Hashim al-Shaykh ( ar, هاشم الشيخ), also known by his ''
nom de guerre
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
'' Abu Jaber Shaykh ( ar, أبو جابر الشيخ) is a rebel commander during the
Syrian Civil War who is a senior leader of
Tahrir al-Sham
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...
. He had reportedly resigned from his position in
Ahrar al-Sham
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...
where he served as a senior commander to help command and direct the merger. Abu Jaber is a
Salafist
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
with a
jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
ideology, which is reflected in the ideology of the group he leads.
[
]
Pre-war activities
Abu Jaber received a bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
at the University of Aleppo
University of Aleppo ( ar, جَامِعَة حَلَب, Jāmiʿat Ḥalab, also called Aleppo University) is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the University of Damascus.
During 2005 ...
. After this, he worked at the Defence Factories near as-Safira
As-Safira ( ar, السَّفِيْرَة / ALA-LC: ''as-Safīrah''; Aleppo dialect: ''Sfīre'') is a Syrian city administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate. It is the administrative center for the as-Safira District. As Safīrah has an ...
. His Salafist
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
activities led to him being arrested by the Syrian government
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...
several times. In 2005, he was imprisoned in the Sednaya Prison
Sednaya Prison ( ar, سجن صيدنايا ''Sajn Ṣaydnāyā'') is a military prison near Damascus in Syria operated by the Syrian government. The prison has been used to hold thousands of prisoners, both civilian detainees and anti-governmen ...
, infamous for holding a number of other Salafist prisoners who were later released.[
]
Syrian Civil War
On 25 September 2011, during the early phase of the Syrian Civil War, Abu Jaber was released from Sednaya Prison
Sednaya Prison ( ar, سجن صيدنايا ''Sajn Ṣaydnāyā'') is a military prison near Damascus in Syria operated by the Syrian government. The prison has been used to hold thousands of prisoners, both civilian detainees and anti-governmen ...
along with a number of other Salafist and jihadist political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s. He joined Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya and fought alongside the al-Nusra Front
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
. He led a subgroup within Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya called the Mus‘ab ibn 'Umair
Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr ( ar, مصعب بن عمير) also known as Muṣʿab al-Khayr ("the Good") was a ''sahabi'' (companion) of Muhammad. From the Banū ʿAbd al-Dār branch of the Quraysh, he embraced Islam in 614 CE and was the first ambass ...
Battalion, which became one of the founding members of Ahrar al-Sham
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...
. As of 2017, Abu Jaber was one of the three surviving founding figures of Ahrar al-Sham.[
In September 2014, the founder and commander of Ahrar al-Sham, ]Hassan Aboud
Hassan Abboud ( ar, حَسان عَبود, Ḥassān Abbūd), also known under his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Abdullah al-Hamawi, was one of the founders of Ahrar al-Sham and was part of its leadership until his death in September 2014.
Background
G ...
, was assassinate
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
d along with 45 of his fighters in a bombing in the Idlib Governorate
Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama ...
. Abu Jaber replaced his position and became the overall commander of Ahrar al-Sham. He resigned and was replaced by Muhannad al-Masri (''Abu Yahia al-Hamawi
Mohannad al-Masri (born 1981), known by the alias Abu Yahia al-Hamawi, (sometimes transliterated Abu Yahya al-Hamawi or Abu Yehya al-Hamawi) was the third leader of the Salafist Ahrar al-Sham during the Syrian Civil War. He served from 12 Septemb ...
'') in September 2015. An Ahrar al-Sham spokesman described Abu Jaber's leadership as the "hardest" period of the group.
On 15 February 2016, during the northern Aleppo offensive, 8 rebel factions pledged allegiance to Abu Jaber and established the Army of Aleppo
The Jaysh Halab ( ar, جيش حلب, lit=Army of Aleppo) was a coalition of Syrian rebel groups based in rebel-held areas inside the city of Aleppo, Syria. The coalition was created by Hashim al-Sheikh, the former general commander of Ahrar a ...
to fight the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
, including the Army of Revolutionaries
The Army of Revolutionaries ( ar, جيش الثوار, Jayš al-Thuwwār), or ''Jaysh al-Thuwar'', is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the ...
.[
On 28 January 2017, Abu Jaber and dozens of other Ahrar al-Sham commanders declared their resignation from Ahrar al-Sham as five major Salafist and jihadist rebel groups led by the ]al-Nusra Front
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
merged into Tahrir al-Sham
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...
. Abu Jaber became the group's emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
. Abu Jaber is one of the three surviving founding leaders of Ahrar al-Sham.
According to analyst Charles Lister in Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, Abu Jaber released a speech on 8 February 2017, In which he called Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
the "enemy"
On 1 October 2017, Abu Jaber resigned from his position as the general commander of Tahrir al-Sham, being replaced by Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a ( ar, أحمد حسين الشرع, ʾAḥmad Ḥusayn aš-Šarʿ), known by the ''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammad al-Julani ( ar, أبو محمد الجولاني, ʾAbū Muḥammad al-Jawlānī), is the commander-in-chie ...
. Abu Jaber took another position as the head of HTS's Shura council
In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura ( ar, مجلس الشورى; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a Caliph, khalifa (Islamic leader) may be s ...
.
See also
*Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a ( ar, أحمد حسين الشرع, ʾAḥmad Ḥusayn aš-Šarʿ), known by the ''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammad al-Julani ( ar, أبو محمد الجولاني, ʾAbū Muḥammad al-Jawlānī), is the commander-in-chie ...
* Hassan Soufan
References
{{Syrian Civil War
1968 births
Living people
People from Aleppo Governorate
Syrian Islamists
Syrian Salafis
Critics of Shia Islam
People of the Syrian civil war
Al-Qaeda leaders
Leaders of Islamic terror groups