Ahmad Hassoun, Assad’s ‘barrel bomb mufti’, faces Damascus court verdict

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkSyria's former Grand Mufti Ahmed Hassoun could face the death penalty when his verdict is announced on Monday. [File: AFP]By Justin SalhaniPublished On 20 Aug 202620 Aug 2026The verdict in the criminal case against Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, a top Muslim religious figure during former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, is set to be announced in Damascus on Monday.Prosecutors have called for the death penalty for Hassoun, who is being tried by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, which focuses on transitional justice cases. His trial began on June 25.Hassoun, who was Syria’s grand mufti between 2005 and 2021, was detained at Damascus airport in March 2025, after he emerged from hiding a month earlier.He is known for using dehumanising language against opponents of the former government and is believed to have built deep ties with state and security officials during Assad’s rule.Ahead of the verdict, here is everything you need to know about Hassoun. Who is he?Hassoun was born in Aleppo in 1949. His father was a prominent sheikh.He delivered sermons locally in Aleppo and served in parliament from 1990 to 1998.In 2005, he was appointed by former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s grand mufti, where he was known for supporting interfaith dialogue and the separation of religion and state.When the 2011 Syrian uprising began, Hassoun threw his weight behind al-Assad, blaming foreign countries for meddling in Syria’s affairs and supporting what he called “terrorism.”Critics labeled him the “barrel-bomb mufti’ for his fervent support for the regime and violent rhetoric against its opponents. His son was assassinated in 2011.Hassoun delivered a series of controversial statements that diminished his popularity and political stature. Al-Assad, without an explanation, abolished the grand mufti position in 2021.When al-Assad’s government fell in December 2024, Hassoun went into hiding. There were rumours he had fled Syria, but he was arrested at Damascus International Airport in March 2025 as he tried to board a flight to Amman, Jordan. Why did he rise to prominence?Hassoun was known for his Friday sermons in Aleppo and his role as a loyalist to the al-Assad government during his eight years in parliament.Hassoun’s appointment as Grand Mufti of Syria is generally considered to be due to the Syrian government seeing him as compliant and non-threatening.Hassoun fell out of favour with the regime even before it was toppled in December 2024. This is believed to be due to his reported business partnership with al-Assad’s billionaire cousin Rami Makhlouf, who was stripped of his empire by the government in 2020.He was also viewed as lacking the scholarly gravitas of many other Sunni religious figures. What were his most controversial fatwas or declarations?Hassoun threatened European countries in a 2011 televised speech, warning that if they attacked his country, Lebanon and Syria would respond by training their citizens to become suicide bombers.He openly supported Iranian and Russian intervention in support of Assad, and praised Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who oversaw Tehran’s forces in Syria.Soleimani was widely disliked among Syrians for his role in supporting al-Assad. Hassoun called him a pious man who “only fights in a place where the enemies of God and humans are: He never lifted his hand against any Muslim; he never lifted a weapon in the face of any Muslim.”According to Amnesty International, Hassoun was deputised by al-Assad to approve prisoner executions in the infamous Sednaya prison north of Damascus. Between 2012 and 2017, he reportedly approved the executions of 13,000 inmates.The final straw apparently came at the funeral services of the Arab icon, Syrian singer Sabah Fakhri, when Hassoun claimed that a passage in the Quran meant that God created mankind in Syria and blasted refugees who had fled the country. Shortly thereafter, the position of Grand Mufti was abolished in Syria; it was reestablished following the fall of al-Assad. What is Hassoun on trial for?Hassoun faces wide-ranging charges including inciting violence and providing religious and political legitimacy for the al-Assad regime and allies and militias that fought on its behalf.Evidence against Hassoun presented during his trial include his alleged ties to the inner circles of the former Syrian government, in a professional but also personal capacity. This includes al-Assad and the notorious former intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk.He is also accused of having relationships with senior army officers and militia leaders allied with al-Assad.Prosecutors also allege he delivered sermons to the Syrian Army in support of the regime and called for violence against areas where opposition groups were based. He is also accused of inciting violence against civilians and refugees in opposition areas, calling on civilians to evacuate their homes, threatening residents of Idlib governorate with death or displacement, praising regime figures involved in war crimes – including the former Syrian Republican Guard commander, Brigadier General Issam Zahreddine – supporting Russian and Iranian intervention in massacres against Syrians and supporting Soleimani and his involvement in war crimes in Syria. What have other recent trials in Syria revealed?Al-Assad, his brother Maher, cousins Wassim al-Assad and Atef Najib, were all recently sentenced to death. The Assad brothers, who fled to Russia after rebels took Damascus in December 2024, were tried in absentia.The question is now whether Hassoun, if found guilty, will be given a similar punishment.