Crackdown on Islamic Groups

The Syrian security services are cracking down on Islamic associations and movements in Syria, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on November 16.



The website published a statement by the Democratic Islamic Trend in Syria claiming that the security agencies had forced at least 12 individuals, including leading religious figures, to step down from posts in various Muslim associations, and several of these had been dissolved.



Meanwhile, Syria’s religious affairs ministry has informed female religious teachers in mosques that they need to obtain permission from the security services or risk having their classes cancelled.