Syria's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Osama al-Rifai, issued a clarifying statement in response to the controversy raised by a circulated recording of his conversation with an Indonesian delegation, stressing that his aim was unity of ranks and cutting off the path to rumours.
According to what media outlets reported, the recording had addressed an old disagreement with President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, describing them at an earlier stage as adopting "Wahhabism" and hardline positions, before he pointed to their transformation and to his understanding with them.
Al-Rifai explained that the conflicting reports about "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" during his stay in Istanbul had prompted initial reservations, before a meeting that brought together scholars and the group's leadership headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, shortly before the "Deterrence of Aggression" battle, revealed the falseness of the accusations of extremism and takfir, and that the practice of religious rites according to the recognised Sunni schools was available.
The establishment of the Supreme Fatwa Council
After the liberation, it was agreed with President al-Sharaa and state officials to end the work of the Syrian Islamic Council in its previous form and to establish the "Supreme Fatwa Council" as an umbrella body for Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a, with al-Rifai assuming its presidency in order to unify the word.
He stressed that the doctrinal schools and the four schools of jurisprudence all fall under the umbrella of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a, describing Salafism as an authentic component of the Syrian scholarly and preaching fabric, and that scholarly disagreement does not spoil amity. He also considered the "Charter for the Unity of Islamic Discourse" to be a unifying and binding framework.
