Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments), Dr. Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed, stressed on Wednesday that Syria is facing a multilateral foreign invasion and an international conspiracy with the aim of terminating its existence and territorial integrity. In an interview with the Syrian TV, al-Sayyed said that the fatwa issued by the Supreme Ifta Council is aimed at defending Syria and its people and ending bloodshed. He noted that there is a war launched against Syria, adding that the multilateral foreign invasion targeting the country cannot be ignored. The Minister pointed out that the declaration of the Arab League on arming the terrorist groups against Syria necessitated the issuance of such a fatwa that all scholars in Syria agreed on. He asserted that the scholars of Syria are the ones who inspected the reality of what is going on , pointing out that the term of "Jihad" has been misinterpreted as many people now believe that it means taking up arms to force people to embrace Islam, while it has several aspects in Islamic sharia. "Today, Syria needs the efforts of every citizen to end bloodshed and prevent aggression… we will support the Syrian Arab Army in defending the homeland, and those groups will not achieve any of their goals," Dr. al-Sayyed said.