Al-Azhar states firm opposition to US strikes on Syria

The Islamic Institute in Cairo, Al-Azhar, reassured on Sunday its firm opposition to any US strikes on Syria, saying this would amount to "an aggression against the Arab and Islamic nation". In a statement it issued, Al-Azhar "expressed its categorical rejection and condemnation of the decision by the American President (Barack Obama) to launch military strikes on Syria", AFP reported. Al-Azhar added that "such strikes would amount to an aggression against the Arab and Islamic nation... which endangers peace and international security." It further insisted on "the right of the Syrian people to decide their destiny and their government for themselves in all freedom and transparency," while condemning the "recourse to chemical weapons, whoever it was that used them".