Tahrir al-Sham wooing the west

Mustafa Kamel

Tahrir al-Sham, which is commanded by Mohamed al-Julani, has started wooing western countries.

Julani said recently that he wished he could establish relations with western states.

He added that his organization does not pose any threats to these states.

The new remarks show that the al-Qaeda-affiliated group tries to introduce itself as a moderate movement that does not harbor any hostility to the west.

It wants to ensure that it will not be included in any international terror lists.

Tahrir al-Sham also apparently wants to turn the eastern Syrian province of Idlib into an independent state that enjoys recognition from western countries.

Relations

Tahrir al-Sham tries to prove that it is part of the Syrian political fabric, in its bid to be part of any future settlement in the war-torn state.

It keeps sending messages here and there that it wants to establish relations with other countries.

The military and ideological makeup of the movement witnessed many changes in the past period.

Julani met the members of the International Crisis Group on February 20, 2020.

During the meeting, he told the members of the group that his movement is a local movement that does not target any foreign entities or countries.

The grand mufti of the movement Abdel Rahim Atwan said also that Tahrir al-Sham wants to establish relations with the west.

“We do not pose any threats to the west,” Atwan said in remarks to a newspaper.

He added that his movement does not fight the Syrian army either, but it would not be able to stand against this army without outside support.

“Tahrir al-Sham cannot continue without support from western countries either,” Atwan said.

He denied the presence of similarities between his movement and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.