Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria's Assad?
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader who led the stunning insurgency that toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image and that of his fighters
BEIRUT (AP) — Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. As he entered Damascus behind his victorious fighters Sunday, he even dropped his nom de guerre and referred to himself with his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test.
Insurgents control Damascus, Assad has fled into hiding, and for the first time after 50 years of his family’s iron hand, it is an open question how Syria will be governed.
Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious communities, often pitted against each other by Assad’s state and years of war. Many of them fear the possibility that Sunni Islamist extremists will take over. The country is also fragmented among disparate armed factions, and foreign powers from Russia and Iran to the United States, Turkey and Israel all have their hands in the mix.
