Yusuf Salameh (Yūsuf Salāma) (يوسف جمعة عبد الهادي سلامة) was a renowned scholar and teacher, ‘alim, preacher and administrator. He contributed enormously to religious education and religious life and institutions in Palestine. 

He was born on 16 December 1954 in al-Maghazi Refugee Camp in Dayr al-Balah Governorate in central Gaza. His parents were originally from Bayt Tima, a village 21 kilometers northeast of Gaza. His post-secondary education began at the Teachers Institute in Gaza where he graduated in 1974 with a diploma that allowed him to begin a career as a school teacher. He eventually enrolled in al-Azhar University; he earned a bachelor’s degree in the Fundamentals of Islam (Usūl al-Dīn) and then a license in Shariʿa (Islamic law). Interested in more specialized studies, he completed a master’s degree in Islamic endowments (awqāf), and a doctorate with a thesis on social solidarity in Islamic endowments in Palestine. 

From 1984 to 1994, Dr. Salameh combined teaching with administrative work at al-Azhar University and al-Azhar Religious Institute in Gaza. While teaching mostly graduate students in the Islamic sciences, he held various positions: Director of Public Relations (1984-90), Secretary of the Academic Council of al-Azhar Institute (1990-92), Director of Preaching and Counseling (1992-1993).

Having both scholarly and administrative expertise, Dr. Salameh joined the government of Palestine in1994 and worked in the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs. He spent two years as Assistant Deputy Minister (1994-96) and another two as Undersecretary of the Ministry (1996-98), before becoming Acting Minister (1998-2005) and finally, Minister (2005-06). 

Dr. Salameh played several important roles in religious life in Palestine – as preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque, the first elected vice president of the Supreme Islamic Authority in Jerusalem, and member of the Supreme Fatwa Council in Palestine. In Gaza, he was active in Dar al-Birr Charitable Society and the Grand Maghazi Mosque. 

At the same time, he remained deeply engaged with the academy. He was, for example, an advisory member of the Faculty of Quran and Islamic Studies at al-Quds University and a member – and former vice president — of the Board of Trustees of al-Azhar University. Furthermore, he was a prolific scholar with a publishing record that spanned 35 years on topics related primarily to rights and duties, rituals, practices and rulings in Islam. His scholarship also included studies on Islamic Palestine and the religious dimension of the status of Palestine. And to share his knowledge with the broader community, he penned a weekly column on religious topics in al-Quds newspaper.  Moreover, Dr. Salameh was outspoken about his profound concern regarding Israeli efforts to erase the Arab identity of Jerusalem by, among other things, restricting Palestinian residence and demolishing Palestinian homes and buildings in the city. 

Yusuf Salameh died on 31 December 2023. Over the course of several days that month, al-Maghazi Refugee Camp, where he lived with his family, was subjected to near continuous bombardment. His home was hit and he was killed. His wife and daughters were injured; his wife died of her injuries shortly thereafter. Dr. Salameh was 69 years old.

Photo credit: IPS