My new 92-page booklet has been published: “The Age of Political Jihadism: A Study of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group previously linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and to al-Qaeda, has evolved in ways that challenge accepted views of “jihadism.” Now ruling over territory in Syria’s northern Idlib and western Aleppo governorates, it functions more like a government than a nonstate actor, and HTS leader Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani is seeking the group’s removal from the U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. But HTS is hardly anodyne. The group still espouses extremist beliefs that glamorize terrorism abroad, and its fighters fire rockets into civilian areas controlled by the Assad regime. Moreover, HTS hosts other designated groups in its territory, including Jamaat Ansar al-Islam, Katibat Imam al-Bukhari, and Katibat al-Tawhid wal Jihad.

In this thought-provoking Policy Focus, illustrated with photographs of HTS personalities and personnel, jihadism expert Aaron Y. Zelin digs deep into the group’s past before reckoning with the implications of Jawlani’s request. Whatever the U.S. decision, he suggests, political jihadism is here to stay.

Click here to read the 92-page booklet.

Early Reviews:

New video message from Hay’at Taḥrīr al-Shām’s Shaykh Abū ‘Abd Allah al-Shāmī (‘Abd al-Raḥīm ‘Aṭūn): “Faithful Stances With The Almighty’s Saying: ‘Unquestionably, His Is The Creation And The Command'”

The title of this release is in reference to Qur’anic verse 7:54. Here it is in full: “Indeed, your Lord is God, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command. Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is God, Lord of the worlds.”

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To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]