Syria appoints new Grand Mufti

Syrian President Ahmed al-Shar' has appointed Sheikh Osama al-Rifai as the country's new Grand Mufti. The Yeni Şafak newspaper reported that the decision was made during a religious conference of Muslim scholars in Damascus.

The forum also established a Fatwa Council consisting of 15 leading scholars, the report said.

Sheikh Usama al-Rifai was born in Damascus in 1944. He is the son of the renowned scholar Sheikh Abdul al-Karim al-Rifai and studied at Damascus University. Since 1971, he has been the imam at the Abdul al-Karim al-Rifai Mosque in Damascus.

In 1981, he emigrated to Saudi Arabia due to increased pressure on religious groups in Syria. In 2011, he was persecuted for supporting the uprising in Syria and moved to Turkey in 2012. Later, Sheikh Osama al-Rifai founded and led the "Islamic Council of Syria" in Istanbul.