{"id":6924,"date":"2023-05-14T14:03:34","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T13:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6924"},"modified":"2023-05-14T14:17:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T13:17:52","slug":"syrias-main-insurgent-group-seeks-to-break-with-al-qaedas-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/analysis\/defense\/terrorism\/syrias-main-insurgent-group-seeks-to-break-with-al-qaedas-past\/2023\/05\/14\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria’s main insurgent group seeks to break with al Qaeda’s past"},"content":{"rendered":"

IDLIB <\/span>(AP<\/span>)<\/span> –<\/span> The<\/span> leader<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> rebel<\/span> group<\/span> that<\/span> controls<\/span> much<\/span> of<\/span> northwestern<\/span> Syria<\/span> threatens<\/span> to<\/span> retaliate<\/span> in<\/span> obscene<\/span> clothing<\/span> against<\/span> Western<\/span> ‘crusaders’<\/span> forces<\/span> and<\/span> Muslim<\/span> religious<\/span> police<\/span> after<\/span> deadly<\/span> bombings<\/span> has<\/span> gained<\/span> notoriety<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> decade.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Now<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> Abu<\/span> Mohammed<\/span> Al-Gholani,<\/span> the<\/span> man<\/span> kept<\/span> his<\/span> group,<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> HTS,<\/span> Hayat<\/span> Tahrir<\/span> al-Sham,<\/span> from<\/span> al-Qaeda’s<\/span> origins<\/span> by<\/span> spreading<\/span> a<\/span> message<\/span> of<\/span> pluralism<\/span> and<\/span> religious<\/span> tolerance.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>As<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> name<\/span> change,<\/span> it<\/span> cracked<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> extremist<\/span> groups<\/span> and<\/span> disbanded<\/span> its<\/span> notorious<\/span> religious<\/span> police.<\/span> A<\/span> long-closed<\/span> church<\/span> in<\/span> Idlib<\/span> province<\/span> recently<\/span> held<\/span> its<\/span> first<\/span> mass<\/span> in<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> decade.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Algorani<\/span> told<\/span> a<\/span> recent<\/span> meeting<\/span> of<\/span> religious<\/span> and<\/span> local<\/span> officials<\/span> that<\/span> Islamic<\/span> law<\/span> should<\/span> not<\/span> be<\/span> enforced<\/span> by<\/span> force.<\/span> Referring<\/span> to<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> tightened<\/span> its<\/span> social<\/span> controls<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> Al-Golani<\/span> said,<\/span> “Society<\/span> has<\/span> become<\/span> so<\/span> hypocritical<\/span> that<\/span> they<\/span> pray<\/span> when<\/span> they<\/span> see<\/span> us<\/span> and<\/span> no<\/span> longer<\/span> pray<\/span> when<\/span> they<\/span> leave.<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> tipping<\/span> point<\/span> comes<\/span> as<\/span> Al-Ghorani’s<\/span> group<\/span> becomes<\/span> increasingly<\/span> isolated.<\/span> Countries<\/span> that<\/span> once<\/span> backed<\/span> rebels<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> uprising<\/span> that<\/span> turned<\/span> into<\/span> a<\/span> civil<\/span> war<\/span> are<\/span> rebuilding<\/span> ties<\/span> with<\/span> Syrian<\/span> President<\/span> Bashar<\/span> al-Assad.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Saudi<\/span> Arabia,<\/span> a<\/span> former<\/span> enemy<\/span> of<\/span> Assad,<\/span> reversed<\/span> course<\/span> and<\/span> spearheaded<\/span> pressure<\/span> that<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> resulted<\/span> in<\/span> Syria’s<\/span> return<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Arab<\/span> League<\/span> after<\/span> 12<\/span> years<\/span> of<\/span> regional<\/span> isolation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Even<\/span> Turkey,<\/span> which<\/span> continues<\/span> to<\/span> maintain<\/span> armed<\/span> rebels<\/span> in<\/span> Syria<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> major<\/span> state<\/span> sponsor,<\/span> has<\/span> signaled<\/span> a<\/span> shift.<\/span> Last<\/span> week,<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> foreign<\/span> minister<\/span> met<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> foreign<\/span> minister<\/span> in<\/span> Moscow,<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> such<\/span> meeting<\/span> since<\/span> 2011.