Islam and Israel Muslim Endowments and the Jewish State Michael Dumper. Washington, DC: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1994, 192 pp.

Abstract

This book consists of six chapters, endnotes, a glossary, a bibliography,
and an index. Although fairly short vis-a-vis the long period that it
covers (from the Ottoman era to 1988), this book is in fact a very valuable
reference work on the subject. The author made considerable efforts to
collect, compare, and analyze the data. However, it seems that the main
title, Islam and Israel, is rather ambiguous and misleading. The subtitle,
Muslim Religious Endowments and the Jewish State, reveals the book's
contents adequately. This title may have been coined by the publisher for
marketing purposes.
The book explores Israeli policy toward Palestinian Muslim religious
endowments (awqtif, sing. waqf) and studies the methods employed to
confiscate and transfer most of them so that they eventually became
exclusively Jewish property. The waqf system played a very significant
socioeconomic, religious, and educational role in the history of Muslim
society. About 15 percent of the agricultural land in Palestine is waqf (1.2
million dunums), as are many buildings, shops, and other structures in
urban areas. The revenue derived from these sources finances important
networks of welfare and charitable services in Palestine, such as schools,
orphanages, and soup kitchens.
The first chapter tackles the Palestinian Muslim waqf system during
the late Ottoman empire and the British Mandate. It indicates the importance
of waqf for the notable families in Palestine and their administration
of it in ways designed to enhance their power and influence. It also studies
the arrangements made by the Ottomans during the nineteenth century
to set up a waqf administrative structure and to develop it under their close
supervision. During the British Mandate (1918-48), however, a new structure,
known as The Supreme Muslim Council, was created in 1922. It was
dominated by the Palestinian religious elite and notables and took a
"national character" under the leadership of Hajj Am1n al ijusayn1. In
1937, the British mandatory government suspended the council's central
committee and replaced it with a government-appointed commission.
These measures undermined the waqf institution and its role in politics and
the national struggle.
The second chapter discusses the Muslim waqf system in Israel from
1948 to 1965 and explains how the Zionist state managed to control and
confiscate waqf properties and resources. In the parts of Palestine that ...