[News Figures] Syrian Rebel Leader 'Aljulani' Who Ended 53 Years of Dictatorship

IS and Al-Qaeda Followers of Islamic Extremists
HTS Leader with Moderate Line and Syrian Liberation Justification
Attempts Image Change by Removing Turban and Military Uniform

With the Syrian rebels capturing the capital Damascus, the 53-year-long dictatorship of the Assad family has come to an end. Attention is now focused on Abu Mohammad al-Julani (42), the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, Syrian Liberation Organization), which led the Syrian rebels.

Al-Julani was born in 1982 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to a Syrian family. His real name is Ahmed Hussein al-Sharada. His father worked in the oil industry in Riyadh, and his mother was known to be a geography teacher. His father was a former Arab nationalist student activist in Syria during the 1960s. To escape the Assad regime's repression, he moved to Iraq and studied economics at the University of Baghdad. Later, he went into exile in Saudi Arabia, married, and had al-Julani.

Alzulani appeared on the US public broadcaster PBS
Photo by YouTube

The British daily The Telegraph quoted Syrian researcher Hussam Jazmati, who wrote a biography of al-Julani, saying on the 8th (local time), "Al-Julani was introverted as a child. His friends recalled that he wore thick glasses, avoided attention, studied hard, but did not stand out."

The al-Julani family moved to Syria in 1989. During his teenage years, two significant events that changed his life occurred in succession: the Second Intifada (anti-Israel struggle) in 2000 and the US 9/11 attacks in 2001. He soon became immersed in Islamic fundamentalism and Arab nationalist revolutionary theory. While studying media at Damascus University, he moved to Iraq in 2003 and joined the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. He was captured by US forces in 2006 and imprisoned for five years.

The Syrian civil war, which broke out in 2011, presented a new opportunity for al-Julani. After founding the al-Nusra Front (ANF), al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, he allied with the Islamic State (IS) and expanded his forces. Under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief al-Julani, al-Nusra rose to become the most powerful organization in Syria. The US government officially designated the al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organization in December 2012, and in May the following year, placed al-Julani on the terrorist list with a $10 million (1.4 billion KRW) bounty on his head.

Wanted poster for Al-Zulani with a bounty [Photo by U.S. Department of Defense]

In 2016, al-Julani severed ties with al-Qaeda. He then renamed the al-Nusra Front to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS). In February of the following year, he consolidated other armed groups based in Idlib province in northwestern Syria to form HTS. Al-Julani promoted a moderate line combining Islamism and nationalism, with the stated goal of liberating Syria from the Assad dictatorship. After driving IS and pro-al-Qaeda forces out of Idlib province, HTS effectively functioned as a local government by providing security and welfare to residents.

While solidifying his popular base, al-Julani also worked to shed the label of a "dangerous element" and gain recognition from the international community. He appeared in civilian clothes, removing his military uniform and turban. In an interview with the US public broadcaster PBS in February last year, he claimed, "The Idlib region is not a space that threatens the security of Europe or the United States. It is even less a stage for foreign jihadists (Islamic militants)."

After the Syrian civil war entered a ceasefire in 2020, HTS showed little movement. However, with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, HTS advanced against the Assad regime. They took advantage of the weakening support from Iran and Russia for the Assad regime. HTS succeeded in entering the capital Damascus without bloodshed, and with President Assad fleeing to Russia, the 53-year dictatorship and 13-year civil war finally ended.

Syrians gathering and celebrating at Stockholm City Station Square in Sweden
Photo by Yonhap News

The international community welcomed the end of the Syrian civil war. On the 8th (local time), US President Joe Biden said, "We will work with all Syrian groups to establish a transition to an independent and sovereign Syria from the Assad regime." Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union (EU) Commission, also pledged that Europe would actively participate in rebuilding Syria to protect all minorities.