From Syrian jihadist leader to rebel statesman: How Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani reinvented himself

Syrian rebel person Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani has dropped that nom de guerre associated with his jihadist past, and been utilizing his existent name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, successful authoritative communiques issued since Thursday, up of the autumn of President Bashar al-Assad.

This determination is portion of Jawlani's effort to bolster his legitimacy successful a caller context, arsenic his Islamist militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), starring different rebel factions, announces the seizure of the Syrian capital, Damascus, solidifying its power implicit overmuch of the country.

Jawlani's translation is not recent, but has been cautiously cultivated implicit the years, evident not lone successful his nationalist statements and interviews with planetary outlets but besides successful his evolving appearance.

Once clad successful accepted jihadist militant attire, helium has adopted a much Western-style wardrobe successful the past years. Now, arsenic helium leads the offensive, helium has donned subject fatigues, symbolising his relation arsenic the commandant of the operations room.

But who is Jawlani - oregon Ahmed al-Sharaa - and wherefore and however has helium changed?

A 2021 PBS interrogation with Jawlani revealed that helium was calved successful 1982 successful Saudi Arabia, wherever his begetter worked arsenic an lipid technologist until 1989.

In that year, the Jawlani household returned to Syria, wherever helium grew up and lived successful the Mezzeh neighbourhood of Damascus.

Jawlani's travel arsenic a jihadist began successful Iraq, linked to al-Qaeda done the Islamic State (IS) group's precursor - al-Qaeda successful Iraq and, later, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

After the 2003 US-led invasion, helium joined different overseas fighters successful Iraq and, successful 2005, was imprisoned astatine Camp Bucca, wherever helium enhanced his jihadist affiliations and aboriginal connected was introduced to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the quiescent student who would aboriginal spell connected to pb IS.

In 2011, Baghdadi sent Jawlani to Syria with backing to found al-Nusra Front, a covert faction tied to ISI. By 2012, Nusra had go a salient Syrian warring force, hiding its IS and al-Qaeda ties.

Tensions arose successful 2013 erstwhile Baghdadi's radical successful Iraq unilaterally declared the merger of the 2 groups (ISI and Nusra), declaring the instauration of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL oregon ISIS), and publically revealing for the archetypal clip the links betwixt them.

Jawlani resisted, arsenic helium wanted to region his radical from ISI's convulsive tactics, starring to a split.

To get retired of that sticky situation, Jawlani pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, making Nusra Front its Syrian branch.

From the start, helium prioritised winning Syrian support, distancing himself from IS's brutality and emphasising a much pragmatic attack to jihad.

In April 2013, al-Nusra Front became al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, putting it astatine likelihood with IS.

While Jawlani's determination was partially an effort to support section enactment and debar alienating Syrians and rebel factions, the al-Qaeda affiliation yet did small to payment this effort.

It became a pressing situation successful 2015 erstwhile Nusra and different factions captured Idlib province, forcing them to co-operate successful its administration.

In 2016, Jawlani severed ties with al-Qaeda, rebranding the radical arsenic Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and aboriginal arsenic Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) successful 2017.

While initially appearing superficial, the divided revealed deeper divisions. Al-Qaeda accused Jawlani of betrayal, starring to defections and the enactment of Hurras al-Din, a caller al-Qaeda affiliate successful Syria, which HTS aboriginal crushed successful 2020. Members of Hurras al-Din, however, person remained cautiously contiguous successful the region.

HTS besides targeted IS operatives and overseas fighters successful Idlib, dismantling their networks and forcing immoderate to acquisition "deradicalisation" programmes.

These moves, justified arsenic efforts to unify militant forces and trim infighting, signalled Jawlani's strategy to presumption HTS arsenic a ascendant and politically viable unit successful Syria.

Despite the nationalist divided from al-Qaeda and sanction changes, HTS continued to beryllium designated by the UN, US, UK and different countries arsenic a violent organisation, and the US maintained a $10m reward for accusation astir Jawlani's whereabouts. Western powers considered the break-up to beryllium a façade.

Under Jawlani, HTS became the ascendant unit successful Idlib, north-west Syria's largest rebel stronghold and location to astir 4 cardinal people, galore of whom were displaced from different Syrian provinces.

To code concerns astir a militant radical governing the area, HTS established a civilian front, the alleged "Syrian Salvation Government" (SG) successful 2017 arsenic its governmental and administrative arm.

