The rebel group Ahrar Al Sham in Syria is facing its biggest crisis since most of its leadership was wiped out in September 2014. On Saturday, 16 of its local factions announced the formation of a new entity led by Hashim Al Sheikh, its former chief.
Ahrar Al Sham might contain the dissent, but the splinter is a chance to highlight two recurrent myths about the extremist group.
The first myth is directly related to the cause of the splinter. Much of the analysis about Ahrar Al Sham has focused on explaining the group’s postures through a supposed internal struggle between a moderate and an extremist current. Such explanations often cite the fact that the group evolved from an organisation with links to Al Qaeda into one advocating a collective Islamic project and finally to one committed to the national goals of the Syrian revolution.
Ahrar Al Sham’s incoherence should instead be examined through a more subtle dynamic, namely differences over the group’s direction between many of its members and those aligned with what its regional backers perceive as in their interest. For example, the moderate-extremist narrative does not hold when members who otherwise disagree ideologically stand together against decisions largely shaped by members close to regional backers.
Claims to the contrary cite the discrepancy between statements emanating from the political office and others from field commanders. But that misunderstands the function of the political office. In a talk in May, Ali Al Omar, the deputy leader of Ahrar Al Sham, who became its leader last month, explained the group’s justification for political engagement. He said participation in talks, conferences or pacts was designed as a form of “takhtheel” (disorientation or neutralisation of opponents).
Even Jabhat Fateh Al Sham, Al Qaeda’s rebranded franchise previously known as Jabhat Al Nusra, accepted “in principle” the formation of a political office during its stalled negotiations with Ahrar Al Sham for a merger. Political engagement should neither be understood as a departure from Salafi-jihadism or a vindication of the supposed moderate current.
The split on Saturday had little to do with ideological differences. The catalyst was principally a sentiment widely felt over the past few weeks: disillusionment with the Turkish role in northern Syria. Ankara is widely blamed for the weakening of the rebels in the north, after its intervention to fight against ISIL and the Kurds, combined with the apparent reduction in commitment to the rebels’ cause in Aleppo as a result.
Many suspected that Turkey had agreed with Russia to give up Aleppo in exchange for a free hand in the eastern countryside, a belief fuelled by the regime’s breakthrough in the city two weeks ago. Since Turkey has previously opposed a merger between Ahrar Al Sham and JFS, members advocating such a merger have been critical of those who opposed it as beholden to their sponsors.
The second myth is related to the true strength of Ahrar Al Sham. Despite the massive financial foreign support, the group failed to dominate anywhere in Syria except in the areas near the Turkish border, mainly in rural Aleppo and in Idlib. The group incessantly tried to build presence in southern and eastern Syria, with limited success.
Qatar and Turkey invested heavily in the group, and the unwavering support helped it bounce back after the decapitation of its leadership in 2014. Its resurgence after that had little to do with its national appeal or intrinsic abilities, otherwise this appeal would have helped it to build influence elsewhere in Syria. Financial support meant that the group could recruit an unlimited number of independent fighters when it launched attacks against the regime.
The two countries also helped the group conduct a public-relations campaign to portray itself as the rebels’ most powerful group. Such perceptions would make it seem indispensable for any negotiation in Syria. The depiction of the group’s incoherent messaging as an internal struggle should also be seen through this effort. It did not change the narrative that the group’s leader praised the Taliban twice – once under a supposedly moderating leadership and once under a hardline one.
Today, the group’s true strength is even more obvious. In August, Ahrar Al Sham appeared as a powerful group leading a major push to break the siege around Aleppo. It was easy to argue that the rebels relied heavily on Ahrar Al Sham. But in recent weeks, Ahrar Al Sham has mattered less. If the group was so powerful, where was it in and around Aleppo when the regime swept through some of the city? Ahrar Al Sham is now crammed in Idlib and rural Hama, which it shares with dozens of other groups.
Recent developments in the north demonstrate clearly that Ahrar Al Sham’s strength was inflated. It was wrongly portrayed as a large organisation with internal struggles with which the international community should contend with. Supporters of the opposition might think such a portrayal was harmless since it was one of many groups fighting the regime. But they are mistaken.
The misrepresentation of Ahrar Al Sham – as the main opposition force, which is undergoing an internal change towards moderation – created a fiction for the international community, an option that did not appeal to countries that reject such groups. It also misrepresented the nature of the support given to the group, as one justified commitment to the opposition’s indispensable defender, rather than as commitment to an extremist faction that serves as a bridge between Al Qaeda and the mainstream rebels.
Hassan Hassan is a resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and co-author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror
On Twitter: @hxhassan
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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More on Quran memorisation:
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
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Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company%20Profile
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Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
