Jordan king urges Muslim clerics to fight Syria sectarian strife

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday urged Muslim clerics attending a meeting in Amman to help contain the spillover of Syria's sectarian strife into the region.

"You are the scholars of the Islamic world and it is your responsibility to confront the ethnic and sectarian strife in Syria," the king told the group of clerics taking part in a conference at Jordan's Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.

"The bloodshed in Syria should be stopped and the unity of this country, and that of the rest of the Arab and Islamic nation should be preserved," he added.
 

The Jordanian monarch, whose country is home to more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, also called for "takfiris" -- Sunni Muslims who apostate others -- to be confronted.

"I am keen to work with you to implement any initiative you suggest to serve our Islamic World, preserve its unity, discourage Muslims from apostating each other, promote respect among... Sunni, Shiite, including Salafists, Sufis, Alawites..." he said.