PNN – The Guardian newspaper wrote in a report: The future of Syria depends on which identity the commander of the Tahrir al-Sham group will govern this country with. The use of the identity of “Ahmed al-Shara” or his military alias Abu Muhammad al-Jolani will determine the future course of Syria.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Guardian added that on Sunday morning, a 42-year-old man wearing a simple military uniform went to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and gave a speech to the small crowd present in the mosque, the people of Syria, the region and the world.
Ahmad al-Shara described the fall of the Assad family as a “victory for this country” and asked the people to be calm and pray.
He said: I left the country 20 years ago and my heart is beating for this moment.
The Guardian wrote: For two decades, al-Jolani had not used his real name. Ahmad al-Shara grew up in a progressive family in a wealthy neighborhood of Damascus, studied medicine, and then disappeared completely. His replacement was Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani. It was al-Jolani who fought with American soldiers in Iraq between 2003 and 2006 and was imprisoned there for 5 years in detention camps. It was Al-Jolani who returned to Syria in 2011 to play an important role in the campaigns of ISIS and then Al-Qaeda.
Al-Jolani assumed the presidency of the Syrian Editorial Board and imposed his rule on two million people of the Idlib region in northwestern Syria since 2017. Last month, it was al-Jolani who formed the rebel coalition dominated by the Syrian editorial board in its twelve-day campaign; the fighting that ended on Sunday in Damascus.
Now the question is which of these two will rule in Syria; Al-Jolani, who was included in the list of terrorist groups by the United States, England and other countries, and a 10 million dollar reward has been set for his head, or Al-Shara, who has shown in recent years that his organization will not attack the West.
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What is the view of Zionist analysts on developments in Syria?
Many analysts believe that Al-Shar’a’s decision to enter Damascus by abandoning his military nickname indicates a shift from radicalism to more moderate positions.
In the city of Aleppo, where the attacks of the Tahrir al-Sham group began, this group gave peace to the regime’s foot soldiers. They went door-to-door to reassure Christian citizens that they would not be harmed and sent the message to the Kurds that “diversity is strength and we are proud of it.” It is said that Al-Shara himself led the diplomatic efforts to gain the opinion of the Shiite leaders.
Shiraz Maher, an expert at King’s College London, said: What we see is that he (Al-Sharia) is a completely changed person.
The Guardian wrote: This is not a sudden change; he has already fought against al-Qaeda and ISIS and purged his group of people who were suspected of dual loyalty. Although he recently said that he does not regret celebrating the 2001 al-Qaeda attack on the United States, there are doubts that he really opposes hard-line views on the global struggle.
Some experts point out that the use of the nickname Al-Jolani may not only represent the leadership of Tahrir al-Sham and is taken from the Golan Heights, but it shows his strong commitment to ending the occupation of this region by the Zionist regime.
The Guardian wrote: It seems that al-Sharia is focused on solving its internal problems and nationalistic interests, which include the complete welfare of the Syrian people and assistance to the affected people of this country.
However, some analysts believe that some of the top leaders of the al-Sham editorial board and the group’s most effective fighters, who include veteran Central Asian extremists, remain committed to the “jihadi ideology.”
Some commentators believe that any new moderation is merely a facade that hides radical ambitions both domestically and globally, but this group of commentators warns that the West and regional powers must be careful.
Hossein Abdul Hossein, an expert at the Defense of Democracies in Washington, referring to the “flag of Jihadi groups” next to the Syrian flag, said in Al-Shara’s interview with CNN last week: So far, his words have been correct and logical, and I hope that this is what will happen. Say But the situation in Syria is chaotic; this country has no economy and no money. There is crime, poverty and the return of millions of displaced people in this country. No one is happy but sooner or later everything will find its true form and I worry about him returning to his old self.
He said: Al-Shar’a or Jolani is a response to supporters and people who doubt the future of Syria, behavior speaks louder than words.