Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (Pronunciation: al-jawlani, al-julani, al-golani), whose real name is Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, is a Syrian freedom fighter leader and the second emir of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition of Islamist and Salafist units involved in the Syrian Civil War. The U.S. State Department listed al-Jolani as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' in May 2013. Al-Jolani played a key role in overthrowing the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria in 2024.
Background
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s family hails from the Golan Heights in Syria, a region that was occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. Al-Jolani's father, Hussein al-Shar’a, was an Arab nationalist student activist for the Nasserists in Syria. He was imprisoned by Syrian neo-Ba'athists during the anti-Nasserist purges following the 1961 and 1963 coups d'état. Hussein al-Shar’a later escaped prison to complete his higher studies in Iraq in 1971. He returned to Syria during the regime of Hafez al-Assad, was imprisoned again, and was eventually released and granted asylum in Saudi Arabia.
Early Life
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani was born Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1982, into a Sunni Muslim family. His father worked as a petroleum engineer and his mother was a geography teacher. In 1989, the family returned to Syria and settled in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus. As a result, al-Jolani was exposed to Syria's complex socio-political environment, which was marked by the Ba'athist regime's repression and underlying tensions within its diverse population. He studied media studies in Damascus before moving to Iraq during the war in 2003.
Iraq War
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s military career began in Iraq, where he joined the insurgency against the United States-led invasion in 2003. Al-Jolani became affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and served as a regular foot soldier under Al-Qaeda against the American occupation. Before the eruption of the Iraqi Civil War in 2006, al-Jolani was arrested by American forces and imprisoned at Camp Bucca, where he established connections with other jihadists.
Formation of Al-Nusra Front
In 2011, al-Jolani was sent to Syria by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), to establish a Syrian branch of the organization. Al-Julani became the founder and emir of the al-Nusra Front in January 2012. The US State Department designated him as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in 2013 and announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Conflict with ISIL
Tensions between Al-Nusra Front and ISI escalated in 2013 when Al-Baghdadi announced the merger of the two groups into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Al-Jolani rejected this merger, leading to a split. To distance his group from ISIL's brutal tactics, al-Julani pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, making Al-Nusra the official Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. Al-Baghdadi rejected this decision, leading to armed clashes between Al-Nusra Front and ISIL over Syrian territory.
Resurgence of al-Nusra Front
Al-Julani released an audio statement on 28 September 2014, in which he declared his intention to 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. In recent years, he has claimed that he has no desire to wage war against Western nations and vowed to protect minorities.
Transition to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
In July 2016, al-Jolani announced that the al-Nusra Front was rebranding itself as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of Syria) and severing ties with Al-Qaeda. This move was part of a broader strategy to gain local and international legitimacy. In January 2017, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) merged with several other groups to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), with al-Jolani as its leader.
Leadership and Governance
Under al-Jolani's leadership, HTS successfully defeated ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and most opposing forces within its territory, establishing control over most of the Idlib Governorate, which it administers through the HTS-aligned Syrian Salvation Government.
HTS group has focused on governance, providing public services, collecting taxes, and issuing identity cards to residents. Educational facilities include a university with 18,000 segregated students.
Rebel Takeover 2024
In late November 2024, al-Jolani led HTS in its Deterrence of Aggression offensive against the pro-Assad Syrian Arab Army.
On 6 December, during a face-to-face interview with CNN, al-Jolani declared that the offensive's goal was to remove Assad from power.
On 9 December, HTS released a video featuring al-Jolani, al-Jalali, and Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the de facto government in Idlib.
Documentary Film
In June 2021, PBS Frontline released a documentary, The Jihadist, which examines al-Jolani's past in the context of the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
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