and headed the Jerusalem Brotherhood and Chastity Society.
During Faisal bin Al-Hussein’s tenure as Emir of the Kingdom of Syria, Al-Muzaffar participated in the leadership of the Arab Club and was sent by national commission from Faisal’s government in 1919 to meet Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara.
Al-Muzaffar contributed to the struggles of the national movement in Palestine along with national figures such as Musa Kazem Al-Husseini, who was one of the prominent Palestinian figures and head of the Arab Executive Committee of the Palestinian Arab Conference, and Hajj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time.
Abdul Qadir Al-Muzaffar led the opening of the General Palestinian Conference in Damascus in 1920, which declared complete independence of Syria with its natural borders – including Palestine – and rejected making Palestine a national homeland for the Jews, as was called for by the Zionist movement.
In June 1922, the Arab Executive Committee decided to send a Palestinian delegation to Egypt, Sudan, and Hejaz, headed by Al-Muzaffar. Upon his arrival in Hejaz at the beginning of July, the Hajj ceremonies began. Al-Muzaffar organized a wide propaganda campaign among Muslim pilgrims, which resulted in sending thousands of telegrams to the League of Nations, in protest against the mandate. The British on Palestine.
Al-Muzaffar participated in the Arab-Palestinian conferences, and was a member of the Islamic Conference in Jerusalem in 1928, which contributed to the establishment of the “Association for the Guardianship of Al-Aqsa and the Holy Islamic Places.” The British authorities arrested him in Jaffa after the events of the Buraq Revolution in 1929.
He participated in the Armaments Conference in Nablus in 1931, and held key positions in the Islamic conferences to defend Islamic places and sanctities. He was involved in the work of the “Supreme Committee for the Nation’s Fund” and contributed to the establishment of the Arab Company for the Saving of Lands in Palestine.
After his release from prison in 1933, Al-Muzaffar withdrew from political life and stopped participating in the activities of the Palestinian National Movement and its leadership.
Death
Al-Muzaffar forcibly left Jaffa following the Nakba in 1948, on the eve of its occupation by the forces of Zionist organizations, and took refuge in Amman.
Abdul Qadir Al-Muzaffar died in 1949 in Amman and was buried in his hometown in Bab Al-Sahira cemetery.
