Hawzah News Agency- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a new wave of religious friction is spreading across southern Damascus, threatening to ignite a wider confrontation. Video and audio recordings show the Hujaira mosque imam delivering sermons urging nightly protests and openly attacking followers of the Shiite faith in and around Sayyidah Zainab (PBUH). The Observatory warns that such rhetoric risks further fracturing the already fragile social fabric of the capital’s southern suburbs.
The organization released images showing the imam’s direct participation in the demonstrations and confirmed that his statements have fueled sectarian sentiment under the pretext of confronting what some describe as “the expansion of Shia influence.” This climate has raised concerns about the re-emergence of deep sectarian divides in the region.
In Sayyidah Zainab (PBUH) yesterday, a group of protesters rallied against Sheikh Adham al-Khatib—only one week after he renovated and reopened the Al-Zahraa Husayniyya. According to the Observatory, many of the demonstrators were residents originally displaced from the Golan and other provinces who claim that the Husayniyya’s presence “provokes religious sensitivities” and accuse al-Khatib of stoking sedition.
Sheikh Adham al-Khatib serves as a representative of the prominent Shiite scholar Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, known for his moderate religious outlook and consistent calls for Muslim unity and respect toward the symbols of all Islamic schools.
Many Shia residents believe the attacks on al-Khatib are not merely personal but are part of a broader effort to intimidate and marginalize the Shia community in the region.
The Syrian Observatory has urged international institutions to pressure the Syrian government to curb sectarian incitement, protect freedom of religious practice, and uphold the principles of coexistence.
On August 12, Sheikh al-Khatib—imam and preacher of the Sayyidah Zainab Mosque (PBUH)—delivered a strongly worded sermon condemning the “abuses and violations” committed against local Shia residents by individuals affiliated with government bodies. He said these actions include illegal seizure of homes, forced evictions, theft, armed threats, insults, grenade attacks on homes and vehicles, and extortion involving large sums of money—often accompanied by explicit sectarian slurs.
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