{"id":123685,"date":"2025-03-29T06:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T06:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=123685"},"modified":"2025-03-29T06:26:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T06:26:00","slug":"syrias-president-appoints-assad-opponent-as-grand-mufti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/123685\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria&#8217;s president appoints Assad opponent as grand mufti"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) \u2013<\/strong> Syrian Transitional President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, appointed on Friday Osama al-Rifai as the Grand Mufti of Syria and formed Supreme Fatwa Council that will oversee religious rulings on critical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, al-Shara highlighted the critical role of religious edicts in shaping the new state, particularly after the distortion of religious authority under the previous regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is no secret that issuing fatwas is a great responsibility and trust, playing a significant role in rebuilding our nation,&#8221; al-Sharaa said. &#8220;This role was previously encroached upon by unqualified individuals.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sheikh Osama al-Rifai is a prominent Syrian Islamic scholar and preacher, widely respected for his deep religious knowledge and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Al-Rifai has played a crucial role in Syria\u2019s religious and social landscape, advocating for Islamic scholarship and addressing contemporary religious issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has been a vocal opponent of the Assad regime. He has openly criticized the Syrian government, particularly for its repression of religious scholars and its handling of the Syrian uprising that began in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Muhammad al-Qadi<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Syrian Transitional President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, appointed on Friday Osama al-Rifai as the Grand Mufti of Syria and formed Supreme Fatwa Council that will oversee religious rulings on critical issues. In a statement, al-Shara highlighted the critical role of religious edicts in shaping the new state, particularly after the distortion of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":123686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,39,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-home","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Syria&#039;s president appoints Assad opponent as grand mufti<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Syrian Transitional President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, appointed on Friday Osama al-Rifai as the Grand Mufti of Syria and formed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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