Profile Of Abu Mohammad Al-Julani, HTS Militia Leader Who Overthrows Assad Regime In Syria

YOGYAKARTA Abu Mohammad al-Julani succeeded in overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, November 8, 2024. The swift attack carried out by the armed opposition group commanded by al-Julani, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus managed to undermine the five-decade ruling Assad dynasty in Syria. Along with Assad's fall, Abu Mohammad al-Julani's profile caught the public's attention.

Al-Julani's success in overthrowing Assad was welcomed by takbir in the mosque. Residents in Damascus and other cities rejoiced at the opposition group's victory over the Syrian government under Assad.

Profile of Abu Mohammad al-Julani is Hayat leader Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the militia group that has become Syria's most powerful armed option against the Assad regime, especially since the civil war raged in Syria in 2011.

Al-Julani was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1982. He has the original Ahmed Husesin Al Sharaa. His father, an engineer who works at an oil company in Saudi Arabia. His family returned to Syria in 1989 and settled near the capital of Damascus.

In 2003, al-Julani moved to Iraq and joined Al Qaeda, an Islamic militia group founded as a form of resistance to the United States (US) invasion.

Al-Julani was arrested by US troops in Iraq in 2006 and jailed for five years. At the same time, Al Qaeda took over the same-stream factions and formed the Islamic State of Iraq, led by Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi.

After al-Julani was released, al-Baghdadi sent him to Syria in 2011 during an uprising against President Bashr al-Assad. Abu Mohammad al-Julani was asked to build a new base for Al Qaeda, namely Front al-Nusra. The group then received a terrorist' label from the United States.

Through this group, al-Julani succeeded in building a militia network and developing its influence in important areas, especially in Idlib.

As the situation of civil war in Syria escalated in 2013, al-Julani rejected al-Baghdadi's order to dissolve the Nusra Front and merge it with ISIS.

In 2014, for the first time al-Julani appeared in public. When interviewed by al Jazeera, he stated that Syria must be ruled based on its group's interpretation of Islamic law', and minorities in the country such as Christians and Alawi will not be accommodated.

In the following years, al-Julani decided to distance himself from the Al Qaeda project that wants to build Global Caliphates' in all Muslim-majority countries. He prefers to strengthen his political position in Syria and attract international sympathy.

To strengthen his position in Syria, al-Julani then broke away from Al Qaeda and turned Front al-Nusra into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Next, al-Julani restructured the HTS image and made it look more moderate. Not only that, but he is also trying to create an image that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has no potential to harm minority groups, in the hope of gaining wider and more stable support in Syrian society.

Al-Julani emphasized that the main goal of HTS is to bring down the Bashr al-Assad regime that has led Syria since 2000. According to al-Julani's claim, HTS is trying to spread Syria from Assad tyranny as well as create a new order that is more inclusive.

These measures are expected to distract from terrorists' labels attached to al-Julani-led militia groups.

In 2021, Abu Mohamamd al-Julani will be interviewed by Western journalists. He confirmed that his group is a threat to the West and called sanctions against Syria unfair.

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