Faidi al-Alami
Mayor of Jerusalem (1906–1909)
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Faidi/Fidi/Fedi/Faydi Effendi[1] el/al-'Alami (1865[2][3] or 1881[4]: 117 – 1924[2][3][4]; Arabic: فيضي العلمي) was Mayor of Jerusalem from 1906 to 1909.[2] Among his legacies was having helped improve the city and expand municipal services leading to an increase in construction of Christian institutions and Jewish neighborhoods outside of the Old City.[4]
Faidi al-Alami | |
|---|---|
| فيضي العلمي | |
Faidi al-Alami, in Jerusalem, with his two children, Na'amite and Musa | |
| Mayor of Jerusalem | |
| In office 1906–1909 | |
| Preceded by | Musa Kazim al-Husayni |
| Succeeded by | Hussein al-Husayni |
| Representative of Jerusalem in Ottoman Parliament | |
| In office 1914–? | |
| Personal details | |
| Children | Musa al-Alami (son) |
| Parent | Musa al-Alami (father) |
Career
Before serving as Mayor, al-Alami was a tax official for the district authority.[2][5][4] then a member of the judicial committee that worked with the qadi,[4] and then he was appointed, in 1902, as district commissioner/director/officer of the Bethlehem subdistrict,[2][4][6] thereafter serving in an elected role on the Jerusalem municipal council.[4]
After serving as Mayor, he was appointed to the administrative council of Jerusalem.[2][4] From 1914 to 1918, he was elected as one of three representatives of the sanjak of Jerusalem in the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies.[2][4][6][5]
He also compiled and published a concordance of the Qur'an.[2][4]
Family background and personal life
His father was Musa 'Alami, who previously served as Jerusalem mayor, during the 1870s.[4][5] He was married to Zuleikha al-Ansari, with whom he had two children: a son Musa/Mousa Bey[1][2] (who was assistant attorney-general of Palestine under the British mandate[7]) and a daughter Na'mati/Nai'mati/Na'amite/Ni'mati[1] (who married Jamal al-Husseini[7]).[6][8]
For many years, Faidi al-Alami was the head of the 'Alami extended family, managing its extensive properties and endowments.[4] The Alamis were among "the most prominent landowning families from Jerusalem."[5]