Born in 1895 (Jerusalem, Palestine)
Died on July 4, 1974 (Beirut, Lebanon)

Religious leader
Politician

Al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the Mufti (Islamic religious leader) of Jerusalem from 1922 until his death in 1974, was one of the most controversial figures in the Arab-Israeli conflict during the period from the 1920s through the 1940s. To some he was a hero, an early advocate of Palestinian independence and a devoted opponent of what some saw as Jewish aggression in the Middle East. To others he was a villain, someone who sponsored early Palestinian terrorism and who cooperated with the German Nazis in their evil project to destroy all Jews. In fact he was a complex figure who was caught between conflicting interests during a time of great change. Over the course of his long career as leader of the Palestinian people, al-Husayni was primarily identified with his opposition to Zionism, the...