President al-Assad Stresses Importance of Social and Moral Role of Religious Institution against Extremist

President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday hailed the national and constructive role of the clergymen, particularly under the exceptional circumstances currently facing Syria.

President al-Assad was speaking during a meeting with Directors of the Religious Endowments (Awqaf) Departments in the Syrian provinces.

The President also stressed the importance of the social and moral role of the religious institution through spreading awareness and adherence to the true essence of religion in terms of morals and tolerance in the face of the extremist views that are alien to the Syrian society.

Directors of Religious Endowments briefed President al-Assad on the obstacles hindering their duties, with the President stressing the need for cooperation between the Ministry of Religious Endowments and the state institutions concerned to overcome these obstacles and enhance the role of the endowments departments, particularly through giving the priority to the citizens and their social issues.

The directors expressed their faith that the Syrian society is able to overcome the current crisis as well as the attempts at dividing it through adherence to national unity.

In statements to SANA, Director of Lattakia Religious Endowments Fawaz al-Soufi said that President al-Assad has the wisdom and the vision needed for dealing with the crisis in Syria, and that the President noted during the meeting that the recent events showed that there’s a crisis of morals, knowledge and correct religious concepts which were replaced by erroneous concepts.

Al-Soufi added that President al-Assad underlined the role of religious figures in containing the current crisis through their wisdom and knowledge, and that he pledged to provide the necessary support to rebuild and repair mosques and places of worship which were damaged during the crisis.

In turn, Director of Hama Religious Endowments Najm al-Ali said that the meeting focused on identifying the crisis taking place in Syria and the role of religious figures in addressing the public opinion, with President al-Assad calling for renouncing extremism and violence, strengthening national unity, and focusing on the principles of Islam.

For his part, Director of Raqqa Religious Endowments Abdullah al-Saleh said that the meeting dealt with the role of religious institutions in curbing extremism and spreading awareness, in addition to the role of religious figures in bridging gaps and achieving reconciliation.

In a similar statement, Director of Tartous Religious Endowments Mohammad Ismail said that the meeting was transparent and honest, with the directors posing ideas for ending the crisis while President al-Assad listened to them an open heart and discussed their ideas for three hours.

In turn, Director of Damascus Religious Endowments Ahmad Samer al-Qabbani said that the meeting was candid in discussing the social effects of the crisis, in addition to touching upon the important role of religious figures and Sharia schools and institutes.