The Ottoman Grand Mufti performed a number of functions, including advising the sultan on religious matters, legitimizing government policies, and appointing judges.
After the dissolution the Ottoman Empire the office of the Grand Mufti has been adopted in a number of countries across the Muslim world, often serving the role of providing religious support for government policies.
[2] The Grand Mufti is generally an individual appointed by the state, although the office has collective or elective character in some modern countries.
[1][2] Muftis are Muslim religious scholars who issue legal opinions (fatwas) interpreting sharia (Islamic law).
[4] He was thus not only pre-eminent but bureaucratically responsible for the body of religious-legal scholars and gave legal rulings on important state policies such as the dethronement of rulers.
In the Palestinian National Authority, the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Grand Mufti is appointed by the president.