Bosra's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims and are mostly divided between eight major clans. The leading clan is the al-Miqdad, whose members immigrated to Bosra from al-Suwayda in the mid-18th-century. During this era they also dominated the nearby villages of Ghasm, Maaraba and Samaqiyat. However, the oldest clan of Bosra are the Hamd, a largely fair-skinned people, many members of which have blond hair and blue eyes. They claim to be descendants of the ancient Roman governor of Bosra, although other townspeople believe they are of Crusader origins. Regarding land ownership, the Hamd clan owns around 1,000 hectares in the town while the al-Miqdad clan owns roughly 12,000. The latter's members were historically influential in the Hauran region and beyond, having had one of their own in the Ottoman parliament of Abd al-Hamid II in Constantinople during the Young Turks period and in the Syrian parliament during the French Mandate period. As of the late 1990s, members of the al-Miqdad clan occupied the positions of mayor, the chief imam of the main al-Omari Mosque, the chief of the town's bureau of antiquities as well as manager of Bosra's carpet workshop and the owner of the principal coffeehouse. While their members traditionally resided in the eastern quarter of old Bosra, they are currently prevalent throughout the town.