Syria's Mufti: Al-Bouti's blood will be burning fire against killers

Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badr-Eddin Hassoun, said the blood of scholar Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti "will be a fire burning in the Arab and Islamic worlds against all those who issued fatwas for killing our people in the Levant." Speaking in an interview with the Syrian TV, Hassoun stressed that al-Bouti "is the martyr of mihrab (prayer niche) and will remain the symbol of pious advocates." "Islam will not die and Syria won't bow, and I say to those who send arms into Syria: 'You will not undermine the pillar of Islam in Syria. Islam will remain pure and the Syrian people will remain steadfast," said Hassoun. Reminding of what al-Bouti said a week ago addressing "those who call themselves mujahideen", the Mufti "don't you see you stand, you are taking the sides of the foreign ministers of Britain, France and the US." "We haven't taken the side of an authority or a rule, we are taking the side of a homeland against which all guns of the world are directed to destroy it," said Hassoun. The Mufti addressed the Islamic world scholars at al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt and the Islamic World Association, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Muslim scholars unions, saying "If you keep silent today over the assassination of our sheikh, then in your silence you are complicit in the killing of 100 thousand martyrs in Syria." Earlier, Ministry of Awkaf ( Religious Endowments ), Syria scholars, intellectuals, teachers and the Levant Scholars' Union announced the death of scholar al-Bouti who was martyred while giving a religious lesson in al-Iman mosque. "The malicious hands of traitors killed the great Scholar because he was the voice of Syria, the right of Syria and the image of Syria.. they targeted his body, but they didn't target his mentality or spirit," Minister of Awkaf Mohammad Abdul-Satar al-Sayyed said in a statement.