Moas al-Khatib
Ahmed Moas al-Chatib al-Hasani ( Arabic أحمد معاذ الخطيب الحسني Ahmad Mu'adh al-Chatib al-Hassani , DMG Aḥmad Muʿaḏ al-Ḫaṭīb al-Ḥasanī , * 1960 in Damascus , Syria ) is a Syrian opposition politician and was President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from November 2012 to April 2013.
Al-Chatib is a Sunni Muslim and a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. His interpretation of faith is described by observers as being moderate. In an interview with Al Jazeera in 2006, he expressed the wish that Alawites should convert to Shia because they could then follow a faith with clear structures.
He was imprisoned several times due to his critical stance towards the government of Bashar al-Assad and has lived in the Egyptian capital Cairo since his flight from Syria in 2012 .
On March 24, 2013, al-Khatib announced his immediate resignation as President of the National Coalition. Statements made by al-Khatib in which he denounced the lack of support from the Western powers for the opposition coalition are considered to be a possible justification for this step. He is also said to have campaigned against the formation of a transitional government for the opposition. Al-Chatib rejected the election of the American Ghassan Hitto by the national coalition as head of government for the areas controlled by the Syrian rebels on March 18, 2013. In contrast to al-Khatib, the new prime minister is against any dialogue with representatives of the Assad government. According to observers, further reasons for al-Khatib's resignation are his strict rejection of possible plans by the US to divide Syria along the lines of the Taif Agreement for Lebanon or the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina . Circles within the Syrian opposition attribute al-Khatib's withdrawal to the increased influence of the government of Qatar , which supports the rebels and in particular the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood .
The National Coalition, however, did not accept his resignation and asked him to keep his position. On March 28, 2013, he withdrew his resignation decision and affirmed that he would remain President of the National Coalition until May 2013.
Web links
- BBC profile on Moas al-Khatib: Syria opposition leader
- Profile of the Christian Science Monitor : A model leader for Syria? , accessed November 17, 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Syria's opposition united - clergyman as chief. Retrieved November 12, 2012 .
- ↑ Tagesspiegel: Civil War in Syria New struggles and new unity
- ↑ ZEIT: Islamic clergyman leads Syria's opposition
- ↑ Der Kurier: A former imam is now leading the Syrian opposition.
- ^ Profiles: Syria opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib
- ↑ Moaz al-Khatib: ex-imam charged with uniting Syria's opposition
- ^ Syria Deeply, December 16, 2012
- ↑ Syria's opposition elects clergy as chief. Retrieved November 12, 2012 .
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Assad opponents in Syria are forming , accessed on November 16, 2012.
- ↑ dw.de: Syria War: Syria's opposition alliance in crisis
- ↑ a b Syrian opposition rejects the resignation of their boss from the Tagesanzeiger, March 24, 2013
- ^ Benjamin Barthe: L'opposition syrienne à nouveau en crise. In: Le Monde , March 26, 2013, p. 5.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Chatib, Moas al- |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chatib al-Hasani, Ahmed Moas al |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Syrian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Damascus , Syria |