Muhtasib
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A muḥtasib was a supervisor of bazaars and trade in the mediæval Islamic countries. His duty was to ensure that public business was conducted in accordance with the law of sharia. In the reign of the Sultan Barqūq, for example, the duties of the muḥtasib of Cairo included "the regulation of weights, money, prices, public morals, and the cleanliness of public places, as well as the supervision of schools, instruction, teachers, and students, and attention to public baths, general public safety, and the circulation of traffic."[1]
[edit] In Russian Empire
Among the Tatars of the Russian Empire möxtäsip was a Muslim functionary to keep vigilant watch on the execution of the Sharia. In 1920s, after the October Revolution and ban of any religion, their service were abolished. Since 1990s they were reestablished, but play only religious role, as there is no more Sharia among Muslims of the Russian Federation. There are about 44 muhtasibate in Tatarstan now.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Anne F. Broadbridge, "Academic Rivalry and the Patronage System in Fifteenth-Century Egypt", Mamluk Studies Review, vol. 3 (1999.)
- ^ (Tatar) "Мөхтәсиб". Tatar Encyclopedia. (2002). Kazan: Tatarstan Republic Academy of Sciences Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia.
