"Withdrawing the fatwa from the Sunnis" What is Al-Assad's goal in strengthening a multi-sectarian jurisprudence council?

Without disclosing the real reasons behind his decision, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad officially announced the abolition of the position of Mufti of the Republic and the strengthening of the powers of the Jurisprudence Council in the Ministry of Awqaf in return for this, so that many consider this decision a targeting of the Syrian identity.

Recently, religious and legal circles, led by the Syrian Ministry of Awqaf, along with a wide range of activists and opponents, launched a campaign of wide criticism of the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmed Badr El-Din Hassoun, against the background of his controversial statements during the memorial of the late Syrian artist Sabah Fakhri. Hassoun considered, as he put it, that the map of Syria is mentioned in Surat Al-Teen of the Holy Qur’an, and that whoever is born in it is created in the best calendar, and if he leaves it, he will be returned to the bottom of the lowly.

In response to what was stated in the Syrian Grand Mufti's controversial sermon, the "Scholarly Jurisprudential Council" of the Syrian Ministry of Awqaf attacked Hassoun's statements and considered this a distortion of the interpretation of the verses of the Noble Qur’an motivated by whims and personal interests.

And while the reprehensible reactions to Hassoun’s statements escalated, evoked by the similar controversial positions in his past, it seems that the authority decided this time to invest in what many considered Hassoun’s legitimate mistakes, to abolish the fatwa position in Syria, thus raising many question marks about the background of the decision, amidst the contrast in analyzes and weightings.

Targeting the year of Syria?

On Monday, November 15, the President of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, abolished the position of Mufti of the Republic and Mufti of the provinces, referring the task of issuing fatwas to the Jurisprudence Council of the Ministry of Endowments, expanding at the same time the powers of the Council.

Although it is not the first time that the Syrian regime has made amendments to the endowment work law, as before 2018 it strengthened the powers of the Minister of Endowments and set the term of the mufti’s mission, the recent decision to abolish the position of the Grand Mufti has sparked heated controversy.

While researchers and activists see that this is a result of years of conflict between the Syrian Minister of Awqaf Muhammad Abdul Sattar al-Sayed and Mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, experts and analysts, on the other hand, explain the decision that Hassoun, who was known for his support for the Syrian regime and his “cosy” with the authority and his opposition to the protests, was nothing but a link. The weakest on the scene, and the decision of the Assad regime to abolish the position of public opinion is not intended, but rather was merely a pretext for targeting the Syrian identity.

In this context , the official spokesman for the Syrian Islamic Council Muti’ al-Batin said: “The abolition of the fatwa position in Syria is the most dangerous step in Syria towards the Wali al-Faqih scheme, and it proceeds to change the headlines expressing Syria’s identity and affiliation. It is very clear that it continues to weaken and transform Sunni Muslims. To a marginalized minority with a weak presence in all scenes and sites.

Fears were raised about the consequences of the decision, based on the composition of the Jurisprudence Scholar Council, which consists of clerics representing the various Syrian sects, including Sunnis, Shiite authorities, Alawites, Druze and others.

Thus, the Sunni doctrine will not be the only and primary reference for legal fatwas and personal status laws, because al-Assad's decision will thus impose a partnership in drafting the fatwa.

Accordingly, the removal of the Mufti, who is from the Sunni majority, from the center of the religious scene is a prelude to destabilizing the Sunni identity that characterizes Syria, and a direct targeting of the Sunni majority, which contributes to further isolation and isolation, according to the opinions of experts and analysts.

Accordingly, specialists and analysts rule out social hypotheses that consider Hassoun not to come from the Damascene community, or the hypotheses of accusing him of corruption issues or lack of complete loyalty to the agendas of the authority, and the hypotheses of his differences with the Minister of Awqaf, in turn suggesting the regime’s plan to strike the Syrian identity, and Hassoun’s mistake was nothing but a tool and justification to pass these agendas.

Cancellation of the Sunni reference..for whose benefit?

Experts and analysts believe that the decision to abolish the post of General Iftaa has, in fact, another dangerous sign that reveals today the extent of the expansion of the Shiite sect in Syria.

Many sources and media reports have confirmed earlier, the extent to which Iran, which supports the Bashar al-Assad regime in its war in Syria and its targeting of civilians, has overreached the legal and legislative institutions that are subject to the legalization of the Sunni doctrine, and thus the Shiites today become partners in drafting the fatwa along with the Sunnis and the rest Other denominations, under legal cover.

In this context, the Syrian researcher at Jusoor Center for Studies, Abbas Sharifa, said in an exclusive statement to TRT Arabic, "The Assad regime's decision to abolish the fatwa post and refer it to the Jurisprudence Scholar Council, which consists of several sects, aims to redraw the religious scene in Syria in a manner that guarantees the interests of the authority and the interests of Iran." .

Sharifa added, "The Syrian minority regime also has an interest, in addition to all of that, in breaking the knot of the minority regime that rules a Sunni majority that represents the Syrian identity."