Al-Golani, from Al-Qaeda’s cloak to Zelenskyy’s shirt
With a neatly trimmed beard, a Zelenskyy-style button-up, and a civilian name, Abu Mohammad Al-Golani, leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham/HTS, has dominated the Syrian scene.
He rose to prominence in the wake of the counter-operation initiated by opposition factions under the Military Operations Command, ending the Assad family's rule and seizing control of the capital, Damascus.
The new identity and name under which he appeared as Ahmed Al-Sharaa, shedding his jihadist alias, signaled a significant shift. His rhetoric, now entirely devoid of religious terminology in favor of political discourse, appeared to be an orchestrated effort by Syria’s power brokers to rebrand Al-Golani, a figure with deep jihadist roots.
Who is Al-Golani?
Born in 1982 into a middle-class family, his father Hussein Al-Sharaa, was a left-leaning economist specializing in the oil sector. Little is known about Al-Golani’s early years, which he spent in Deir Ez-Zour, a province bordering Iraq, where his father worked as a civil servant. The family later moved to Idlib during his adolescence, where he enrolled in medical school.
Against the backdrop of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the young Ahmed Al-Sharaa, then in his twenties, left for Mosul to fight against the American forces. There, he joined Al-Qaeda under the leadership of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. It is also where adopted the nom de guerre 'Al-Golani,' a reference to his family’s origins in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, from which they were displaced to Damascus following the 1967 war.
Al-Golani’s militant career began with Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2003. Over the years, he moved between jihadist factions across Iraq and Syria, alternating between alignment and rebellion—at times leading to armed clashes, such as those between Jabhat Al-Nusra and ISIS.
Before engaging in militant activities, Al-Golani had no notable public presence, nor has he publicly disclosed the reasons behind his jihadism. Analysts debate whether he was influenced by the U.S. occupation of Iraq or by the rhetoric of a Syrian preacher known as Abu Al-Qaqaa.
U.S. forces arrested Al-Golani and detained him at Abu Ghraib prison. He was later transferred between several detention facilities, including Camp Bucca, before he was handed over to Iraqi authorities, who later released him in 2008.
Following his release, Al-Golani resumed his militant activities, this time within the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq/ISI under Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. He quickly gained Al-Baghdadi’s trust and was appointed as head of the organization's activities in Mosul, northern Iraq.
After the outbreak of the Syrian uprising, Al-Golani struck a deal with Al-Baghdadi to establish a Syrian branch of ISI. In January 2012, he announced the formation of Jabhat Al-Nusra, calling on Syrians to "wage jihad to overthrow the (Assad) regime."
Initially, Jabhat al-Nusra remained affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq. However, in 2013, Al-Baghdadi declared the merger of both entities into a single entity—The Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham (The Levant)—which would later come to be known as ISIS. Al-Golani rejected the move and, days later, pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda’s then-leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
In July 2016, Al-Golani formally severed ties with Al-Qaeda, renaming his group as Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham. The name was changed again in 2017 to Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham/HTS, as part of an effort to merge with other armed factions.
In 2017, the United States offered a $10 million bounty for information leading to his whereabouts after labeling him as a global terrorist in 2013. As of December 2024, the bounty has been scrapped.
Who is rebranding Al-Golani?
The military advances led by Al-Golani serve the interests of multiple international and regional actors involved in shaping Syria’s future—whether through funding and arms or by turning a blind eye to the ongoing offensive. They also serve opposition factions that set aside their varying agendas and united under the goal of ousting dictator Bashar Al-Assad.
Meanwhile, Turkey has pursued the end of Assad’s rule to secure its interests, particularly in repatriating Syrian refugees—a politically and economically burdensome issue for Ankara. Additionally, Turkey seeks a Syrian presence to counter Kurdish influence. At this moment, Ankara’s interests converge with other global players.
For Washington and Tel Aviv, the situation presents an opportunity to sever Iran’s supply lines to Hezbollah while exposing Iran-backed militias in Iraq. This strategy complements broader efforts to tighten the noose around the 'Axis of Resistance' and limit support for Hamas in Gaza.
The developments in Syria cannot be separated from Israel’s strategic shift—prioritizing eliminating threats over coexisting with them, as evidenced by the targeted assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
Against this backdrop, Turkey is actively rebranding Al-Golani, presenting him to the U.S. as the face of 'moderate Islamic opposition.' As the primary backer of the recent armed opposition offensive, Ankara has been vocal in supporting Syrian rebels, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself affirming that the ultimate goal is to reach Damascus.
How did Al-Golani transform?
In the wake of Al-Golani’s reemergence, arose the pressing question of whether his transformation is genuine, shaped by years of experience and ideological evolution, or merely a tactical maneuver to achieve the long-standing jihadist goal of establishing an Islamic state?
In an interview with CNN, Al-Golani reflected on his journey from a senior Al-Qaeda figure to his ties with ISIS, his role in founding Jabhat al-Nusra, and its subsequent rebranding into HTS.
“Everyone undergoes transformations in life, and experience naturally enhances awareness. A person at 20 is different from who they are at 30, 40, or 50,” Al-Golani said to the interviewer, who wore a headscarf to cover her hair.
The interview aired just hours after opposition forces seized Aleppo, positioning Ahmed Al-Sharaa as more than just the leader of HTS, but as a central figure in the Joint Operations Room. His rhetoric had noticeably shifted, leaning more toward political discourse.
Al-Golani's transformation extended to his entire demeanor. His newly refined body language suggested intensive media training, aligning with his more inclusive and tolerant narrative.
When asked about the fate of Syria's minorities, he refrained from citing Islamic doctrine, instead stating, “No one can erase the other,” adding, “These sects have lived in this country for hundreds of years, and there will be a law that governs everyone.”
Al-Golani's vision for Syria now echoed the secular ideals of his father, aligning closely with the concepts outlined in his book titled "Reading into the Syrian Resurrection". He advocated for a "political transition" through the establishment of a "pluralistic, democratic, civil state based on equal citizenship, free of ethnic, religious, or sectarian discrimination, governed by a new constitution that guarantees independence, absolute sovereignty of the people, and freedom of expression.”
This comes as a stark contrast to his 2015 appearance on Al Jazeera with journalist Ahmed Mansour, where he sat with his back to the camera, clad in a black headscarf, with the black flag of the caliphate—bearing the Islamic creed—positioned in front of him. At the time, he was introduced as the "Jabhat Al-Nusra Emir (leader)."
During that interview, Al-Golani rooted his ideological justifications in Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, and early Islamic history. Whereas his latest appearance showcased a complete 'new look.'
Ditching the turban, he donned a shirt nearly identical in color and style to that frequently worn by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a U.S.-backed figure, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The parallels between Al-Golani and Zelenskyy extend beyond wardrobe choices. Besides their trimmed beards, they both have a geopolitical alignment that pits them against Russia.
While Zelenskyy leads Ukraine’s resistance against Moscow, Al-Golani has been leading the Syrian factions' coalition against Russian-backed Assad forces since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution.
Behind this transformation lies a calculated effort, driven by Turkish intelligence and facilitated through U.S. coordination, to repackage Al-Golani for the international stage.
His first major interview on a leading American network signaled the launch of this reinvention, as part of a broader strategy to present him as a legitimate political actor in the emerging Syrian landscape.
Whether this transformation is a mere tactical maneuver orchestrated by foreign powers meddling into Syrian affairs since 2011 remains uncertain. The future will reveal how the international community responds to this rebranded leader, and what role his 'new look' will play in Syria’s uncertain future.
A version of this article first appeared in Arabic on December 8, 2024