In 2016, al-Sharaa cut al-Nusra's ties with al-Qaeda, merging it with other organizations to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham the following year. Since breaking with al-Qaeda, he has sought international legitimacy by focusing on governance in Syria rather than global jihadist goals. HTS established an administration in the territory it controls, collecting taxes, providing public services, and issuing identity cards to residents, though it has faced criticism for authoritarian tactics and suppressing dissent.[7] In recent years, he has presented a more moderate view of himself, suggesting he has no urge to wage war against Western nations, and has vowed to protect minorities.[8][9][10]
Al-Sharaa's family came from the Golan Heights in Syria, and were displaced in 1967 after the Israeli occupation during the Six-Day War.[11] The nisba "al-Julani" in his nom de guerre is a reference to the Golan Heights.[12]
His paternal grandfather, Ali Mohammed al-Sharaa, was a large landowner and tradesman in the city of Fiq.[19] His great-grandfather, Mohammed Khalid al-Sharaa (1899–1932), played a significant role in the Great Syrian Revolt against the French occupation of Syria. He was sentenced to death in absentia for his involvement in the revolt, though the sentence was never carried out.[19]
Youth in Syria
Al-Sharaa was born Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa in 1982 in Riyadh to a middle-class family.[20][21] His father worked there as an oil engineer, and his mother was a geography teacher.[22] The family returned to Syria in 1989, settling in the affluent Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus.[23] According to Hussam Jazmati, who produced his most definitive biography, classmates remember al-Sharaa as a studious but unremarkable boy who wore thick glasses and avoided attention.[22] During his youth, he was described as "quiet" and "shy",[20] "manipulatively intelligent" but "socially introverted," and was noted for his "good looks" and a romance with an Alawite girl that both families rejected.[13] He remained in Damascus, studying media studies and starting a degree in medicine until moving to Iraq in 2003.[20][22][23]
Iraq war
Mugshot of al-Sharaa in 2006, after his capture by U.S. forces in Iraq
According to an interview with Frontline in 2021, al-Sharaa stated he was radicalized by the Palestinian Second Intifada in 2000 when he was 17 or 18 years old. He said: "I started thinking about how I could fulfil my duties, defending a people who are oppressed by occupiers and invaders."[24][25]
Upon his release from prison coinciding with the Syrian revolution in 2011, al-Sharaa crossed into Syria with significant funding and a mandate to expand al-Qaeda's presence. Despite tensions with al-Qaeda's leadership in Iraq, who were content with his departure, al-Sharaa proceeded to orchestrate an agreement with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to establish al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, Jabhat al-Nusra. The group maintained an alliance with the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) until 2013, with an arrangement between al-Sharaa and al-Baghdadi to resolve disputes through mediation by al-Qaeda EmirAyman al-Zawahiri. Over time, al-Sharaa began distancing himself from transnational jihadist ideology, increasingly framing his faction within the context of a nationalist Syrian struggle.[24]
ISI initially provided al-Sharaa with fighters, weapons, and funding to establish the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Al-Sharaa implemented these plans alongside ISI leaders after his release from prison.[11]
Al-Sharaa became the "general emir" of al-Nusra when it was officially announced in January 2012. By December of that year, the US Department of State designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization, identifying it as an alias for al-Qaeda in Iraq (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq).[27] Under al-Sharaa's leadership, al-Nusra emerged as one of Syria's most powerful groups.[2] Its stronghold was centered on the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria.[28]
As al-Sharaa carved out a fiefdom in Syria between 2012 and 2013, the Iraqi leadership of ISI grew suspicious of him.[37] Al-Nusra became increasingly popular for providing social services and cooperating with other Syrian rebel groups against the Assad regime, and al-Sharaa ignored al-Baghdadi's orders to begin fighting these groups and assassinate opposition activists.[38] Al-Baghdadi's top aide, Abu Ali al-Anbari, travelled to Syria to investigate al-Sharaa, concluding that he was a "cunning person; two-faced; [...] [who] glows when he hears his name mentioned on satellite channels".[37]
