Abu Mohammad al-Golani
| Abu Mohammad al-Julani | |
|---|---|
| Emir of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham | |
|
In office 28 July 2016 – 28 January 2017 |
|
| Emir of the Al-Nusra Front | |
|
In office 23 January 2012 – 28 July 2016 |
|
| Chief commander of Tahrir al-Sham | |
|
In office 27 January 2017 – present |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1974 Daraa, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Nickname(s) | 'The Conqueror Sheikh' |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
|
| Years of service | 2003–present |
| Rank | Emir of the al-Nusra Front and Military chief of Tahrir al-Sham |
| Battles/wars |
Iraq Syria Lebanon |
Al-Qaeda (2003–Current)
Iraq
Syria
Lebanon
Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a (Arabic: أحمد حسين الشرع), known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Arabic: أبو محمد الجولاني), is the military leader of the Syrian militant group Tahrir al-Sham; he was also the emir of its predecessor organisation al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. Al-Julani was listed by the US State Department as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" on 16 May 2013.
The phrase "Al-Julani" in his nom de guerre is a reference to Syria's Golan Heights, partially occupied and annexed by Israel during the war in 1967. Al-Julani released an audio statement on 28 September 2014, in which he stated he would fight the "United States and its allies" and urged his fighters not to accept help from the West in their battle against ISIL.
On 28 July 2016, al-Julani announced in a recorded message that Jabhat al-Nusra would henceforth go under the new name of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham [Front for the Conquest of Syria]. As part of the announcement al-Julani stated that the rebranded group has "no affiliation to any external entity". While some analysts have interpreted this to mean breaking away from Al-Qaeda, the group and association with it were not specifically mentioned in the announcement, nor has it been said that al-Julani's oath of allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri have been renounced. These omissions, along with the fact that many senior al-Qaeda leaders are emeshed within the group, lead other analysts to believe that al-Qaeda is in fact internal to the group, and as such the same associations remain in place.
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