Syria’s highest Sunni Muslim authority issued a religious edict Friday rejecting revenge and urging judicial recourse in the country that has seen extrajudicial killings and sectarian violence since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
“It is the right of the oppressed to demand their rights through legitimate means,” said the edict from the high fatwa council carried by state news agency SANA.
However, this must be achieved “through the judiciary alone, not through individual acts or based on rumours”, the fatwa said, emphasising the need to preserve life and “prevent chaos”.
Seeking vengeance “ignites strife and threatens social peace”, it said, urging officials to “expedite judicial procedures… and ensure justice” in order to maintain social stability.
Since Islamist-led forces toppled Assad in December, Syria has seen extrajudicial killings and bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites and deadly clashes involving the Druze community.
Sectarian massacres in Syria’s coastal region in March saw security forces and allied groups kill hundreds of Alawite civilians following attacks by remnants of the Assad regime. The violence saw 803 killed, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The Islamist-led government has since launched an inquiry over the violence.
The violence has raised concerns over the Islamist authorities’ ability to control radical fighters among their forces’ ranks, amid calls from the international community to protect minorities and ensure transitional justice.
This week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three Alawites were killed and properties torched in a security operation in Latakia province, while eight others were killed at a checkpoint and five were found dead after previously being detained.
“Security forces descended on the town of Beit Aana on Wednesday evening” and set fire to homes “as well as a school, a shopping area and a sports club during a security operation,” said the Britain-based monitor.
“Two young men from the village, one of them with special needs, were shot dead” during the operation, while the body of a third man was also found with gunshot wounds, added the Observatory.
Many Alawites fear reprisals for decades of brutal rule by the Assad family, who are members of the minority sect.
The new authorities have sought to revitalise crumbling public institutions and have announced the formation of commissions for missing persons and transitional justice.
