BEIRUT
A prominent Lebanese Shiite scholar has said that all Shiites should unite against "oppressors" including the Syrian regime which he said directed its weapons on his own people.
"Taking the oppressors' side undermines the founding principles of Shia Islam. Shiites must stand against oppression. And the Syrian revolution will bring about a new Syria which is fair and controlled by popular will," Sayyed Muhammad Hasan Al-Amin told the Anadolu Agency in an interview in Beirut.
Al-Amin said Shiites had "no one single opinion" over the ongoing crisis in Syria, adding that many Shiite groups supported the Syrian uprising.
"It is a misjudgment to say that Shiites are a one single group. Shiites can make their own decisions and they do not have to agree with political decisions a country such as Iran makes [...] And we cannot even say that all Shiites in Iran support the Assad regime. It is important to underline that this is an unprecedent situation in Lebanon where Hezbollah and Amal try to take the Shiite stance in their own monopoly," Al Amin said.
Reporting by Mounir al-Khatib
