Assad Must be Slaughtered, Says Saudi Cleric

Saudi cleric Awad al-Qarni believes that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be killed.

Al-Qarni told the Saudi newspaper Sabah on Tuesday that the Syrian despot should be executed for heresy, and added that killing Assad is more important and noble than killing an Israeli person.

Whoever kills a Muslim faces death, he said, referring to Assad's brutal crackdown against protestors.

The cleric suggested that the Syrian people vote on a referendum on how to best execute Assad. Earlier this week Syrians voted on constitutional reforms proposed by the Assad regime, but al-Qarni thinks that the decision between death by hanging and death by slaughter is more important.

Bashar's legitimacy has expired, he said, according to the Ahlul Bayt News Agency.

What is needed is that he be killed as he is a murderer who killed hundreds of children and destroyed mosques instead of protecting the Golan Heights.

Al-Qarni may even be offering a bounty of $100,000 for Assad's murder, according to The Huffington Post.

More than 7,000 people have been killed in Syria since protests began in March, according to official estimates. Dozens more are reportedly dying every day in the city of Homs, which has been surrounded by government forces for nearly three weeks.

The Syrian army has shelled Homs non-stop and snipers watch the city's streets. On Monday, 64 people were reportedly killed while trying to escape the embattled city, and a total of 77 were killed across the country during the weekend.

A group of defected soldiers called the Free Syrian Army, which al-Qarni supports, is trying to defend the city of Homs, but is reportedly out-gunned.

Al-Qarni, a prominent Islamic scholar, is known for his provocative statements. After Hamas released Gilad Shalit last fall, al-Qarni offered a $100,00 reward for the capture of any other Israeli soldier.

Assad has lost a number of Arab and Muslim allies in the 11 months of upheaval in Syria. Saudi Arabia, more than most other nations, is in favor of arming the Syrian rebels and is pushing for foreign military intervention. There are also rumors that the Saudis are financing Libyan mercenaries for the purpose of attacking Assad.

Most of those killed in Syria are Sunni Muslims, which is also the official religion of Saudi Arabia. Assad's government is made up of the minority Alawite --which is linked to Shia Islam.