The letter writer questions Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Muslim faith given the brutal torture and murder of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib by the Syrian regime. The writer asks how Assad could allow such atrocities if he genuinely believes in his religion, and notes that wealth and power seem more important to leaders like Assad than their religion or people. The writer tells Assad he will be judged in the afterlife for the crimes against humanity committed under his watch, regardless of whether he directly committed them, and suggests dictators like Assad remove references to Islam from their rule.

1. In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful
“Commanding Good and Preventing Evil"
Embassy of Syria
2215 Wyoming Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008 USA
consular@syrembassy.net
info@syrembassy.net
Ph: (202) 232-6316
President Bashar Al-Assad,
The whole world has been watching your country since the unrest started two months ago. Since
then, you have taken token steps to appease your critics but the news coming out of your country
is so disturbing that staying silent is a sin in our common Islam faith.
I am not here to blast you with Freedom Fighter rhetoric. I understand your determination to stay
in power but I have one question for you that maybe you could answer publicly, assuming this
letter gets into the hands of you or your advisors.
I saw the widely circulated photograph of the 13 year old boy’s name Hamza al-Khatib mutilated,
barely recognizable body. The family showcased before and after photographs of their little boy.
This boy was missing for a period of one month. The world suspects he is not the only victim of
similar brutality by your regime. My question is: When you posed with your wife and family in
the prestigious Vogue magazine, did you consider how you would react if someone snatched your
boy from your arm on the street, raped, cut out his genitals mutilated, his small body covered
with cigarette burns and ultimately killed by high voltage electric shocks. http://www.flickr.com/
photos/joshhough/500731632/in/photostream/
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE75039120110601
As mentioned before, I am not here to fight for freedom for the Syrian people. That is their job, as
it was for Tunisians and Egyptians, and is now ongoing in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain. Expect
other brutal dictators to be held to account for crimes against their people.

2. The leaders of all the above mentioned countries have one thing in common; their avowed
Muslim faith, along with the 1.2 billion rest of us. I am disappointed and frustrated that all of you
claim to be a Muslim, show up on public TV and pray in front of cameras. What puzzles this
faithful, devout Muslim is: How can you pretend? If your faith is genuine, why are you killing the
innocent?
You are intelligent enough to know that in the next life there will be no such a thing as a Jew,
Christian or Muslim or a separate line for politicians with large bank accounts. It doesn’t matter
if you own Syria or you are just a person living in it. One day, you will pass from this life just
like the rest of us, having no more than a shroud, to stand in front of Allah SVT. How can you
justify the torture and murder of this boy even if he wasn’t a Syrian? Whether he was Syrian,
American, Israeli, or just a boy without a family, he was made by our Creator and you had no
right to take his life away at such a young age in such a cowardly matter. He had no voice but,
now, he has the rest of humanity standing up for him. Until now, I had thought you were a cut
above the rest of brutal Middle East dictators. Now I understand that for all of you, the only thing
that matters is money and power. Religion and countrymen are just a game at your service.
For your sake, I hope you sum up a very good answer for your next life. From what I know of
religion, even if you build the greatest mosque of the 21st Century, it will not atone for the crimes
against humanity that you allowed on your watch. It does not matter that you did not personally
kill him. You are responsible for the actions of your regime and for bringing to justice those who
perpetrate such atrocities.
Good luck to you and your ilk in the after life. Do all faithful Muslims a favor. Take the name
“Islamic Society” off your map. Your lectures and actions have no resemblance to a faithful
Muslim man.
Ghazal Omid