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Sheikh ul-Islam (Shaykh al-Islam, Sheikhul Islam, Shaikh al-Islam, Şeyhülislam) is a title of superior authority in the issues of Islam.
The title was supposed to be bestowed upon those followers of the Book of God who acquired deep knowledge of its principles as well as of different views of prominent scholars and thus may carry over the laws extracted from the text unto others. It was also given to people of age, wise in Islam and reputable among peers.
The great hafiz Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi writes that since the 8th century this title was given to great numbers of people, even without due merit, neither age nor wisdom, who governed Islamic affairs in larger communities or simply were High Judges qadis, e.g., in towns.citation needed
Later it became a prestigious position in the Caliphate state of the Ottoman Empire, that governed religious affairs of the state.
After the National Assembly of Turkey was established in 1920, this office was in the Shar’iyya wa Awqaf Ministry until 1924, when the Ministry was abolished due to separation of religion from state, the office was replaced by the Presidency of Religious Affairs. As the successor entity to the Office of the Shaykh al-Islam, the Presidency of Religious Affairs, is the most authoritative entity in Turkey in relation to Sunni Islam.
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