Concerned about al-Nusra's popularity and al-Sharaa's perceived insubordination, al-Baghdadi unilaterally announced that al-Nusra would merge into ISI to form the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in April 2013.[38][39] The proposed merger would have eliminated al-Nusra's autonomy by placing all its leaders, decisions, and operations under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's direct control. To preserve al-Nusra's independence, al-Sharaa pledged allegiance (bay'ah) directly to al-Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who granted him a ruling that confirmed al-Nusra's independence.[40][41][42] While al-Nusra had indirectly pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda through its allegiance to ISI, this new pledge bypassed ISI entirely, making al-Nusra the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda.[41][43]
In late 2013, al-Zawahiri ordered al-Baghdadi to accept the annulment of the merger, who refused and attempted to proceed with it.[39] By February 2014, efforts to end the dispute between ISIS and al-Nusra had failed, leading to al-Qaeda formally severing its ties with ISIS on February 2014 and leaving al-Nusra as the sole representative of al-Qaeda in Syria.[44][40] After the assassination of Abu Khalid al-Suri on 23 February, al-Sharaa denounced ISIS and likened them to the Iraqi "sahawat" who fought against al-Qaeda alongside the U.S., accusing them of undermining the fight against Assad by fighting rebels.[45] Open warfare between ISIS and al-Nusra ensued; al-Sharaa warned that the fighting risked giving a reprieve to Assad.[46][2] Over the following months, ISIS captured much of the territory controlled by al-Nusra and the Syrian opposition,[45] leaving an estimated four thousand fighters on both sides dead by February 2015.[39] In June 2015, al-Sharaa told Al Jazeera that no resolution to the conflict was forthcoming, and that unless ISIS "repent to God and return to their senses", there would be "nothing but fighting between us”.[47]
Threats against the United States
After the start of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition's airstrike campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, al-Sharaa, in a rare public declaration, described the airstrikes as an assault on Islam, and warned the Western public: "This is what will take the battle to the heart of your land, for the Muslims will not stand as spectators watching their sons bombed and killed in their lands, while you stay safe in your lands." In his audio message, released five days after the U.S. strikes, al-Sharaa said: "Do not let the West and America take advantage of the injustice of the Islamic State upon you … Those who are unable to repulse the Islamic State or others, then let them do so without being a partner with the crusader alliance." Al-Sharaa also warned that al-Nusra will fight any group which takes American cash and weapons, condemning "the traitorous factions that were bought by the West with some money and ammunition so as to be a pawn in its hands."[48] In an audio statement released on 28 September 2014, al-Sharaa stated that he would fight the "United States and its allies" and urged his fighters not to accept help from the West in their battle against the Islamic State.[49]
Resurgence of al-Nusra
In late May 2015, al-Sharaa was interviewed by Ahmed Mansour on Qatari news broadcaster Al Jazeera, hiding his face. He described the Geneva peace conference as a farce and claimed that the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition did not represent the Syrian people and had no ground presence in Syria. Al-Sharaa mentioned that al-Nusra have no plans for attacking Western targets, and that their priority is focused on fighting the al-Assad Syrian government, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Al-Sharaa told al-Jazeera in 2015, "Nusra Front doesn't have any plans or directives to target the West. We received clear orders from Ayman al-Zawahiri not to use Syria as a launching pad to attack the U.S. or Europe in order to not sabotage the true mission against the regime. Maybe Al-Qaeda does that but not here in Syria. Assad forces are fighting us on one end, Hezbollah on another and ISIL on a third front. It is all about their mutual interests".[50] "Our war is not a matter of revenge against the Alawites despite the fact that in Islam, they are considered to be heretics", he added.[50] A commentary on this interview however states that al-Sharaa also added that Alawites would be left alone as long as they abandon elements of their faith which contradict Islam.[51]
In October 2015, the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war prompted al-Sharaa to call for increased attacks on Assad's Alawite strongholds in retaliation for Russian airstrikes on Sunni areas.[52] Al-Sharaa also called for Russian civilians to be attacked by Muslims from the former Soviet Union.[53][54]
Split from al-Qaeda
The Russian entrance into the war led to a reversal of fortunes for the Syrian opposition and increased the influence of their foreign backers over them. In January 2016, al-Nusra held unity negotiations with other rebel groups in a bid to pre-empt any foreign attempt to co-opt these groups against it. When the talks collapsed due to concerns over al-Nusra's affiliation with al-Qaeda, the reformist wing of al-Nusra — which may have comprised a third of its overall membership — presented al-Sharaa with an ultimatum: to sever ties with al-Qaeda and merge with other rebel groups, or face a mass defection.[55]
