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In the Islamic tradition, a mufti is a professional jurist who interprets Muslim law. When religious muftis were portrayed on the English stage in the early 19th century, they typically wore costumes that included a dressing gown and a tasseled cap—an outfit that some felt resembled the clothing preferred by the off-duty military officers of the day. The clothing sense of mufti, which first appeared in English around that same time, is thought to have developed out of this association of stage costume and civilian clothing.
Examples of mufti in a Sentence
Seyward Darby, Longreads, 14 Feb. 2024
But the mufti made a visit to Hitler, which is often used against the Palestinians.20
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Al-Husseini aided a pro-Nazi coup in Baghdad.
—Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024
The chaos on Tuesday in Benghazi that resulted in the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was set in motion the Sunday before when Ali Gomaa, the grand mufti of Egypt, spoke out
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—Jytte Klausen, Foreign Affairs, 13 Sep. 2012
He was elected mufti of Sunni Muslims in Ukraine in 2009.
—Carlotta Gall, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023
In a flashy video posted on his personal Telegram page, Mr. Kadyrov, flanked by his sons and Chechnya’s official mufti, said 12,000 Chechens were ready to fight in Ukraine.
—Thomas Grove, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2022
Six years into the war, Mr. Putin turned the chief mufti of Chechnya to betray the rebel cause.
—New York Times, 29 Mar. 2022
At the time, Palestinian Arab politics was dominated by Amin al-Husseini, who had been appointed by the ruling British as the grand mufti of Jerusalem.
—Sean Durns, National Review, 7 June 2021
This dangerous group was further stoked by the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al Husseini, who deeply hated the Jews.
—Joseph Samuels, WSJ, 28 May 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mufti.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Mufti.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mufti. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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mufti
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on mufti
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mufti
Britannica English: Translation of mufti for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mufti
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