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

Who is Ahmad Hassoun, the ‘barrel bomb mufti’ close to the inner circle of the al-Assad regime?The 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.