Dubai: The influential Grand Mufti of Syria, Shaikh Ahmad Hassoun, was quoted as saying on Monday that President Bashar Al Assad may return to practising ophthalmology after he implements promised reforms.
"There is no such thing as president for life," the cleric, a close confidant of the president, told the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Al Assad is a UK-trained ophthalmologist. He left the profession to assume the presidency following the death of his father Hafez Al Assad in 2000.
The Grand Mufti also warned against Nato intervention in Syria saying it "could lead to disaster and suicide bombings in western countries".
The Europeans, he added, "would be best suited as mediators of the Arab League peace plan".
