Syrian Mufti OKs Soldiers Raping Rebels' Wives; Thousands of Women Already Raped in Syrian War

Reports of thousands of rapes in the Syrian civil war have been documented by human rights groups who are monitoring the situation on the ground. A deputy of the Chief Mufti of Syria has now issued a religious decree that it is permissible -- and even encouraged -- to rape the wives and daughters of rebel troops and supporters, the Inquisitr website reports today (January 4, 2014).

The Syrian civil war -- which is now in its third year -- has left more than 130,00 dead and millions of people homeless or displaced. This new edict issued by Sheikh Abd al-Rahman Ali al-Dala -- aide to the chief mufti of Syria, who is loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad -- will only make matters worse.

When asked about how Syrian soldiers should treat women related to Syrian rebels, Al-Dala said that soldiers loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad have permission to marry unmarried and married women who are sisters and mothers of rebel soldiers. He said the Syrian soldiers are not required to perform any type of official ceremony to be considered "married" to the women.

According to testimony from captured rebel soldiers and captains before they were executed, rape was very common in Syria's civil war long before the new religious edict. The system in place is that Syrian soldiers are to bring the attractive girls to their commanders for evaluation. The evaluations are to determine if the captains want to rape the women or if the soldiers can have them.