Sharif Hussein was an easy choice. In addition to his political and military influence in Palestine and the region more broadly, he had already been funding a restoration project on al-Aqsa Mosque that began in 1922, following the damage wrought by the war.7 It is said that he donated 24,000 gold lira, a considerable amount.8 Asserting Hashemite Custodianship at this vulnerable time in Jerusalem was therefore a strategic move both religiously and politically. Indeed, when Sharif Hussein died in 1931, the custodianship was not at risk; it passed immediately and seamlessly to his son, Emir (later King) Abdullah I of Transjordan (later Jordan), affirming Hashemite Custodianship as dynastic. While the Sharif died in Amman, he was buried in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem’s holy sites remains in force to this day, though in different arrangements. Between 1924 and 1948, Britain held sovereignty over Jerusalem, the SMC administered Islamic sites and properties, and the Hashemites retained custodianship, including funding maintenance and restoration. Britain recognized this role, though Hashemite Custodianship remained external to Jerusalem.

Upon Britain’s departure from Palestine in May 1948, however, Jordanian forces occupied what later became East Jerusalem, including the Old City. Less than two years later, in 1950, King Abdullah I of Jordan formally annexed the entire West Bank, including East Jerusalem, ushering in the only period in which Hashemite Custodianship coincided with Hashemite political sovereignty over the city.9 It lasted for 17 years.

King Abdullah I formally integrated the Jerusalem Waqf Department into the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf upon annexation, though this would turn out to be his only legacy as custodian. Not long after, in July 1951, while entering al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers with his grandson Prince Hussein, King Abdullah I was assassinated by a Palestinian nationalist who opposed Jordan’s annexation and willingness to negotiate with the new State of Israel.

Abdullah I’s son Talal assumed the throne and custodianship, albeit briefly due to illness.10 Prince Hussein—who narrowly survived the assassination thanks to a medal on his chest that deflected a bullet meant for him—took over from his father a year later in August 1952. He was only 16 years old.11

Between 1950 and 1967, Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem’s holy sites through territorial annexation was the most direct and, as a result, the strongest. From their base in Amman, less than 100 kilometers from Jerusalem, the new rulers were able to administer and protect the Old City and its holy sites directly under Jordanian Hashemite sovereignty. This meant that the Jordanian king appointed senior religious officials, funded restoration and maintenance projects, and protected access to and worship in the holy sites.12 As for Christian holy sites, Hashemite Custodianship continued to recognize each church’s ownership rights and freedom to independently administer their respective properties, while offering Jordanian state and military protection.

This period of combined Hashemite religious and political sovereignty over Jerusalem’s holy sites came to an abrupt end in 1967 upon Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. But while Jordan lost territorial control, it did not relinquish its religious custodianship. This situation necessitated a delicate arrangement between Israeli, Jordanian, and Jerusalem Waqf authorities regarding al-Haram al-Sharif, ushering in the second phase of the historic Status Quo agreement. The agreement, which stands to this day, restricts Muslim prayer to al-Aqsa Mosque and assigns exclusive Islamic administration (including maintenance and restoration), as well as control over entry and religious affairs relating to al-Aqsa, to the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf via the Jerusalem Waqf Department. Jewish prayer is restricted to the Western Wall, and Jews are allowed to visit—but not pray at—al-Haram al-Sharif according to a strict schedule. Israel maintains overall security control of the holy sites.13

While Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem ended the 17-year direct Hashemite territorial governance of the holy sites, Jordan retained religious custodianship over them. It also retained the responsibility of appointing and funding the Waqf Council, which would administer al-Aqsa Mosque from Jerusalem—an arrangement that persists to this day (see Jerusalem Receives a New Islamic Waqf Council amid Increasing Israeli Violations of al-Aqsa Mosque). In other words, Hashemite Custodianship, against all odds, survived Israeli military occupation, albeit in the form of religious—not territorial—authority.

Then, in 1988, King Hussein officially disengaged Jordan from the West Bank, renouncing the kingdom’s legal and administrative claims to the West Bank in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).14 Crucially, Hussein retained custodianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites, thereby separating religious custodianship from any political claims to Jerusalem, which the Hashemites ceded to the PLO.15 This changed in 1994, when Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty. According to Article 9 of the treaty, Israel formally recognized Jordan’s “special role” in Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, committing to affording Jordan priority in future permanent-status arrangements, such as the Status Quo agreement.16 As a result, Hashemite Custodianship became tied to a treaty, affording Jordan international recognition and diplomatic security as custodian of the sites.

King Hussein, the longest reigning Hashemite monarch of Jordan, served as custodian until his death in 1999, at which time the current king of Jordan, Abdullah II, took over.

In 2013, King Abdullah II signed an agreement with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas reinforcing Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites.17 In other words, Jordan recognized PA political claims to East Jerusalem, and the PA recognized Jordanian religious and administrative custodianship over the city’s holy sites.18 Hashemite Custodianship thus became inextricably linked to Palestinian national legitimacy in Jerusalem, rather than as an external authority.

In the twenty-first century, Hashemite Custodianship remains intact, with the king of Jordan overseeing the Jerusalem Waqf Department through the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf. This includes paying the salaries of waqfstaff in Jerusalem, funding maintenance and restoration projects at al-Aqsa Mosque (the fifth of which has been underway since 1994),19 and upholding the Status Quo agreement. Diplomatically, Jordan raises Israel’s repeated and increasing violations of the Status Quo agreement (see Past as Prologue? To Read Israeli Designs on al-Aqsa Mosque, Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque Offers Chilling Clues) in international forums, and acts as a mediator during crises relating to al-Aqsa.20 The Hashemite king also defends church property rights, including through contributing to restoration projects.

Hashemite Custodianship is for many reasons a pillar of Hashemite legitimacy. While the Hijazi family holds considerable religious legitimacy through Prophetic descendancy, the legacy established by Sharif Hussein of Mecca in 1924 has secured the Jordanian royal family’s enduring significance to Jerusalem. This significance has evolved over the course of the last century in terms of territorial sovereignty, legal and administrative jurisdiction, and political defense of Palestinian claims to the city. Hashemite Custodianship, in other words, is a core element of Jordan’s historic and ongoing relevance to Jerusalem and its Palestinian identity.