President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday said the Syrian people are well aware of the truth about the situation in their own country, opening up new prospects for religious work that distinguishes between subversive fanaticism and genuine faith.
The president’s comments came during his meeting with a delegation of Muslim and Christian clergymen who are taking part in the Religious Endowments (Awqaf) Ministry’s annual conference in Damascus.
"Genuine religious faith," said Assad, "is underpinned by ethics, amity, cooperation and respecting the other as diametrically opposed to “subversive fanaticism".
He underlined the significant role of religious clergymen in enhancing national reconciliations and disseminating a culture of dialogue among the Syrian people.
The president said such meetings carry great connotations on both a national and historic level as they reflect the unity and cohesion of the Syrian society which is rich in religious and ethnic components, attributing to it Syria’s epic steadfastness against the fierce campaign targeting it.
The participants, for their part, voiced confidence that Syria will remain a mosaic of cultural diversity that will be preserved by the Syrian people’s steadfastness and rejection of takfiri thoughts that are alien to the Syrian society.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Endowments Minister Mohammad Abdul Sattar al-Sayyed handed over to President Assad, on behalf of participants in the conference, a draft of the "Fadila" (Virtue) project, the key topic on the conference agenda.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
