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Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by cm2187 on Sunday December 08, 2024 @04:32AM (#42356099)
There is nothing in his wiki bio that suggests moderation.
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by cnlevy on Sunday December 08, 2024 @04:53AM (#42356178)
Well, you haven't read it properly then:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Mohammad_al-Julani]

> When asked about al-Nusra's plans for a post-war Syria, al-Julani stated that after the war ended, all factions in the country would be consulted before anyone considered "establishing an Islamic state". He also mentioned that al-Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority, despite their support for the Assad regime.

Idlib governance

> In response to the unrest, al-Julani made several concessions. He released hundreds of detainees from a previous summer's security operation, including his former deputy Abu Maria al-Qahtani, who had been arrested along with 300 others in a purge of his movement. He also promised local elections and increased employment opportunities for displaced persons, while warning protesters against what he termed treachery. [38]

Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by perihelions on Sunday December 08, 2024 @05:40AM (#42356367)
I agree with the other commenter; I don't believe this language, which seems to be directed towards western audiences for self-serving reasons.

- "He also mentioned that al-Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority, despite their support for the Assad regime"

In the past, al-Julani (or al-Golani) has explicitly demanded Alawites convert to Sunni Islam,

- "But any Allawite considering taking advantage of Golami’s kind offer must meet certain conditions. They must not only stop supporting Assad, but they must convert to Nusra’s brand of extreme Sunni Islam or, in other words, stop being Allawites. Christians will be given a grace period before they have to start pay jizya, a special tax, and Golani takes for granted that Sharia will be implemented. “The basics remain the same,” says Lund, “and they’re extreme enough to be borderline genocidal even when sugar-coated by Al Jazeera.”"

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/syrian-civ... (2015)

And the surrounding context of that quote is apropos, too: "They had earlier forcibly converted hundreds of Druze to their fundamentalist variant of Sunni Islam." These people have no intention of coexisting with different religious groups—they intend to violently convert them, and eradicate their religions.

Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by postingawayonhn on Sunday December 08, 2024 @09:37AM (#42357364)
You're using a 9 year old source. The whole point of this discussion is that HTS appear to have significantly moderated their views since then.

Maybe they're naive, but here are Syiran Christians celebrating: https://x.com/GrecoLevantines/status/1865621018531840273

Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by cm2187 on Sunday December 08, 2024 @04:59AM (#42356205)
Not to go straight to the godwin's point but that's a "Hitler didn't hurt puppies" argument. This guy is former Al Quaeda and clearly a jihadist.
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by cnlevy on Sunday December 08, 2024 @05:48PM (#42361417)
I see his experience as governor of Idlib matching his moderate rhetoric. He has clearly evolved his views from his younger years of international jihadist towards syrian nationalism, including tolerance of minorities that make part of the syrian people, and economic development (christmas trees and free mass, or a more reliable electricity supply than Damascus for example)
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by cm2187 on Monday December 09, 2024 @12:02PM (#42367936)
Well, let's hope you are right
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by postingawayonhn on Sunday December 08, 2024 @04:39AM (#42356130)
I provided the link to hear it from the horses mouth. I'm not saying he's some wonderful person, but HTS's current agenda and recent actions are generally positive.
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by cm2187 on Sunday December 08, 2024 @04:44AM (#42356151)
You mean what he tells CNN while he is trying to get US support?

Reminds me of what we were told of the talibans when Biden was trying to hand them over the country. "They are not the same talibans", "they want to be a good world citizen", etc. Well that didn't age well.

Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by postingawayonhn on Sunday December 08, 2024 @04:59AM (#42356204)
I don't think you would be able to find anything as remotely moderate from the Taliban.
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by dralley on Sunday December 08, 2024 @10:04AM (#42357521)
They're nationalist rather than international (like ISIS), which is frankly the aspect that Western governments would care most about.
Re:Syrian government falls in end to 50-year rule of Assad f... by aguaviva on Wednesday December 11, 2024 @11:58AM (#42389853)
When Biden was trying to hand them over the country.

Effectively it was Trump who made that decision.