Attacks on Clergy in the Syrian Conflict

Syria's religious mosaic of religions interweaves many strains of Sunni Islam, a variety of Shi'ite sects, and Christianity, represented by ancient communities there. To differing extents, preachers, scholars, and other leaders of all these religious communities have been caught in the cross-fire of the Syrian civil war. Usually, the crossing of fire on them seems to be done on purpose. Yet universally, no one claims responsibility, and both sides more often than not blame each other.

Recent high-profile killing in Syria's Islamic Ulema (as of April 1, 2013) suggest a strong dual pattern: those killed are vocally pro-government in their statements or preaching, and are also of the Sunni majority (and thus, it's weakly argued, not likely to be killed by Sunni rebels, even the "terrorist" ones). Most famously was Dr Mohammed Saeed Ramadan al-Bouti, killed along with 52 others by a suicide bomber in his mosque, on March 21, 2013. He had been, by all accounts, the single most powerful figure in urging much of Syria's Sunni majority to stand behind their government, and against the sectarian extremists.

We are not certain how widely this pattern prevails over the whole record of killed clergy. Eventually, this page may attain a decent overview. Until then, it's a stub page with the real content on the discussion page.