DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa on Thursday signed a temporary constitution, placing the country under Islamic rule for a five-year transitional period.
Al-Sharaa said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the beginning of “a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice … and suffering with mercy”.
He was appointed Syria’s interim president, almost two months after his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled Bashar Al-Assad’s government in December last year.
While many welcomed the end of the Assad family’s more than 50-year dictatorial rule in the country, religious and ethnic minorities remain wary of the new leadership.
Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members appointed by Al-Sharaa to draft the temporary constitution, stated at a press conference on Thursday that it would retain certain provisions from the previous constitution.
These include the requirement that the head of state must be a Muslim and that Islamic law will serve as the primary source of jurisprudence.
Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at the Mardin Artuklu University in Turkiye, also said the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the press.
The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation, he said.
Syrian government has also reached an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate them into state institutions, marking a major shift in the country’s governance.
The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad.
In December, Al-Sharaa said it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organise and hold elections.
Al-Sharaa appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after Syria held a national dialogue conference last month, which called for announcing a temporary constitution and holding interim parliamentary elections.
