Tarif was born in
Julis, a Druze village in northern
Israel. His family has been leading the Druze community in the southern
Levant since
Ottoman rule in 1753. He inherited the position of spiritual leader in 1993 upon the death of his grandfather,
Amin Tarif. He is a graduate of the Higher School for Druze Religious Studies in
Khalwat al-Bayada, Lebanon. He also graduated from the Faculty of Law of the
Ono Academic College, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
University of Haifa in 2010. Tarif and the mayor of
Shefa-'Amr signed a declaration in January 2004 calling on non-Jews living in Israel to observe the
Noahide Laws. He was selected by the Ministerial Committee for Symbols and Ceremonies to light a torch at the
torch-lighting ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel in April 2018. He met with U.S. officials in January 2025, including Senator
Ted Cruz, to secure U.S. protection for the
Druze in Syria under the new Islamic rule after the
fall of the Assad regime. After the
2025 massacres of Syrian Druze, Tarif urged Israel and the
international community to intervene. ==Awards==