In July 2016, al-Sharaa convened al-Nusra's Shura Council twice to discuss the matter. The first council was inconclusive, while the second council settled on a "middle way" after several meetings: to break ties with al-Qaeda outside of Syria while retaining them inside Syria.[55] As al-Zawahiri could not be contacted, several senior al-Qaeda leaders, including al-Zawahiri's deputy Abu Khayr al-Masri, approved the split contingent on al-Zawahiri later approving it himself.[56][55] If he did not, the split would have to be reversed. Al-Sharaa agreed to these terms, which were narrowly approved by al-Nusra's Shura Council.[55]
On 28 July 2016, al-Sharaa announced that al-Nusra had severed ties with al-Qaeda and rebranded as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS).[57][58] He added that the new organisation would have "no affiliation to any external entity".[59] Ayman al-Zawahiri was publicly supportive of the split,[57] even though he had rejected the plan when it was presented to him.[56] In protest, several leading al-Qaeda loyalists in al-Nusra, including Abu Julaybib, Abu Khadija al-Urduni and Abu Humam al-Shami, left JFS.[55] In September 2016, al-Zawahiri authored a letter that harshly reprimanded al-Sharaa for his "act of disobedience", and admonished al-Masri for giving it his approval. Due to al-Zawahiri's rejection, al-Masri withdrew his support for the split. Al-Qaeda leaders Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah and Saif al-Adel also opposed the split, and al-Sharaa was expected to reverse his decision. However, he refused to do so.[55]
Formation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
After forming JFS, al-Sharaa attempted to arrange a merger with Ahrar al-Sham.[60] However, negotiations collapsed due to al-Sharaa supporting Jund al-Aqsa — a group that he had secretly established to discourage al-Nusra's foreign fighters from defecting to ISIS — in their conflict with Ahrar al-Sham. Ahrar al-Sham's leadership were also concerned that JFS continued to maintain ties with al-Qaeda.[55] Meanwhile, al-Sharaa came under attack from al-Qaeda. Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi wrote a critique of the manhaj of JFS, and rumours circulated that al-Qaeda was preparing to launch a new affiliate in Syria named "Taliban al-Sham".[55]
In a last-ditch bid to secure a merger, al-Sharaa led efforts to undermine Ahrar al-Sham's nationalist and anti-merger wing.[55] When Ahrar al-Sham's leadership again refused to merge in December 2017, the pro-merge wing formed a breakaway "sub-faction" named Jaysh al-Ahrar.[60][55] Shortly afterwards, JFS attacked Free Syrian Army (FSA) positions across Idlib and Aleppo, precipitating a conflict with Ahrar al-Sham. The conflict allowed JFS to defeat CIA-backed FSA groups, which it viewed as a "foreign conspiracy".[55]
On 28 January 2017, al-Sharaa announced that JFS would dissolve and merge with Jaysh al-Ahrar, Liwa al-Haqq, Jaysh al-Sunna, Ansar al-Din Front and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),[61][62][55] gaining approximately 3,000 to 5,000 more fighters.[55] In an effort to demonstrate the maturity of the new group, al-Sharaa arranged for Jaysh al-Ahrar's leader Abu Jaber Shaykh to serve as the nominal leader of HTS, although leadership was formally transferred back to al-Sharaa by December 2017.[60]
The remaining al-Qaeda loyalists in JFS viewed the formation of HTS as a definitive break from the organisation and refused to join. A number of al-Qaeda veterans publicly criticised al-Sharaa for his moves; Sami al-Oraydi condemned it as insubordination against Ayman al-Zawahiri. As a result, several were arrested by HTS towards the end of 2017, including al-Oraydi. After their release, some were involved in forming Hurras al-Din, the new Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda.[60]
The U.S. government quickly rejected this rebranding, with the U.S. Embassy in Syria stating that "The core of HTS is Nusra, a designated terrorist organisation. This designation applies regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge into it." The Embassy characterized HTS's formation as an attempt to "hijack the Syrian revolution" rather than a move toward moderation.[63]
Despite this stance, under HTS, the group prioritized combating al-Qaeda and ISIS in an effort to improve its standing with Western nations. HTS successfully defeated ISIS, al-Qaeda, and most opposing forces in its territory, establishing control over most of Idlib Governorate, which it administers through the HTS-aligned Syrian Salvation Government.[11][64]
In mid-2020, al-Sharaa increased his public presence in Idlib to build popular support. HTS-affiliated media significantly expanded its output during this period, releasing multiple daily videos showcasing governance activities, tax distribution in rural areas, frontline operations, and al-Sharaa's meetings with local militia groups.[citation needed]
Military situation before the opposition offensives in late 2024. Territories held by Tahrir al-Sham (white) and the Syrian government (red).