The SG functioned similar a state, with a premier minister, ministries and section departments overseeing sectors specified arsenic education, wellness and reconstruction, portion maintaining a spiritual assembly guided by Sharia, oregon Islamic law.

To reshape his image, Jawlani actively engaged with the public, visiting displacement camps, attending events, and overseeing assistance efforts, peculiarly during crises similar the 2023 earthquakes.

HTS highlighted achievements successful governance and infrastructure to legitimise its regularisation and show its quality to supply stableness and services.

It has antecedently praised the Taliban, upon their instrumentality to powerfulness successful 2021, lauding them arsenic an inspiration and a exemplary for efficaciously balancing jihadist efforts with governmental aspirations, including making tactical compromises to execute their goals.

Jawlani's efforts successful Idlib reflected his broader strategy to show HTS's quality not lone to wage jihad but besides to govern effectively.

By prioritising stability, nationalist services and reconstruction, helium aimed to showcase Idlib arsenic a exemplary of occurrence nether HTS rule, enhancing some his group's legitimacy and his ain governmental aspirations.

But nether his leadership, HTS has crushed and marginalised different militant factions, some jihadists and rebel ones, successful its effort to consolidate its powerfulness and predominate the scene.

For implicit a twelvemonth starring up to the HTS-led rebel violative connected 27 November, Jawlani faced protests successful Idlib from hardline Islamists arsenic good arsenic Syrian activists.

Critics compared his regularisation to Assad's, accusing HTS of authoritarianism, suppressing dissent and silencing critics. Protesters labelled HTS's information forces arsenic "Shabbiha", a word utilized to picture Assad's loyalist henchmen.

They further alleged that HTS deliberately avoided meaningful combat against authorities forces and marginalised jihadists and overseas fighters successful Idlib to forestall them from engaging successful specified actions, each to appease planetary actors.

Even during the latest offensive, activists person persistently urged HTS to merchandise individuals imprisoned successful Idlib allegedly for expressing dissent.

In effect to these criticisms, HTS initiated respective reforms implicit the past year. It disbanded oregon rebranded a arguable information unit accused of quality rights violations and established a "Department of Grievances" to let citizens to lodge complaints against the group. Its critics said these measures were conscionable a amusement to incorporate dissent.

To warrant its consolidation of powerfulness successful Idlib and the suppression of plurality among militant groups, HTS argued that unifying nether a azygous enactment was important for making advancement and yet overthrowing the Syrian government.

HTS and its civilian arm, the SG, walked a tightrope, striving to task a modern, mean representation to triumph implicit some the section colonisation and the planetary community, portion simultaneously maintaining their Islamist individuality to fulfill hardliners wrong rebel-held areas and HTS's ain ranks.

For instance, successful December 2023, HTS and the SG faced a backlash aft a "festival" held astatine a glossy caller buying promenade was criticised by hardliners arsenic "immoral".

And this August, a Paralympic Games-inspired ceremonial drew crisp disapproval from hardliners, prompting the SG to reappraisal the organisation of specified events.

These incidents exemplify the challenges HTS faces successful reconciling the expectations of its Islamist basal with the broader demands of the Syrian population, who are seeking state and coexistence aft years of authoritarian regularisation nether Assad.

As the latest violative unfolded, planetary media focused connected Jawlani's jihadist past, prompting immoderate rebel supporters to telephone for him to measurement back, viewing him arsenic a liability.

Although helium antecedently expressed willingness to dissolve his radical and measurement aside, his caller actions and nationalist appearances archer a antithetic story.

HTS's occurrence successful uniting rebels and astir capturing the full state successful nether 2 weeks has strengthened Jawlani's position, quieting hardline critics and accusations of opportunism.

Jawlani and the SG person since reassured home and planetary audiences.

To Syrians, including minorities, they promised safety; to neighbours and powers similar Russia, they pledged peaceful relations. Jawlani adjacent assured Russia its Syrian bases would stay unharmed if attacks ceased.

This displacement reflects HTS's "moderate jihad" strategy since 2017, emphasising pragmatism implicit rigid ideology.

Jawlani's attack could awesome the diminution of planetary jihad movements similar IS and al-Qaeda, whose inflexibility is progressively seen arsenic ineffective and unsustainable.

His trajectory mightiness animate different groups to adapt, marking either a caller epoch of localised, politically flexible "jihadism" oregon conscionable a impermanent divergence from the accepted way successful bid to marque governmental and territorial gains.