Leaving Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham: A Defector Speaks

Interview with Abu Mustafa al-Halabi

While less prominent in the headlines for Syria watchers, the protests against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its policies in parts of Idlib and its environs persist. HTS, for its part, has made various vague commitments about reform and conciliation, but has also arrested people on grounds of ‘public security’, such as al-Zubayr al-Ghazi (Palestinian jihadist and former HTS member running the ‘Wage Jihad With Your Wealth’ campaign- subsequently released) and Abu Shu‘ayb al-Masri (Egyptian cleric who was once affiliated with HTS and was rearrested shortly after I published an interview with him about his experiences in HTS prison).

Today’s interviewee is Abu Mustafa al-Halabi, a former HTS member and a friend of Abu Shu‘ayb. Abu Mustafa talks about his time in HTS, why he left the organisation, and the ongoing protests against the group. Abu Mustafa is himself wanted by the group for arrest on grounds of ‘public security.’ Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

Q: Can you provide me a summary biography of yourself? When were you born and what were you doing before the revolution? After the revolution broke out, with which factions did you work before joining the Hay’a?

A: I am Muhammad Mustafa Ma‘arawi, known as Abu Mustafa al-Halabi. I was born in Aleppo in 1998. Before the revolution, I was between school and Qur’an sessions and studies of ‘Ilm [Islamic knowledge]. When the revolution broke out, I joined Harakat Ahrar al-Sham and worked in the military realm, and then I joined the Shari‘i office under the supervision of Abu al-Walid al-Hanafi who was head of it at the time. God ennobled me with entry into a number of battles in Aleppo city and its countryside. After leaving Aleppo, I moved to the Sahel [coastal area] with the Shari‘i office, and I worked as a teacher in Shari‘i courses for the revolutionaries. I began preaching in the year 2014.

I have studied at Aram University in the liberated north, and it is by God’s grace towards me that I managed to memorise His Book [Qur’an] and obtained license to teach recitation for the Qur’an, the six hadith books and other texts.

- The mashaykh I have been taught by: my first shaykh- my father (may God protect him); Shaykh Abd al-Razzaq al-Mahdi and Shaykh Abu al-Waid al-Hanafi (may God protect them both and grant benefit through them).

Q: Did you join the Hay’a when the project was initially launched? For what reasons did you join?