HTS dismisses imam in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The Salvation Government, the civil wing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), has dismissed a mosque imam in the village of Josef, south of Idlib, northwest Syria, because he criticized the policy of the Salvation Government and the imposed restrictions on the people of the region.
The Ministry of Endowments of the Salvation Government dismissed Sheikh Saleh al-Youssef, imam of al-Rahman Mosque in Josef village, after he criticized HTS and the Salvation Government during his Friday sermon, local sources told North Press.
During the sermon, the imam criticized the practices of the Salvation Government’s institutions accusing them of restricting the population he also spoke about the injustice, corruption and starvation that HTS pursues on the population in its areas of control, according to the source.
The sources indicated that HTS members and security forces threatened, insulted and criticized the sheikh before he was dismissed from the mosque.
On 20 December, the Ministry of Endowments of the Salvation Government dismissed the imam of Zahra’ Mosque in the city of Binnish, Sheikh Abu Jaber after he criticized HTS and the Salvation Government during his Friday sermon.
The HTS, through the Ministry of Endowments, unifies and defines the topics of the Friday sermon in all mosques in Idlib, according to eyewitnesses.
Recently, the process of appointing young imams affiliated with the HTS has declined, since it appoints recent graduates from the Faculty of Sharia at Idlib University who adopt its ideas.
The HTS effectively controls all of the Syrian opposition-held areas in Idlib governorate and parts of other governorates, and it runs them through the Salvation Government that was established in Idlib in late 2017.
The HTS is accused of committing violations against residents in its areas of control.