Al-Sharaa (R) described the reinstatement of the mufti’s office as essential to “rebuilding what the fallen regime destroyed” (Getty Images)
Sheikh Osama al-Rifai has been officially reappointed as Grand Mufti of Syria, the country’s highest religious authority, following the reinstatement of the office by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
The move comes after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, which had previously abolished the position.
Al-Rifai, a prominent Islamic scholar and vocal supporter of the Syrian revolution, was first appointed mufti by the opposition in 2021 after former president Bashar al-Assad scrapped the post and dismissed former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun.
On Friday, his appointment was reaffirmed by the new Syrian leadership as part of broader efforts to rebuild national institutions.
Born in Damascus in 1944, al-Rifai is the son of the renowned scholar Sheikh Abdul Karim al-Rifai.
He studied Arabic language and its sciences at the University of Damascus, graduating in 1971. He later became imam of the mosque named after his father in the Kafr Sousa suburb of Damascus.
His mosque became a hub for both religious and anti-regime political activity in 2011, and he was severely beaten by Assad’s security forces during Laylat al-Qadr prayers that year.
After fleeing Syria in 2012, al-Rifai settled in Turkey, where he became head of the Syrian Islamic Council in Istanbul – a post backed by both Turkish authorities and segments of the Syrian opposition. His long-standing activism and leadership have made him a central figure among Sunni scholars aligned with the opposition.
The new Fatwa Council formed alongside al-Rifai’s appointment includes several respected religious scholars, such as Abdul Fattah al-Bazm, Rateb al-Nabulsi, Wahbi Suleiman, Mazhar al-Wais, Abdul Rahim Atoun, Ibrahim al-Hassoun, Suhail Junayd, Muhammad Shukri, Anas Ayrout, Ibrahim Shasho, and Naeem al-Arqsoussi.
Speaking at the announcement, President al-Sharaa described the reinstatement of the mufti’s office as essential to “rebuilding what the fallen regime destroyed”, adding that the fatwa should become a collective effort governed by a Supreme Fatwa Council to ensure religious guidance remains rooted in both authenticity and unity.
Al-Rifai’s return to the role formalises his leadership of Syria’s Islamic community at a pivotal moment of political transition, as the country seeks to redefine its religious, social, and political institutions in a post-Assad era.
But al-Rifai’s reappointment is not without controversy. He has previously drawn criticism for conservative views on gender roles and the role of international organisations in war-torn Syria.
In a sermon delivered in the northwest opposition-held town of Azaz, he accused UN workers and NGOs of spreading ideas about women’s liberation that he believes threaten traditional Syrian family values.
