Arrest of Prominent Cleric Puzzles Observers

A prominent Syrian cleric was arrested by intelligence services and detained for 13 days for allegedly establishing contact with western embassies in Damascus, said pro-government website all4Syria on May 15.



Sheikh Mahmoud Keftaro was interrogated by the secret services’ political security office for attending receptions held by western embassies and discussing religious issues with diplomats without coordinating his moves with the secret services, said the article.



Keftaro was also ironically accused by the political security office of pretending to be a religious expert, said the website, which it added was “surprising” since he is a well-known cleric, it said.



Keftaro – the son of former Syrian Mufti Ahmad Keftaro – has for many years headed leading religious institutions in Syria.



The article gave no indication of when Keftaro was arrested, or when he was released.



It argued that authorities targeted Keftaro to “send a warning message” to other religious figures close to him.



It cited his brother Salah, who heads a religious research institution, as well as his brother-in-law, Sheikh Mohammad Habbash, who is a member of parliament and the director of a centre for Islamic studies.



Recently, Habbash’s centre was briefly closed down by officials in an attempt to put pressure on the cleric and force him to abandon politics and focus on pure religious matters, said the website.



At the time, many observers said the incident was puzzling because Habbash had been defending the political stances of the Syrian regime on Arab TV channels.