Critics say the law would “Islamise society” and transform Syria into a virtual theocracy.
BEIRUT - Major cracks are emerging in the pro-regime street in Syria — unprecedented since 2011 — over a controversial measure that is yet to be enacted, giving unprecedented powers to the Ministry of Religious Endowments (Awqaf).
Law #16, which has the backing of the powerful Sunni Muslim clerical community in Damascus and Aleppo, is being challenged by secular Muslims, Christians and Alawites, who say it is an infringement on state secularism, arguing that it “Islamises society” and transforms Syria into a virtual theocracy.
Backing them, ironically, is Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, the highest religious authority in Syria, who is in an open battle with Minister of Awqaf Mohammad Abdul Sattar al-Sayyed.
Sayyed claims, in private, that the mufti was parachuted into his job, despite lacking strong religious credentials and is useful only when it comes to speaking to foreigners because of his moderate views on religious coexistence.
Among other things, Law #16 would give the minister the right to appoint the grand mufti — a decision previously vested in the presidency — and limits his tenure to three years, renewable by ministerial permission only.
If legislation passes, it would mean the automatic ejection of Hassoun, who has been at the job since 2005. The measure would also strip the mufti from the right to lead the Higher Awqaf Council, as decreed by a law in 1961.
Supporting the mufti’s behind-the-scenes lobbying against the law are a handful of intellectuals and MPs, including secular writer Nabil Saleh, who leaked the controversial measure to the media and was accused of being “a sectarian atheist.” An online campaign, called “I am a Syrian opposed to Law #16,” was begun and some critics are planning a sit-in at the gates of the Awqaf Ministry to voice their objection.
The legislation gives the ministry the right to set up its own venture capital arm, establish investment projects, whose revenue would go directly to its treasury rather than to the coffers of the Syrian government. The Awqaf Ministry is the richest institution in Syria, thanks to the non-stop Islamic charity that it receives and the large amount of property that it owns, all registered as religious endowments since Ottoman times. If the measure passes, the ministry would get total financial independence, making it a state within a state.