[Above: Arabic letterhead of the Grand Mufti: "Arab Higher Committee for Palestine".]


[Above: Extremely rare signed photograph of the Grand Mufti.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti.]


[Above: Here is a rare color photo of the Grand Mufti.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti and Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig, the German Waffen-SS officer who commanded the 13th SS Division Handschar]


[Above: The Mufti and Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig (far left), Neuhammer, Saxony, 1943.]


SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig, commander of the Handschar Division, had this to say to his men before the division entered into Bosnia in mid-February 1944:

'We have now reached the Bosnian frontier and will [soon] begin the march into the homeland.

I was recently able to travel throughout almost all of Bosnia. What I saw shocked me. The fields lay uncultivated, the villages burned out and destroyed. The few remaining inhabitants live in cellars or underground shelters. Misery reigns in the refugee camps as I’ve never before seen in my life. This must be changed through swift and energetic action.

The necessity of our task has only become greater through what I have witnessed. The task demands that each and every one of you perform your duty - only then can we carry it out. The Führer has provided you with his best weapons. Not only do you [have these] in your hands, but above all you have an idea in your hearts - to liberate the homeland.

I also saw some of your fathers. Their eyes, when I told them that I was your division commander, shined as brightly as yours…

Before long, each of you shall be standing in the place that you call home, as a soldier and a gentleman; standing firm as a defender of the idea of saving the culture of Europe - the idea of Adolf Hitler.

I wish every one of you "soldier’s luck” and know… that you will be loyal until the end.'

[Above: This picture shows the Grand Mufti and SS Brigadefuehrer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig (the commander of the Bosnian Muslim Nazi Waffen-SS Division Handschar). The photo was taken in Yugoslavia in 1943. Courtesy of the Bundesarchiv.]



[Above: The Grand Mufti and SS Brigadefuehrer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti and SS Brigadefuehrer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti and SS Brigadefuehrer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti poses with officers and soldiers of the Waffen-SS Handschar Division. November, 1943. The Grand Mufti visited the division during its time at Neuhammer Training Grounds.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti with the leader of the SS Heinrich Himmler.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti with the leader of the SS Heinrich Himmler. Circa 1943.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti and Himmler. Poor quality picture, but interesting nonetheless.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers in November 1943]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers in November 1943]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers in November 1943]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers in November 1943]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers at the firing range in November 1943. Courtesy of the Bundesarchiv.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers operating an anti-aircraft gun. To the left of the Grand Mufti is Sturmbannführer Hussein Dzozo (wearing the fez).]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers at the firing range in November 1943.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers at the firing range in November 1943.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers on parade.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti saluting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers in November 1943]


[Above: Here is a magazine, the Wiener Illustrierte, from January 1944 showing The Grand Mufti and the Waffen-SS.]

[Above: Here is the original picture used for the above magazine. Circa November 1943.]


[Above: Here is another periodical, the Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, featuring the Grand Mufti during his visit to Berlin.]

[Above: A larger, but lower quality picture of the above.]


[Above: Another picture of the Mufti in Berlin.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti inspecting Bosnian Waffen-SS volunteers.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti meeting with Muslim volunteers, including the Legion of Azerbaijan, at the opening of the Islamic Central Institute in Berlin on December 18, 1942.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti meeting with Muslim volunteers.]


[Above: Second from left is Sturmbannführer Hussein Dzozo.]


[Above: Full view]

[Above: (identified people in photo, left to right) Ambassador to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Fritz Grobba (in dark uniform with dagger), Croatian politician, writer and one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian Ustaša movement Mile Budak (second from right) and German diplomat Martin Luther (far right).]


[Above: The Grand Mufti Amin al-Husseini with Fritz Grobba (left), the German ambassador to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.]



[Above: The Grand Mufti with Ismet Muftic (left), the Mufti of Zagreb, Andrija Artukovic, the NDH Interior Minister, and Mile Budak, the NDH Education Minister, en route to Sarajevo, April 22, 1943, at the Zagreb airport.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti with Ismet Muftic (left), the Mufti of Zagreb, Andrija Artukovic, the NDH Interior Minister, and Mile Budak, the NDH Education Minister, en route to Sarajevo, April 22, 1943, at the Zagreb airport.]




[Above: The Grand Mufti, on the far right, with the Centro A, a unit composed of Arabs and Italians from Middle-East countries, October 1942. This unit was assembled and led by the Italians.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti, second from right, with Bosnian Muslim leaders on the balcony of the Bosnian Presidency Building in Sarajevo, April, 1943.]


[Above: The Mufti with his allies in Germany. Second from right is Rasem Khalidi, the Mufti's aid.]


[Above: The Mufti had an aura that transcends time and space. His eyes stare at you, into you, from the bloody, smoke-filled halls of 1943.]


[Above: A larger version of the photo above.]



[Above: A picture of the Mufti in a period German book.]


[Above: Another German book 'Amin Al-Husseini Great Mufti of Palestine'.]


[Above: There wasn't much to smile about in the Arab/Aryan/Asian/African struggle for independence, but the Mufti found a moment to smile here. I imagine you sitting down in front of him, at his beckons. You shake his hand and sit before a man who was called 'One of the most amazing men I ever met', by one of the greatest soldiers of any war, Otto Skorzeny. His wise blue eyes look into yours. He senses your weariness. All of the hells from 2019 and beyond weigh heavy on your shoulders. He puts his firm hand on your shoulder and assures you, with a confident warm smile, 'Lay your burderns unto me, comrade, and I shall share with you the burdens of my war. For our great war never ended, and is yours now. They are the same age old battle. For freedom.'


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[Above: This picture is enitled 'Atassi, Husayni and Arslan in Saudi Arabia.']


[Above: The Mufti reviewing soldiers of the Waffen-SS 13th Division during training exercises.]


[Above: Haj Amin al-Husseini and Croatian politician and writer Mile Budak, in Sarajevo, 1943.]


[Above: The Mufti reviewing soldiers of the Waffen-SS 13th Division during training exercises.]


[Above: The Mufti shaking hands with an unknown German official.]



[Above: A very rare photo of the Mufti without his hat!]


[Above: The Mufti meeting with Adolf Hitler.]


[Above: The Mufti meeting with Adolf Hitler.]


[Above: The Mufti with unknown others in front of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, mid-1920s.]


[Above: The Mufti with unknown others, circa 1929.]


[Above: Arab protest delegations against British policy in Palestine. Circa 1929. Click to enlarge!]


[Above: The World Islamic Congress, 1931.]


[Above: Rashid Ali al Gaylani and The Mufti at anniversary of the Iraq 1941 coup.]


[Above: Rashid Ali al Gaylani and The Mufti in Berlin, 1943.]


[Above: (left to right) The Grand Mufti al-Husseini, Indian National Army (INA) leader Chandra Bose and Rashid Ali al-Gaylani.]


[Above: A really cool and rare photo of the Mufti without his hat.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti with Messali Hadj, a famous Algerian nationalist figure. Special thanks to Kaci for the photo!]



[Above: The Grand Mufti at the Arab League meeting at its creation. Circa 1944.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti with Muslim leaders in 1946.]


[Above: The Mufti visiting a village in Galilee on April 23, 1947 .]


[Above: The Grand Mufti, Karachi, Pakistan. Circa 1951.]


[Above: The Grand Mufti, Karachi, Pakistan. Circa 1951.]


[Above: Karachi, Pakistan. Circa 1970s.]


[Above: World Islamic Congress.]


[Above: Yasser Arafat (far right) at the funeral of his uncle, The Grand Mufti Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini. Circa 1974.]