Kurdistan
People react during a sermon delivered by Haval Faris Mawlud at a mosque in Sulaimani on January 16, 2026. Photo: screengrab/submitted
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Security forces in Sulaimani arrested a mosque preacher for remarks deemed offensive toward Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava), which faces escalating Syrian Arab Army attacks, causing mass displacement of Kurds.
Karzan Sherko, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Security Agency (Asayish) in Sulaimani, told Rudaw that a volunteer preacher at the Bakhtawari Mosque, Haval Faris Mawlud, was detained under Article 240 of the Iraqi Penal Code. The code penalizes anyone violating an official public order with detentions of up to six months or a maximum 100,000 Iraqi dinar (approximately $76) fine.
Security regulations prohibit using the pulpit for incitement or disturbing public order, or for causing unrest in public places, such as mosques. Mosque preachers are regulated by the religious endowment ministry and other authorities.
“After investigations, it was revealed that the aforementioned [Mawlud] in today's sermon used some inappropriate phrases against the Kurds of Rojava,” he said.
The remarks that led to Mawlud’s arrest have not revealed by authorities at the time of writing this article.
The Syrian army is preparing to advance on Kurdish-held positions in northern Syria after seizing Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods earlier this week, displacing an estimated 150,000 people and killing dozens of people.
Videos circulated online showed Damascus-affiliated forces arresting and harassing Kurdish residents, while social media users shared images of missing relatives and alleged abuse of Kurds, including children.
The sermon triggered strong reactions from worshippers inside the mosque. Footage seen by Rudaw shows attendees standing and shouting following Mawlud’s sermon, disrupting what is typically a quiet setting during sermons. Attendees told Rudaw that the preacher was pulled down from the pulpit before he was arrested.
Abbas Khidir, director of the religious endowment affairs directorate in Sulaimani, told Rudaw that Mawlud, an engineer, was granted permission to preach after helping to build the mosque. The directorate is reviewing the sermon before taking action, he added.
“If he spoke against [Kurdish] fighters, they could take measures to revoke his license,” Khidir said.
On Monday, President Masoud Barzani condemned discrimination and harassment against Syrian Arabs in the Kurdistan Region following deadly violence in Aleppo.
Videos and photos on social media threatened violence against Syrian Arabs or Arabs more broadly. Others showed signs by businesses and individuals refusing to hire or serve Syrian Arabs or threatening to fire their Arab employees.
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