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Syria: 50-year-old Islamic scholar arrested in protests
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Moaz Al-Khatib interviewed on Al Jazeera TV, calling on the Syrian government to ` abolition of the Emergency Law and
release all prisoners of opinion |
Moaz Al-Khatib, a prominent 50-year-old Syrian Islamic scholar and a leading figure in recent protests, was arrested on 5 May 2011 after receiving a summons from Syrian Political Security services in Al-Jebba, Damascus. He is alleged to have been arrest for his participation in recent peaceful demonstrations. Al-Khatib is one amongst thousands of Syrians calling on its authorities to respect basic civil rights and freedoms. He had previously been arrested on 29 April 2011 for similar reasons, however he was released the following day.
On 23 March 2011, Moaz Al-Khatib gave an interview on Al Jazeera TV during which he made a call for an end to the violence carried out by the security services against Syria's peaceful demonstrators.
Moaz Al-Khatib making a speech during a funeral in Duma |
On 5 April, Al-Khatib made a speech during a funeral in Duma, where he said that "We, Sunni, Shia, Alawite, Druze, Ismaili, Arab, Kurd, are all one body. I am saying to you that Alawites are closer to me than many people; I know their villages where they live in misery and with injustice. We are speaking freely for every human in this country (...)"
President Bashar Al-Assad is of Alawite descent, a Syrian sect which constitutes a branch of Shia Islam. Despite being a minority, the Alawis have predominated among the top military and intelligence positions in Syria since Hafez Al-Assad came to power in 1971. On the other hand, Syria's civilian government is largely led by a Sunni majority, which constitute approximately 74% of the population.
Since protests began on 15 March 2011, human rights defenders and political activists, have been arrested in a State-sponsored crackdown. Protestors are demanding that their fundamental human rights be respected and continue to denounce the violence used by security forces against peaceful demonstrators.
