Syria’s Grand Mufti and head of the Supreme Council for Fatwa, Sheikh Osama Abd al-Karim al-Rifai, issued a clarifying statement aimed at containing the backlash triggered by remarks he made about the ideological background of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Al-Rifai stressed that Salafism is an integral part of Syria’s religious and scholarly landscape, and said doctrinal differences among Islamic schools must remain strictly within academic debate rather than spill into social or institutional division.

His statement followed the circulation of video excerpts from a meeting with an Indonesian delegation, in which al-Rifai discussed his earlier reservations about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its former leader, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani—now President Ahmed al-Sharaa. In the recording, al-Rifai said the group had once been influenced by what he described as Wahhabi ideas and hardline tendencies, noting that takfiri leanings had existed in some of its circles. He explained that this background initially made him reluctant to meet the group’s leadership, before later revising his view after subsequent encounters.

The comments provoked strong criticism from Syrian Salafi figures, who argued that al-Rifai’s words amounted to an unfair generalization linking Salafism to extremism and takfir. Saudi preacher Abdullah al-Muhaisini, who resides in Syria, said it is unjust to hold the Salafi school responsible for the excesses of the Islamic State group or other takfiri factions, just as it would be wrong, in his view, to blame Asharis or Sufis for the actions of individuals associated with them. He added that Syria has space for Salafism, Asharism and Sufism, and that doctrinal debates should remain scholarly, while the state’s role is to unify Syrians rather than divide them.

Supporters of al-Rifai countered that the circulated clips were stripped of context, and that his remarks addressed the evolution of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s intellectual and political trajectory, as well as the relationship that later developed between the group and Syrian religious institutions that had long viewed it with suspicion. The controversy also revived longstanding tensions between Salafi currents on one side and Asharism, Maturidism and certain Sufi tendencies on the other—disputes that have shaped Syrian religious discourse for decades over creed, methodology and religious authority.

In his September 21 statement, al-Rifai said that during his years in Istanbul he had encountered what he described as troubling reports about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and conditions in areas outside the former regime’s control, which created a sense of caution on his part. He added that a later meeting with the group’s leadership, headed by al-Sharaa before the “Deterring Aggression” operation, dispelled many of those concerns. He said he subsequently witnessed a reality in which religious rituals were practiced in accordance with established Sunni jurisprudential traditions.

Al-Rifai emphasized that the doctrinal schools under the umbrella of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah—including Asharis, Maturidis, Ahl al-Hadith and the four jurisprudential schools—are united by a shared religious framework. He underscored that Salafism is an authentic component of Syria’s scholarly and religious life, and said relations with its adherents are grounded in respect and appreciation, adding that scholarly disagreement does not undermine harmony.

He linked this position to the transformations within the official religious establishment after the fall of the former regime. Al-Rifai said an agreement was reached with President al-Sharaa and state officials to dissolve the Syrian Islamic Council in its previous form and establish the Supreme Council for Fatwa as an umbrella encompassing the various schools of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah. He chairs the council alongside his role as Grand Mufti, following a presidential decree issued in March 2025.

According to al-Rifai, meetings within the council helped representatives of different religious traditions become more familiar with one another and overcome old suspicions. He expressed the view that diversity of opinion can foster cooperation rather than generate new divisions.

Al-Rifai also anchored his clarification in the Covenant of Unified Islamic Discourse, announced by the Ministry of Awqaf last February at a conference attended by more than 1,500 scholars and clerics, in the presence of President al-Sharaa, the Grand Mufti and other religious and official figures. The ministry describes the covenant as a national framework for scholars and preachers, built on recognizing established jurisprudential and doctrinal schools, respecting areas of disagreement among them, and seeking unified positions on general religious matters.

The controversy surrounding al-Rifai’s remarks underscores the sensitivity of relations among Syria’s religious currents in the post-war landscape, particularly as disputes once confined to doctrinal circles move into broader political and institutional arenas. It also places the Supreme Council for Fatwa before an early test of its ability to bridge currents that hold differing interpretations of the history of Syrian Islamist movements and the period preceding al-Sharaa’s rise to power.

Concluding his statement, al-Rifai said his orientation is rooted in unifying ranks, consolidating discourse, prioritizing common ground and respecting diversity. He urged Syria’s religious schools and currents to move beyond the legacy of past years and contribute to rebuilding society and the state—an unmistakable attempt to close the debate before it expands from an intellectual dispute into a wider rupture within Syria’s religious landscape.