Thousands at Funeral of Slain Syrian Pro-Regime Preacher
Supporters of President Bashar Assad gathered in downtown Damascus amid tight security on Saturday for the funeral of one of Syria's best-known clerics who was assassinated in a brazen mosque bombing earlier this week.
Security forces sealed off all roads leading to the eighth century Omayyad Mosque where the funeral for Sheikh Mohammed Said Ramadan al-Bouti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric, was held.
Al-Bouti, his grandson and 48 others were killed Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Bouti was giving a religious lesson.
His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death, saying he would "purge" the country of the militants behind the attack in the heart of the capital.
Both Assad and the rebels seeking to topple him have blamed each other for the bombing at the mosque.
At the funeral, Syria's top Sunni authority Mufti Ahmed Badreddine Hassoun called on "the Islamic and Arab world to save Syria, which is facing a global war.
"If Syria falls today you will be next," he said before thousands of mourners.
The ceremony was led by Toufiq Bouti, the dead sheikh's son, and representatives of key Damascus allies Iran and Hizbullah also attended.
Al-Bouti, the most prominent religious figure killed so far in the two-year-old conflict, had supported the regime since the early days of Assad's father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad, providing legitimacy to their rule. Sunnis are the majority sect in Syria while Assad is from the minority Alawite sect — an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Mourners carried al-Bouti and his grandson's coffins, draped in white cloth, on their shoulders amid shouts of "God is Great."
Al-Bouti was imam of the Omayyad Mosque, a landmark in Damascus. Church bells tolls and mosque minarets in the ancient city blared "God is Great" during the funeral procession.
Syrian state TV said Assad was being represented at the funeral by one of his cabinet ministers.
Al-Bouti was being buried in a courtyard at the rear of the mosque near the tomb of Saladin, a medieval Muslim ruler.
In a show of support, a delegation from Hizbullah, a staunch ally of Assad, drove to Damascus for the funeral.
A delegation from Iran was also present.
"We will continue on the same path," said Sheikh Mohammed Yazbeck, a member Hizbullah's highest decision-making body, the Shura Council. "We will return the blow to the enemies of Syria and the enemies of the nation," he added.
Source: Associated Press, Agence France Presse
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