When a preacher Is thrown out of his own mosque...

One of Syria’s most prominent preachers and orators, Muhammad Khayr Shaal, was forced off the pulpit and expelled from two different mosques last week by groups of young men in the congregation. The first incident took place in the city of Qarrah, between Damascus and Homs, and the second occurred in Harasta, one of Damascus’ outer districts.

Let’s first talk about who Muhammad Khayr Shaal is for those unfamiliar, then move on to the details of the incident:

Born in 1970 in the old Damascene neighborhood of Salihiyyeh, Shaal completed high school with three separate diplomas in science, literature, and Islamic studies. In 1992, he graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry at Damascus University. At the same time, he continued his Islamic studies and earned his degree from Sudan’s Omdurman Islamic University in 1998. Specializing in hadith, he completed his master’s in 2002 and his doctorate in 2009.

From the age of 20, Muhammad Khayr Shaal began preaching in Damascus’ mosques, and since the 1990s, he has been a well-known figure across Bilad al-Sham. His continued practice as a dentist also made him stand out among the public. Thanks to his calm and pleasant speaking style, Shaal became one of the most popular preachers in Damascus.

However, Shaal’s rapid rise and the fact that, at such a young age, he was given access to numerous pulpits in the heart of the capital, stem not only from his calm demeanor or smile. Shaal was one of the closest students of Sheikh Ahmad Kaftaru, who held the office of Grand Mufti for an uninterrupted 40 years, from 1964 to 2004. Trained in Islamic scholarship under Kaftaru, Shaal also adopted the Naqshbandi path. Kaftaru, a key figure in the religious pillar of the Baath regime’s rule over the Syrian people, was among Hafez al-Assad’s most trusted figures. Not only did Assad keep him in his post, but thousands of Kaftaru’s disciples filled the country’s pulpits and prayer niches under the regime’s blessing. After Kaftaru’s death in 2004, his followers continued their unquestioning loyalty to the Baath.

And this is precisely where the anger toward Muhammad Khayr Shaal comes from. The young men who dragged him off the pulpit and out of the mosque were furious at his support for the old regime. They argue that Shaal has shown no sign of remorse or apology for his past stance, and they point to the audacity of Baath loyalists who continue to preach from the pulpits “as if nothing ever happened.”

The expulsion of such a famous figure from a mosque naturally became one of the top topics in Syria. Heated debates soon followed, and three main views emerged among the public:

1. What happened was justified.
2. Such treatment of a learned scholar is unacceptable.
3. Even if Shaal deserved it, the method was wrong.

As both sides laid out their arguments, Muhammad Khayr Shaal released a lengthy apology statement regarding his actions during the previous era. In summary, he said:

“I apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words or deeds. During the old regime, we were forced into doing certain things. We were made to do what we would never willingly accept. We acted like someone forced to eat carrion to survive. The Baath regime arrested my brother and many relatives. Some of my students joined the opposition and were martyred. I helped many of my students flee abroad to avoid conscription. I could have left too, but I chose to stay in Damascus and serve the people’s needs.”

This apology — even if compelled — marks the first public act of repentance by a cleric who had held a prominent position under the Baath regime. It is easy to imagine that the Syrian people expect similar gestures from many others.

I asked a Syrian friend what he thought about how Shaal was treated.

“He absolutely deserved to be dragged off the pulpit and out of the mosque,” he said, then added: “But most of our people still listen to men like him. If we want to preserve internal peace, we have to keep quiet. There’s no other way to get through this difficult period.”