The Times: Ahmed al Sharaa… It’s hard to ignore the idea of a freedom fighter who overthrew a hated regime
In an article in The Times newspaper, who is Abu Muhammad al Julani? A polite Syrian leader returns home.
Writer, Samer al Atroush tells the story of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham leader, Ahmed al Sharaa, who returned to his home in Damascus.
While opposition forces were taking control of Damascus and releasing prisoners, Abu Mohammed al Julani had a personal mission, “He wanted to go home”.
He went up to the tenth floor of a building in the Mezzeh district of Damascus via elevator, accompanied by four armed guards, and rang a doorbell.
Shara’s arrival came as a shock to the apartment’s current occupants, mechanical engineer Ahmed Suleiman and his wife.
According to the building’s guard, Amer, who witnessed the scene, Ahmed al Sharaa was very polite.
“Would you mind vacating this apartment? As you can see, my parents have fond memories of this place and would like to return,” al Sharaa asked.
The writer continued, “Everything in Syria changed in a few hours on Sunday morning… For couples like Suleiman and his wife, it was a terrifying moment… The couple had their apartment taken over by the Assad regime, which confiscated the property after Sharaa’s identity as a militant leader became known and his parents fled to Egypt”.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is now participating in controlling Syria, as saying that no one needs to fear for their future unless their hands are stained with blood.
The group says that the restoration of rights – including property rights – will be supervised peacefully, and the law gave Suleiman several days to pack his belongings.
The writer believes that Shara, who until last week was considered an enemy of Syria, is now trying to establish his reputation as a tolerant jihadist, despite his past fighting for Al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq.
From Jihadist Leader to Opposition Politician: How Al-Julani Renewed His Image
The writer believes that Ahmed al Sharaa’s return to Mezzeh is very strange, as its associated in the minds of many with the Assad regime, as its the place where senior officials and wealthy businessmen live, close to the military airport on one side and a sector full of ministries.
The image of al Sharaa as a fearsome terrorist, broadcast by state media, is hard to ignore, but so is the idea of a freedom fighter who overthrew a widely hated regime, and whose reputation eventually crumbled even in loyalist areas.