<\/span> The<\/span> foreign<\/span> ministers<\/span> of<\/span> Assad’s<\/span> main<\/span> allies,<\/span> Russia<\/span> and<\/span> Iran,<\/span> were<\/span> also<\/span> present.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> talks<\/span> were<\/span> an<\/span> important<\/span> step<\/span> towards<\/span> restoring<\/span> ties<\/span> between<\/span> Damascus<\/span> and<\/span> Ankara,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> presence<\/span> of<\/span> Turkish<\/span> troops<\/span> in<\/span> northwestern<\/span> Syria<\/span> remains<\/span> a<\/span> stumbling<\/span> block.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>At<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> time,<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> considers<\/span> HTS<\/span> a<\/span> terrorist<\/span> organization<\/span> and<\/span> offers<\/span> a<\/span> $10<\/span> million<\/span> reward<\/span> for<\/span> information<\/span> on<\/span> Al-Ghorani’s<\/span> whereabouts.<\/span> The<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> also<\/span> classifies<\/span> them<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> terrorist<\/span> organization.<\/span> Earlier<\/span> this<\/span> month,<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> Turkey<\/span> jointly<\/span> imposed<\/span> sanctions<\/span> on<\/span> two<\/span> individuals<\/span> accused<\/span> of<\/span> fundraising<\/span> for<\/span> extremist<\/span> groups<\/span> such<\/span> as<\/span> HTS.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Al-Golani<\/span> rose<\/span> to<\/span> prominence<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> early<\/span> months<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> 2011<\/span> Syrian<\/span> uprising,<\/span> becoming<\/span> the<\/span> leader<\/span> of<\/span> Al-Qaeda’s<\/span> Syrian<\/span> branch,<\/span> then<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Al-Nusra<\/span> Front.<\/span> Militants<\/span> and<\/span> Osama<\/span> bin<\/span> Laden<\/span> al-Qaeda<\/span> cadres<\/span> flocked<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> group’s<\/span> bases<\/span> of<\/span> operations<\/span> in<\/span> northern<\/span> Syria,<\/span> after<\/span> which<\/span> many<\/span> died<\/span> in<\/span> US<\/span> attacks.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> July<\/span> 2016,<\/span> the<\/span> al-Nusra<\/span> Front<\/span> announced<\/span> it<\/span> would<\/span> change<\/span> its<\/span> name<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Fatah<\/span> al-Sham<\/span> Front<\/span> and<\/span> cut<\/span> ties<\/span> with<\/span> al-Qaeda<\/span> in<\/span> what<\/span> many<\/span> viewed<\/span> as<\/span> an<\/span> attempt<\/span> to<\/span> improve<\/span> its<\/span> image. <\/span>Fatah<\/span> al-Sham<\/span> later<\/span> merged<\/span> with<\/span> several<\/span> other<\/span> groups<\/span> to<\/span> form<\/span> Hayat<\/span> Tahrir<\/span> al-Sham.<\/span> It<\/span> was<\/span> also<\/span> during<\/span> this<\/span> time<\/span> that<\/span> Al<\/span> Gorani<\/span> made<\/span> his<\/span> first<\/span> public<\/span> appearances<\/span> and<\/span> changed<\/span> his<\/span> dressing<\/span> style<\/span> from<\/span> a<\/span> white<\/span> turban<\/span> and<\/span> robe<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> shirt<\/span> and<\/span> trousers.<\/span> Its<\/span> fighters<\/span> cracked<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> militants<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Islamic<\/span> State<\/span> group<\/span> who<\/span> fled<\/span> to<\/span> Idlib<\/span> after<\/span> their<\/span> defeat,<\/span> as<\/span> well<\/span> as<\/span> Horas<\/span> al-Din<\/span> (“Guardians<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Religion”),<\/span> another<\/span> extremist<\/span> group<\/span> that<\/span> also<\/span> included<\/span> hardcore<\/span> al-Qaeda<\/span> members.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IDLIB (AP) – The leader of a rebel group that controls much of northwestern Syria threatens to retaliate in obscene clothing against Western ‘crusaders’ forces and Muslim religious police after deadly bombings has gained notoriety over the past decade.\u00a0 Now known as Abu Mohammed Al-Gholani, the man kept his group, known as HTS, Hayat Tahrir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[252,2460],"tags":[4929,4922,4923,4924,4925,4926,4927,4928],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/syria.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6924"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6928,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6924\/revisions\/6928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}