Under al-Sharaa's administration, Idlib had experienced significant development, becoming Syria's fastest-growing region despite being historically its poorest province. The area featured new luxury shopping malls, housing estates, and round-the-clock electricity supply surpassing that of Damascus. Educational facilities included a university with 18,000 segregated students. However, his administration faced criticism for its taxation policies, including customs taxes on goods from Turkey and checkpoint fees on smuggled goods, as well as the economic impact of the Turkish lira's depreciation, which was the main currency in the region.[65]
In March 2024, widespread protests erupted in Idlib Governorate against al-Sharaa's rule, with demonstrators adopting the slogan "Isqat al-Julani" ("Down with Julani"), reminiscent of earlier protests against the Assad regime. For over a month, hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters marched through Idlib's cities and towns. The protests were triggered by multiple factors, including allegations of brutality, with reports of thousands of critics held in prisons, and economic grievances related to high taxes.[65]
In response to the unrest, al-Sharaa made several concessions. He released hundreds of detainees from a previous summer's security operation, including his former deputy Abu Maria al-Qahtani, who had been arrested along with 300 others in a purge of his movement. He also promised local elections and increased employment opportunities for displaced persons, while warning protesters against what he termed treachery.[65]
Turkey, which had previously helped stabilize the province by connecting it to its electricity grid and allowing building materials to enter freely, had grown concerned about al-Sharaa's expanding influence. In response, it reduced trade through its border crossings with Idlib, affecting HTS's revenue. Reports indicated that al-Sharaa had twice attempted to take over other Turkish-administered areas in northern Syria.[65]
During the capture of Aleppo, al-Sharaa instructed his forces not to "scare children" and HTS channels broadcast footage of Christians in the city continuing their normal activities. Archbishop Afram Ma'lui stated that services would not be affected by the change in control. After regime forces were expelled from the city, al-Sharaa declared "diversity is a strength". HTS quickly established administrative bodies to restore basic services, including garbage collection, electricity, and water. The group's General Zakat Commission began distributing emergency bread supplies, while its General Organization for Grain Trade and Processing provided fuel to local bakeries. The Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs reported delivering 65,000 loaves of bread under a campaign called "Together We Return".[70]
On 6 December, in a face-to-face interview with CNN, al-Sharaa declared that the offensive's goal was to remove Assad from power. Using his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, he explicitly pledged to protect minority groups,[8] and outlined plans for establishing a government grounded in institutions and a "council chosen by the people".[71] According to Dareen Khalifa of the International Crisis Group, al-Sharaa has considered dissolving HTS to strengthen civilian and military governance structures.[72] He also expressed his intention to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.[73] In his victory speech following the fall of Damascus, he condemned Iran as a source of sectarianism and corruption, and framed the triumph as a turning point for the region.[71]
On 20 December 2024, following meetings between HTS officials and U.S. diplomats in Damascus, the United States rescinded a $10 million reward it had previously offered for the arrest of al-Sharaa.[74]
Governance following fall of Assad government
On 8 December, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced that the Syrian government would hand over power to a new elected government following the departure of al-Assad from Damascus, and al-Sharaa announced further that al-Jalali will "supervise state institutions until they are handed over". Al-Jalali later noted to Al Arabiya that al-Sharaa had been in contact with himself prior to the announcement to discuss the handover.[75] On the same day, he delivered a speech at Damascus's Umayyad Mosque, calling the fall of Assad's regime "a new chapter in the history of the region" and condemning Syria's role as "a playground for Iranian ambitions", characterized by sectarianism and corruption.[71] On 9 December, HTS released a video of al-Sharaa, al-Jalali and Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the de facto government in Idlib.[76] On 12 December, al-Sharaa met with Turkish officials, which marked the first diplomatic delegation since Assad's overthrow.[77]
