Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group's rule for 5 years

Syria’s interim president has signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase. The country’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of the country since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew former leader Bashar Assad in December. Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee tasked to draft the temporary constitution, said Thursday that it will maintain some previsions from the previous one. That includes the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim, and Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.