Syrian President Bashar al-Assad performed the prayers of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) at al-Adel Mosque in Damascus on Thursday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad performed the prayers of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) at al-Adel Mosque in Damascus on Thursday.

Senior Baath Party and state officials and a number of Islamic scholars also observed the prayers, which were led by sheikh Ahmad Samer al-Qabbani, Director of Damascus Directorate of Awqaf (Religious Endowments), according to SANA.

Eid al-Adha festival, which marks the end of the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj to Mecca, commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow God’s command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

“While the Eid is linked to happiness in the Muslim nation’s life, it has not been that in our homeland, where the Syrians are banned from performing Hajj and where the enemies have engraved pains in our country,” al-Qabbani said in his sermon.

He saluted the Syrian army’s members and martyrs “who deserve to be glorified,” stressing that the people of Syria have been making “miracles” having shown a high level of awareness and resilience in the face of the conspiracy targeting the country.

He called for ringing the alarm bells in the Arab and Islamic world so that they wake up and unify their ranks against what is plotted for the region.

Sheikh al-Qabbani addressed President al-Assad saying that the Syrian people pledge the latter to continue fighting the enemies along his side.