Views on Israel
In an interview with the Syria TV news channel regarding the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Syria, al-Sharaa said that after the fall of the Assad regime, Israel no longer has "any excuses" for attacking Syrian territory. He also spoke of "diplomatic solutions" as the only way to ensure security instead of "ill-considered military adventures".[78][79] Al-Sharaa reportedly told a group of journalists that HTS would continue to uphold the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the Yom Kippur War.[80]
Documentary
On 1 June 2021 PBS Frontline released a documentary, The Jihadist, investigating al-Sharaa's past in the context of the ongoing Syrian civil war.[81] In the interview, reflecting on his past affiliation with al-Qaeda, on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the Palestinian cause, al-Sharaa commented in the interview:
The history of the region and what it went through over the past 20 or 30 years needs to be taken into consideration... We are talking about a region ruled by tyrants, by people who rule with iron fists and their security apparatuses. At the same time, this region is surrounded by numerous conflicts and wars... We can't take a segment of this history and say so-and-so joined Al Qaeda. There are thousands of people who joined Al Qaeda, but let us ask what was the reason behind these people joining Al Qaeda? That's the question. Are the U.S. policies after World War II toward the region partially responsibility for driving people towards Al Qaeda organization? And are the European policies in the region responsible for the reactions of people who sympathize with the Palestinian cause or with the way the Zionist regime deals with the Palestinians?.. are the broken and oppressed peoples who had to endure what happened in Iraq, for example, or in Afghanistan, are they responsible..?.. our involvement with Al Qaeda in the past was an era, and it ended, and even at that time when we were with Al Qaeda, we were against external attacks, and it's completely against our policies to carry out external operations from Syria to target European or American people. This was not part of our calculations at all, and we did not do it at all.[11]
Writings
On Jihadist online forums, there are essays and articles attributed to al-Sharaa under the name "Abdullah Bin Muhammad", including The Strategy of the Regional War.[82]
↑ Arabic: أبو محمد الجولاني, romanized:ʾAbū Muḥammad al-Jawlānī; also transliterated as Joulani, Jolani, and Golani[2][3]
Related Research Articles
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Griswold, Eliza (17 December 2024). "Reasons to Leave Syria—and to Return". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. He wanted to see how Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the head of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham—an Islamist group formerly linked to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda—and now the de-facto leader of Syria, behaved.
↑ "صديق طفولة الجولاني يروي ما يعرفه عنه"[Al-Joulani's childhood friend tells what he knows about him.] (in Arabic). Wattan. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
↑ "Interview-Abu Mohammad al-Jolani". PBS Frontline. 2 April 2021. Most of the information available on the internet is false... No, I didn't meet Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was mostly present in Fallujah and Ramadi and around this region, and I was in Mosul during that time. I was a regular soldier. I wasn't involved in any major operations that I would meet al-Zarqawi.
↑ al-Mustapha, Hamza (2014). The Al-Nusra Front: From Formation to Dissension. Doha: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. p.7. JSTORresrep12643. the Jihadist online forums treat the writings of Abdullah Bin Muhammad as the writings of Abu Muhammad al-Julani himself.
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Syrian transitional government (2024–present)
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (2017–present)
Al-Qaeda (2003–2016) [1] 
Syrian Salvation Government (2017–2024)
