Tahrir al-Sham seeks to change its terrorist classification to a national liberation movement

Clashes are escalating in Syria’s Idlib region amid the exodus of thousands of people trying to flee the fighting, especially in Maaret al-Numan south of Idlib, which has been reduced to rubble. At the same time, it is clear that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a terrorist group in Idlib governorate and one of the most prominent armed factions controlling the region, has abandoned its combat role, in a move that surprised many.

Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the leader of the al-Qaeda splinter group, recently clarified the mysterious actions of his organization, in what resembles a new shift in the doctrine of HTS. The group, which is classified on the lists of terrorism, is trying to send a message to the world that the organization has turned into something like a national liberation movement against the occupation and not just an extremist organization as before.

Jawlani's speech was titled "War of Liberation and Stability", during which he affirmed that the HTS is currently heading for a new geopolitical transformation. But at the same time, he could not escape from his extremist approach so as not to open the door to more anger of the other armed Syrian groups. Jawlani considers the Syrian revolution to have succeeded, despite the mass destruction the country is witnessing, and they are now in the process of a new phase seeking national liberation from the occupier. However, he did not mention the forces present in Syria that he considers occupiers, other than the Russians and Iranians, intentionally disregarding the mention of Turkey and the United States.

"We have surpassed the idea of ​​overthrowing the regime. It is now a battle for liberation and independence from the Russian and Iranian occupation... This Russian and Iranian occupation targets our religion, our land, and our resources. Based on this, we must draw our plans, concepts, and visions for the next battle," Jawlani said in his speech.

The speech confirms what Syrian observers have expressed regarding the existence of an American-Turkish consensus on the necessity of the presence of HTS in the territories it controls and granting it an international seal of legitimacy. There are also Turkish attempts to merge HTS with other armed groups loyal to Ankara and the United States and to use them against the Russians.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly in late September 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that the United States is seeking to classify HTS as moderate, although it is currently listed on the list of global terrorists.

The new geopolitical shift of HTS brings to mind the transformations of al-Qaeda, the mother organization from which it split, as it seeks a new classification with US assistance in confronting the Russian side. This had happened earlier in Afghanistan with the beginning of the jihad movement against the Soviet Union, as the organization then developed into a global jihad movement following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It attempted to apply the Afghan jihad against the Russians in other regions of the world.

HTS is making a historical mistake in relying on American-Turkish support. This mistake was mentioned regarding the mother al-Qaeda organization by French historian specializing in Islamic movements Gilles Kepel.

In his book “Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam”, Kepel said, “The Arab Mujahideen inserted themselves in a great illusion when they claimed that they had defeated the Soviets, simply because they had not fought. They were trained, but they did not fight and they also did not want to admit that if it had not been for American support and training, Afghans would not be able to defeat the Soviets... This lie unfortunately became a driving force for Islamists around the world.”