Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb called on Arab countries and liberals worldwide to work to stop the bloodshed in Syria, calling the situation in the country “dangerous.”
“It is a shame that our modern history records the current deterioration in neighboring Syria while leaving it to suffer a disastrous fate, while you, governed or governors, are calm and comfortable,” he said in a statement addressed to Arab leaders Tuesday.
The head of Al-Azhar expressed his deep sorrow over the deterioration of the situation in Syria, saying the aggression has exceeded all limits and that innocent lives are lost every day.
According to United Nations estimates, more than 6,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March. International efforts to halt President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on protesters and rebel fighters have stalled amid opposition from two of Syria’s remaining allies, Russia and China.
Tayyeb called upon Arabs and the Arab League to do something to stop what he called “the machine of blood, death, ruin and murder,” and to bear responsibility before themselves and history.
He also told the Syrian people “to have patience and be persistent and not be pushed into violence of an armed face-off in a bad and hateful conflict.”
“Whoever is killed demanding his rights is a martyr as Prophet Mohamed — peace be upon him — promised,” Tayyeb said, urging the Syrian people to “defend themselves and their honor and their children and women.”
Addressing the regime’s use of the military to fight the uprising, Tayyeb said the mission of armies is to protect the people and the land, not carry out oppression and aggression.
“They should know that there is no obedience to a creature of God in opposition to God’s orders and that it is one of the most grievous sins to kill or to spill the blood of a human without right,” he said, addressing his statement to the Syrian army.
