Position: Former Grand Mufti of Syria (2005–2021), the highest official Sunni religious authority in the Syrian state.
Association
- Syrian state religious institutions (Office of the Grand Mufti and Ministry of Endowment (Awqaf)
- Political establishment of the Assad regimes (member of the People’s Assembly 1990–1998).
- Close ties to Iranian and “axis of resistance” networks, including public participation in events honouring IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani and cooperation with Iranian religious institutions.
Loyalty
- Long-time staunch supporter of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad; repeatedly framed the 2011 uprising as a foreign conspiracy and labeled protesters “terrorists”.
- Public defender of Russian and Iranian military intervention in Syria, describing them as “helpers, not occupiers,” and aligning himself with Iranian leadership and IRGC narratives.
Most Notorious Crimes
- Providing religious cover for large-scale attacks on civilians, including a 2015 televised intervention in which he urged regime forces to bomb neighbourhoods containing opposition elements—widely seen as a fatwa legitimizing barrel-bomb attacks on civilian areas.
- Serving as one of three senior officials deputised to approve execution warrants for detainees in Saydnaya Prison; Amnesty International and other sources estimate around 13,000 executions over five years following such approvals.
- Issuing threats of suicide attacks in Europe and the US if Syria were targeted by foreign intervention, effectively inciting transnational violence.
- Acting as a principal propagandist and dehumanising voice against Syrian protesters, refugees, and opposition-held communities, describing them as part of a foreign plot and criminalizing their flight as betrayal.
- Publicly glorifying Qassem Soleimani and Iranian military intervention, which critics argue makes him morally and politically complicit in war crimes and demographic engineering carried out by Assad- and Iran-aligned forces in Syria.
Profile
Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun is a Syrian Sunni cleric from Aleppo who rose from preaching in mosques and religious teaching to become the Grand Mufti of Syria in 2005. Educated at al-Azhar University (PhD in Shafi‘i jurisprudence) and active in Syrian religious life since the late 1960s, he was initially promoted as a figure of interfaith dialogue and “moderation,” speaking at events from the European Parliament to church–mosque forums.
With the 2011 Syrian uprising, Hassoun’s public role shifted decisively. He became one of the central religious faces of the Assad regime’s repression, echoing the state’s narrative of “terrorists” and “foreign conspiracies,” issuing threats against Western countries, endorsing the bombardment of opposition-held areas, and using religious arguments to sanctify regime and allied Russian/Iranian violence. Activists and media widely dubbed him “the Mufti of barrel bombs and executions.” Following the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024, he went into hiding, was tracked by media and activists, and was ultimately arrested by the new Syrian authorities in March 2025 to face investigation for his role in years of atrocities.
Identity
- Full Name: Ahmad Badr al-Din Muhammad Hassoun
- Date of Birth: 25 April 1949
- Place of Birth: Aleppo, Syria
- Nationality: Syrian
Career Timeline
-
- 2002: Appointed Mufti of Aleppo
- July 2005: Appointed Grand Mufti of Syria by Bashar al-Assad
- Nov 2021: Bashar al-Assad abolishes the post of Grand Mufti
- 27 March 2025: Arrested at Damascus International Airport
Crimes & Responsibility
- Religious legitimation of mass violence
In multiple statements and TV appearances, Hassoun described protests as foreign “conspiracies” and participants as “terrorists,” giving a religious and moral pretext for violent repression. During the bombardment of Aleppo, he urged regime forces to strike civilian neighbourhoods where opposition fighters were present; many activists and analysts argue this fatwa provided religious cover for indiscriminate barrel-bomb and artillery attacks on civilians.
- Role in executions and prison atrocities
Amnesty International and other sources report that he was deputised to approve execution orders for detainees at Saydnaya Prison; a 2017 report estimated roughly 13,000 executions over five years, carried out after such approvals. As Grand Mufti, his signature—or approval—was an institutional part of the death-penalty machinery; human-rights organisations therefore treat him as bearing direct responsibility for large-scale extrajudicial executions.
- Support for Iranian and Russian operations
Hassoun repeatedly praised Qassem Soleimani, Iran, and the IRGC, described Syria as being “with the banner of Iran,” and denied any Russian or Iranian role in killing civilians—even when pressed in foreign parliaments about the bombardment of Aleppo.
Legal Proceedings and Sanctions
- Domestic proceedings (new Syrian authorities):
Following the fall of the Assad regime, the new Syrian Ministry of Justice and public prosecutor opened cases against several prominent figures, including Hassoun. He is formally under investigation, with his file transferred from the Interior Ministry to an investigating judge.
Current Status / Whereabouts
- Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun is in detention under the new Syrian authorities, held “in the custody of the judiciary” while investigations proceed.