The 'Muhajirin' in the New Syria: The Case of 'Abu Dujana al-Turkistani'

One of the consistent talking points that the new Syrian government advertises to the world is that it respects the order of nation states and does not wish to threaten the security of other countries. In part, this line of thought reflects an evolution from the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led project in northwest Syria prior to the fall of the Assad regime, as HTS sought to engage with foreign media, researchers and government officials and emphasise that the group’s fight was solely focused on bringing down the regime.

But this approach, which I do think is sincere, is arguably at odds with the outlook of many foreigners who came to Syria and fought on the side of the insurgency against the regime (the ‘muhajirin’). While the government disavows notions of transnational jihad, the foreigners themselves embodied transnational jihad by making the journey to Syria and framing their actions as jihad. Some of these foreigners believed in the goal of establishing an Islamic government in Syria that would not necessarily be confined to Syria’s borders, while others may have seen Syria as a useful training ground from which to returning home one day and wage jihad.

So far, the government strategy in dealing with the muhajirin who remain in Syria appears to be trying to integrate at least some of the foreigners who worked with HTS or were allied with it into the new armed forces, while also arresting any muhajirin who are perceived to be troublemakers. The latest controversy over the detention of a muhajir revolves around one ‘Abu Dujana al-Turkistani’, whose nom de guerre and appearance suggest he is of central Asian origin (NB: ‘Turkistani’ does not exclusively refer to Uyghurs, but rather can also refer to other central Asians who speak Turkic languages like the Uzbeks).