Syria Conflict: The Islamist Syrian opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) not only waged war against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but is also trying to rebrand itself. HTS and its leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani have recently been trying to convince the world that they are not what they are formally called terrorists. Instead, they are presenting themselves as the real political opposition to Assad.

Since HTS-led Syrian opposition forces launched a surprise offensive on November 27, the Assad regime and its allies have lost control of large swaths of territory, including key cities such as Aleppo and Hama, and are poised to capture Homs, the opposition forces’ next target. To keep it safe they are resorting to desperate measures like blowing up bridges.

HTS started polishing its image

HTS and Jolani have been telling the world for years that they are running an efficient, moderate government in the areas under their control in Syria. They present their rule of these areas as a model for what Syria as a whole would look like if it succeeds in its stated objective of overthrowing the Assad regime. In the early stages of the Syrian Civil War (2011), HTS emerged from the al-Nusra Front, the official affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria.

Jolani was a member of ISIS

After this, HTS basically evolved into the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda and in 2016 it announced its separation from the group. Xolani, the leader of HTS, was a member of the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) before founding the al Qaeda-affiliated HTS. After announcing their separation from al-Qaeda in 2016, HTS and Jolani began portraying them not as a terrorist or Islamist group but as genuine opponents of Assad.

HTS established a government in Syria’s Idlib province after gaining control there and has since portrayed it as a more liberal administration than the Assad regime or other West Asian states such as Saudi Arabia.

In a 2021 interview with PBS, Jolani said the terrorist designation was “inappropriate” and political. He said the HTS administration in Idlib, formally called the Liberation Government, is certainly Islamic, but its Islam is very liberal – at least compared to West Asian standards. He said HTS’s administration is run on the basis of Islam “but not according to the standards of IS (Islamic State) or even Saudi Arabia.”

Also read: ‘The target is to overthrow the Assad regime from Syria’, said HTS commander after capturing more Syrian cities