Supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a "religious obligation" of all Muslims, whether they live inside or outside of Syria, the country's supreme religious ruling body said Monday, Al Arabiya reported.
The state television quoted Grand Mufti Shiekh Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun as urging all Arabs and Muslims to fight so called "enemies of Syria."
The Assad government had recently claimed in an interview with The Sunday Time that it was the last "secular" state in the Middle East, reiterating that radical Islamists would come into power if the Alawite president was overthrown.
Syria's grand mufti, who is known for his ties to the Syrian president, had warned there would be suicide attacks in the United States and Europe if the international community was to launch a military attack on Syria.
He also lashed out at clerics in the Gulf for declaring solidarity with Syrian people demanding Assad resign.