Julani, the terrorist leader of HTS who dreamed of overthrowing Al Assad and promises reconciliation without revenge

Washington classified Julani as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in 2013, so providing material support to his organization is considered a crime. Who is this man who has put the dormant Syrian civil war back on the map and will change the country forever?

A deregulated transliteration of Arabic allows Julani to also appear as Joulani, Jolani, Golani or Jawlani, whose real name is supposedly Ahmad Hussein al-Sharaa, born in 1982 in Daraa, from where he moved to Damascus. Some sources indicate that he began medical studies, but did not finish university.

As he recently explained in an interview with cnnjoined Al-Qaeda in Iraq as a youthful madness, and at the beginning of the civil war, in 2011, he was sent by him himself Abu Bakr al-Baghdadiat that time leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, in order to establish a Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, which was called Jabhat al-Nusra. Two years later, Julani swore allegiance to Al-Qaeda and Ayman al-Zawahirithe successor of Osama Bin Ladenwhich gave him pedigree within the global jihadist movement.

In 2016, Julani publicly distanced himself from Al-Qaeda and renamed his group as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) to project itself as a local actor and get off the international terrorism lists. In 2017, with a first image wash and as a result of the merger with several Islamist groups, arose Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)translated as Organization for the Liberation of the Levant. It presented itself as an organization local autonomous and cohesive, focused on unifying the Syrian opposition, distancing itself from global extremism and leading the resistance against Bashar Al Assad.

In 2021, Julani granted interviews wearing Western clothing, such as light blue shirt and blazer, instead of his traditional Islamic attire. According to Turkish academics Murat Yeşiltaş and Muhammed Karakuşthis change sought to project a more pragmatic and political image, away from the extremism of Al-Qaeda, and position himself as a leader capable of stabilizing northwest Syria, in addition to opening diplomatic channels with international actors. Like other “moderate Islamists”, he sought to save his skin.

With ISIS almost annihilated, Al Assad’s victory thanks to Russian and Iranian support and the country dismembered, Islamist factions gathered in Idlib five years agowhere HTS consolidated its supremacy. Under your control and his authoritarian leadership, Julani has tortured and murdered dissidents, with methods that reflect his use of terror to maintain internal discipline and his conservative view of Islam. And at the same time an image of an effective leader has been created with changes that may seem positive at first glance.

Image washing

“Since the beginning of the offensive, HTS and Julani have issued numerous statements attempting to present themselves as non-threatening to civilians, minorities and foreign countries. However, many civilians remain concerned and skeptical due to the group’s history of human rights violations“he points out Broderick McDonaldan expert at King’s College London. These doubts underline that, although Julani seeks to legitimize his leadership, concrete actions will be decisive in changing international perception.

“The ‘terrorist’ label that Julani carries is his biggest barrier. Although he has indicated that he would be willing to dissolve HTS, this restructuring would be viewed with caution. skepticism by the international community,” he explains to EL ESPAÑOL Malik al-AbdehSyrian analyst and editor of Syria in Transition. The Daraí, he continues, wants to be perceived as a Syrian patriot, not as an extremist. His message is clear: reconciliation without revenge and a future of stability for Syria.

The Islamist leader long ago hired a team of Syrian university students educated abroad to whiten his image again as we saw it in cnn. “Julani is trying what Hasan Nasrallah achieved in Lebanon: combine religious authority with political and military power. I do not rule out that he wants to become president if he manages to legitimize his movement,” Abdeh continues.

Although many observers predict a short life for him, the analyst believes that Julani will consolidate and maintain his leadership in the northern regions of Syria, such as Idlib, due to the limitations imposed by various international actors and by his own supporter, Turkey, to whom he owes his success and his life.

Those who know Julani point out that he only wants power and ideology is the least important thing. They accuse him of joining Al-Qaeda out of pure careerism and practicing elitist governance, without understanding the diversity of Syrian society. But in recent days the leader and the HTS have become a “Sunni version of Hasan Nasrallah and Hezbollah,” the analyst adds.

This highlights the degree of organization and strategic influence that HTS has achieved in the region, highlighting how the group has evolved from a fragmented jihadist faction to a key player with political and military ambitions, capable of consolidating its control against local rivals. and project himself as the leader in the resistance that brought down Al Assad.

In an interview with Le Mondethe Franco-Syrian analyst Jihad Yazigi recognizes that HTS has presented itself in the last week as a local actor disconnected from international terrorism, although it emphasizes that Julani “will face serious difficulties when trying to govern cities like Aleppo, where religious and ethnic diversity poses significant challenges.”

Your allies