Syria celebrated Eid al-Adha on Friday for the first time since the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, ministers, military commanders, religious officials and members of the public performed Eid prayers at the presidential palace in Damascus.
In a message to the people on Eid, Sharaa stressed that Syria was recovering after 14 years of war and suffering.
State news agency SANA said tens of thousands of people flocked to Damascus’ squares to perform the prayer.
People from across Syria were eager to perform the Eid prayer at the Umayyad Mosque for the first time since Assad’s ouster.
Damascus Governor Maher Marwan said the country was recovering on several levels “thanks to the unity and patience of its people.”
Sharaa later headed to the southern province of Daraa, his first since assuming his post.
He was warmly welcomed by the locals, who showed up in droves to receive him.
Meanwhile, the country’s Supreme Fatwa Council issued a fatwa, or religious edict, banning extrajudicial acts of revenge.
It stressed that justice can only be achieved through the relevant authorities. This will achieve societal security and justice.
The council made the announcement after it received several complaints about individual acts of vengeance.
US special envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack was quick to hail the fatwa, saying: “Great first steps for a new Syrian government marching toward a new Syria.”
The council also called for speeding up judicial procedures against suspects, the adoption of effective laws and keeping figures connected to the ousted regime away from the judiciary.
Achieving justice and ending oppression are among the foundations of civil peace, it declared.
It warned that individual calls for vengeance are in violation of Sharia law and will only stoke chaos and strife, and threaten social unity.
