Tunisia’s Grand Mufti Othman Battikh Passes Away
Othman Battikh died of an illness at the age of 81, Youm7.com website reported.
His funeral was held Tuesday afternoon from Anas ibn Malik Mosque in Tunis to Al-Jellaz Cemetery.
It was attended by Tunisia’s President Kais Saied.
Egypt’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Shawki Allam and religious and political figures from other countries have sent messages of condolences to Tunisia over the death of the senior cleric.
Born in April 1941 in Tunisia, Othman Battikh studied at the Franco-Arab school and attended secondary school at the University of Ez-Zitouna spending the first two years attached to the Saheb Ettabaâ Mosque then the second two years at the Ibn Khaldoun school at Zitouna.
He continued his studies at the l'École supérieure de droit de Tunis (School of Law of Tunis). After his studies, he worked as a judge in Tunis for three years and then returned to Zitouna for four years to continue his studies focusing on Islamic law (fiqh) and comparative law.
In 2008, Battikh was appointed the Grand Mufti of Tunisia, the most senior Muslim religious position in the country.
Battikh was seen as a moderate and was critical of Salafism and Wahhabism.
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