The Global Jihad

Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s New Leader: From Jihadist to Stateman?

On December 8, 2024, rebels led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Muhammad al-Julani, captured Damascus and overthrew the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after a 12-day military campaign, and al-Sharaa became the de facto ruler of Syria; Ahmed al-Sharaa's ideology changed throughout his life, transforming him from a youth raised in an upper-middle class family in Syria to a jihadist activist in the ranks of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq, and eventually to one of the prominent leaders of the rebellion against the Assad regime in Syria. The transformations were reflected in his positions regarding the concept of jihad, his public disassociation from al-Qaeda and ISIS, and changes in his attire and image both in Syria and toward the international community; This study deals with al-Sharaa, his life, the events that influenced him, and his beliefs and ideology as they evolved over more than two decades of activity within Salafi-jihadi movements and the struggle against the Syrian regime; In ITIC assessment, the ambivalence in al-Sharaa's positions and the changes in his conduct over the years were intended to ensure the survival of his organization but also indicated his ideological flexibility and political pragmatism. He is likely to continue presenting himself as a pragmatic figure to secure popular and international support for his emerging rule. However, it remains to be seen whether the ideological positions he developed as a Salafi-jihadi leader will be manifested in his role as the political leader of Syria, including his previously expressed aspiration to lead jihad to "liberate al-Aqsa."
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The Global Jihad

The global jihad is the name given to the international network of Islamist terrorist organizations sharing Al-Qaeda’s ideology. In fact, all the Muslim fundamentalist terrorist organizations in the world regard themselves as part of Islamic jihad. These groups have many supporters within the Islamic world, who adhere to a compelling religious justification for a military interpretation of the term jihad.

The full name of the global jihad is the “World Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders.” It serves as an umbrella organization for coalitions of terrorist organizations and independent terrorist networks with common ideologies and shared operational ties. 

The global jihad organizations base their activities on Islamist ideology, which regards the religion of Islam as a way of life, determining not only the individual’s way of life but also the character of the regime and society. The Islamic jihad organizations regard Western culture as the complete opposite of Islam. They consider the free world as the enemy of all Muslims. They despise the values of the West, especially democracy, secularism, equality and human rights. The Islamist terrorist organizations advocate all-out war, jihad, against those perceived as their enemies (in various places, Islamist terrorist organizations fight against different enemies), and perpetrate mass killings and massacres, mostly against unarmed random victims.

All the organizations in the global jihad strive to spread Islam and establish Islamic law in all the countries in the world through a jihad against the West and its allies (among them Israel and the pro-Western Arab states). Global jihad organizations advocate a total, uncompromising battle in which the ends justify any and all means. Some of the global jihad networks carry out independent terrorist attacks and others cooperate with each other at various levels.