Syria’s Mufti Ahmed Badr Hasson has denied reports suggesting his defection from the Syrian regime. He said that those who \"defect from Syria, defect from the prophet of Islam. Ahmed Badr Hasson labelled the reports as lies, criticising Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Yousif el-Qaradawy of \"financing the Syrian revolutionaries to kill citizens.\" He acknowledged the existence of Hezbollah militias in Syria, affirming it to be a \"normal matter.\"