Assad finishes Eid prayers before imam

A video aired by the Syrian state television on Sunday showed embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an unusual rush to end his Eid al-Fitr prayer before the Imam in a mosque in the capital Damascus. Assad appeared turning his head to the right as he recited “salaam” even before the imam did so. Reciting “salaam” at the end of the Muslim prayer is one of its essential pillars, and it is not acceptable that some recite it before an imam performing prayers. The video showed the prayer lasted for about 11 minutes, a much shorter span than customary Eid al-Fitr prayers. Unlike previous Eids, the embattled president did not pray in al-Amawi Grand Mosque. Instead, he and regime members chose to pray in a less grand Rihab al-Hamad Mosque. Observers said Assad possibly chose the Hamad mosque because it was a more secure venue as the president forces fight armed revolt in the capital and elsewhere in the country. Rihab al-Hamad Mosque is closer to the Presidential Palace than the historic grand mosque, which is also surrounded by old-structures that could conceal opposition attackers. Among the senior officials present for prayers were Syria’s Foreign Minister Waleed al-Muallem and Minister of Religious Endowments Abdul al-Sattar al-Sayid. The prayer ceremony aired on TV was only around 11 minutes, making it an unprecedentedly short one. It was Assad’s first appearance in public after a bombing in the Syrian capital last month killed the country’s defense minister and three other top security officials. Eid al-Fitr, a three-day religious occasion Muslims celebrate after the holy month of Ramadan, has not brought any halt of violence in Syria. The Syrian regime has suffered a series of other setbacks over the past month that point to a loosening of its grip on the country. There has also been a steady stream of high-level defections by government officials, diplomats and generals, though Assad's inner circle and military have largely kept their cohesive stance behind him. And the regime has been unable to fully subdue rebel challenges in the two major cities, Damascus and Aleppo. Assad’s appearance comes amid much speculation on the whereabouts of Vice President Farouq al-Sharie, who was said by some members of the Free Syrian Army to have defected to the opposition. On Saturday, his office denied the reports and said al-Sharaa “did not think, at any moment, of leaving the country.” The statement said he had worked since the start of the uprising to find a peaceful, political solution and welcomed the appointment of Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi as a new international mediator for Syria. Brahimi, who hesitated for days before accepting a job that France’s U.N. envoy Gerard Araud called an “impossible mission”, will replace former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is leaving at the end of the month. Annan’s six-point plan to stop the violence and advance towards negotiations was based on an April ceasefire agreement which never took hold. The conflict has deepened since then.