«Legal courses» in Idlib .. The backyard of creating «new terrorists»

By: Asia Khalil

Turkey on Thursday hosted a quadripartite meeting on Syria, which includes France, Germany and Russia, aimed at strengthening international understandings on the city of Idlib in northern Syria, according to the Sochi agreement signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on last 17 September.

This meeting was postponed before; it was supposed to be held in the first week of last September, and the reason for this is the developments of the scene. Finally its date was set after days of penetration in the Syrian arena, previously agreed on the Sochi agreement. According to the agreement, heavy weapons would be withdrawn from a buffer zone between the forces of the regime and the factions at a depth of 15 to 20 kilometers.

The approval of the al-Sham Liberation organisation (One of the most influential organisations in Idlib) has been politically adapted by pressure from influential Turkey. In contrast, the alignment or “dodging” of the organisation and other militant groups in Syria has not been resolved. And did not guarantee the enforcement of the agreement or obstructing it, and the reason that these groups faced a decline in political discourse and decisions of confrontation.

But the safe region of these groups, represents at the same time a dangerous bastion, which may change the scene at any moment. Several indicators have shown that the discourse of these advocacy groups is a machine to produce more “potential terrorists”, especially with their focus on “adolescents” children”.

It was noted the intensification of the launch of the legitimate courses of groups and centers tracking the famous jihadist scenes in the Syrian arena, such as the two Sheikhs: Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi and Abdulla al-Muhaysni (was the legal perspective of the Nasra Front before disengaging from al-Qaeda), via the site “Telegram”. A new centers for the religious call were opened in villages that were not witnessed their presence before

It is also remarkable in these calls, requiring a “pre-interview” with the applicants, which raises the question: if the goal is to teach the forensic science in purely religious terms, what is the reason for those interviews? Does knowledge of religion be limited to some without the other?

So this condition is another indication that the goal is to choose “new mujahideen” rather than “new learners”, and here it becomes logical to ask for the interview; to scrutinize applicants and choose the strongest of their structures and to stand against the background of their affiliations.

And the Imam al-Bukhari Institute in the border area of Idlib city, one of the institutes that have advertised the legitimate courses in several jihadist channels, and set the age of admission of its students from 14 years and above (children and adolescents), and ensured all its expenses including food and accommodation.

Thus, it is clear that the legal sessions in Idlib bear more indications about their relationship with the production of new or potential terrorists, given the data of the current scene, and with the support of previous scenes.

On July 5, 2017, media outlets reported the explosion of a car bomb in front of the Qur’an Memorization Institute in the western countryside of Idlib; killing eight people, including children, and reports that among the dead were three Shariah editors in the Sham. Thus, it is clear that these religious institutes are an essential part of the armed scene and a tool for producing new elements.