Qabbani: God Willing We Will Celebrate Syrian People's Victory in Heart of Syria

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani slammed on Thursday the Syrian regime as an “oppressor,” wondering how it could “kill its own people.”

He said: “God willing, we will celebrate the Syrian people's victory in the heart of their country.

He made his statements during the launch of a campaign to provide aid to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

“We are here to launch this campaign contrary to the statements being directed against us,” he said in reference to the Musatqbal Movement's criticism against Dar al-Fatwa.

“The Syrian people are the same as the Lebanese people and the Lebanese people are the same as the Syrians,” he stressed.

“This belief stems from our religion and faith,” declared the mufti in his first outspoken remarks against the Syrian regime since the beginning of the people's uprising against it in March 2011.

“The regime in Syria is oppressive and we have never, throughout history, witnessed a regime that kills its own people with fighter jets funded by the people's tax money,” Qabbani noted.

“God and our religion taught us jihad and how to confront oppression,” he stated.

“You will witness the demise of the oppressors in Syria and its followers,” he stressed.

On statements by some Lebanese officials that the border with Syria should be closed in order to confront the flow of refugees, the mufti wondered: “Don't such people ever fear that they may become refugees in other countries?”

“We must fear God and the Lebanese, both Muslims and Christians, should aid the Syrian people,” he declared.

The government has repeatedly announced that it can no longer support the burden of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, requesting foreign aid to assist them.

Some officials suggested that the border be closed to prevent the refugees from heading to Lebanon, but it was criticized by numerous other figures.