Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa: I believe there are universal principles that people should believe in—serving others

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa: I believe there are universal principles that people should believe in—serving others, defending them, and lifting injustice. These are universal values. Islam encourages them, and so do all the world's religions. But choosing a particular path built around a collection of ideas created by human beings—and treating those ideas as if they were sacred, almost replacing religion itself—is something I reject. There must always be room for independent judgment. There is tremendous flexibility. Anyone who locks themselves into rigid doctrines will not achieve good results, because events move very quickly. Every new situation requires its own analysis. Committing yourself to ideas that were written a hundred years ago—especially when many of them failed to produce successful results in their own societies—and treating them as if they were religious obligations... I do not believe in that.