DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad has issued a decree eliminating the post of top Muslim cleric for the country and expanding the powers of a government ministry overseeing religious affairs.
The new decree, which state media said came into effect on Monday, effectively forces Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun, appointed as grand mufti by Assad in 2004, into retirement.
His prerogatives will be folded into a council that falls under the ministry of religious endowments, or waqf, which already oversees Islamic affairs in Syria, the official SANA news agency said.
The Council on Islamic Jurisprudence will from now on determine the lunar calendar and make rulings on matters relating to religious rituals and rites, SANA said.
The news agency did not elaborate on the reasons behind the move but it comes after years of government efforts to expand state oversight of religious affairs.
In 2018, Assad issued a decree limiting the mufti’s term, previously unlimited, to a renewable period of three years.
It also expanded the power of the waqf minister, allowing him to name the mufti, who had previously been appointed by the president.
The legislation sparked controversy, with many on social media saying it was state interference in religious affairs.
Others said it was a way to regulate religious discourse in order to “fight extremism.”
Syria’s Assad scraps top Muslim cleric post
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Syria’s Assad scraps top Muslim cleric post
EU warns Israel suspending Gaza NGOs would block ‘life-saving aid’
BRUSSELS: The EU warned Wednesday that Israel's threat to suspend several aid groups in Gaza from January would block "life-saving" assistance from reaching the population.
"The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form," EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib posted on X, after Israel said several groups would be barred for failing to provide details of their Palestinian employees.
"IHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need," Lahbib wrote.
NGOs had until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims to prevent "hostile actors or supporters of terrorism" operating in the Palestinian territories, rather than impede aid.
Israeli authorities announced Tuesday that organisations which "refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism" had received notice that their licences would be revoked as of January 1, with an obligation to cease all activities by March 1.
Israel has not disclosed the number of groups facing a ban, but it has specifically called out Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for failing to meet the rules. It accused the medical charity of employing two individuals with links to Palestinian armed groups.
The Israeli government told AFP earlier this month that 14 NGO requests had been rejected as of November 25.
Several NGOs said the new rules will have a major impact on aid distribution in Gaza, with humanitarian organisations saying the amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate.
While an accord for a ceasefire that started on October 10 stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.
