In media coverage of the war and revolution in Syria, one still often finds the armed group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which led the deposal of the Assad regime, described as either being al-Qa ‘ida or ‘al-Qa‘ida-linked.’ This is simply not the case. The formation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in January 2017 was in fact what constituted the full break between al-Qa‘ida and its then affiliate in Syria (Jabhat al-Nusra), while those who insisted on loyalty to al-Qa‘ida formed the Hurras al-Din Organisation (‘Guardians of the Religion’). For some time, despite notable disputes between the two sides regarding matters like the breaking of allegiance to al-Qa‘ida’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and ownership of weapons, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham afforded the group some toleration on the basis that the latter accepted Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s hegemony in northwest Syria and agreed to abide by its rules.
However, in 2020, Hurras al-Din’s formation of an expanded independent operations room prompted a crackdown on the group by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, with leaders such as the Jordanian Sami al-Uraydi becoming wanted by the security apparatus. Since then, the group descended into operational irrelevance apart from claiming an occasional attack outside northwest Syria against the regime and its allies. In the offensive that ultimately toppled Assad, Hurras al-Din had no appreciable role. In short, while some rank-and-file members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham may harbour sympathy for some members and ‘martyrs’ of Hurras al-Din (e.g. the Saudi Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Makki, who was imprisoned by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and ultimately killed in an American drone strike last year), any notion of an alliance between the two groups had long ended.
In a newly issued statement, Hurras al-Din has announced its dissolution, citing a decision made by al-Qa‘ida’s central command and also the fact that Assad’s regime has now been deposed. At the same time, the group offers two lines of ‘advice.’ First, it urges that Sunnis in Syria must be allowed to keep their weapons to deter any threats from potential aggressors, rather than being forced to hand them over to the new administration. It is likely that this advice, when coupled with the statement that al-Sham (the Levant) is the camp of the Muslims in the fight against the Jews and other “enemies of the religion”- is based on the ongoing Israeli military incursion into parts of Syrian territory in Deraa and al-Qunaytra, where the Israelis have been seeking to confiscate weapons held by locals. Second, like other jihadists, the group urges for Syria’s new leadership to implement the rule of Islamic law (the Shari‘a). In affirming its commitment to its principles, Hurras al-Din is likely implicitly contrasting its ideological purity with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s perceived compromises that are deemed unacceptable.
Below is the statement fully translated by me.