It has often been said that 24 years after the September 11 attacks by Al Qaeda, New York elected a Muslim mayor. At the time, Zoran Mamdani was 10 years old. Apparently he had nothing to do with this attack by 19 foreign terrorists (15 of them Saudis). Yet, in practice, this shows that the majority of New Yorkers condemn Islamophobia and know how to distinguish between Muslims and members of the network founded by Osama bin Laden.
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But this Monday, a real terrorist will be welcomed into the White House by President Donald Trump with honors as a head of state. Born in Saudi Arabia to Syrian parents, the self-proclaimed Syrian president, Al-Hmad al-Shara, first joined al-Qaeda in Iraq. Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, who led the organization in Iraqi territory and would later go on to found the Islamic State group, appointed al-Shara, nominally still Mohammed al-Julani, as commander of al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria.
Jabhat al-Nusra is known as the Syrian terrorist network and has committed multiple terrorist attacks, killing thousands of people. He committed atrocities against religious minorities, including Alawites, Christians, and Druze. He later broke with Baghdadi but remained loyal to al-Qaeda. His agenda was always jihadist.
Years later, he changed the name of Jabhat al-Nusra to Hayyet Tahrir al-Sham, distancing itself from al-Qaeda but not from terrorism. It eventually became the most successful rebel militia in the war against Bashar al-Assad’s bloodthirsty dictatorship, taking control of Idlib province. For many years, it has been fighting not only the former regime’s forces but also Kurdish militias on the border with Türkiye.
Last year, he succeeded in overthrowing the Assad dictatorship in a stunning offensive. He seized power in Damascus, where he established a new radical dictatorship. Although he personally tries to stop or claims to be trying to stop attacks on minorities, his supporters have carried out genocide against Alawites and Druze and attacks on Christians. It is worth explaining here that Syria is an Arab state with a Kurdish minority. Religiously, the majority practice Sunni Islam, with important Eastern Christian minorities of various sects, Druze and Alawites, the latter two being mystical streams of Islam.
Abroad, with support from Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, al-Shahra sought to improve his image by wearing suits and adopting a conciliatory attitude toward the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided anti-Israel rhetoric even as he expands his occupation of Syria and Israeli forces support certain sectors of Syrian Druze society. In this way, the Syrian dictator managed to become acceptable to Washington, even though some Republicans and even Democrats were wary of his religious radicalism.
Trump doesn’t seem to care. Maybe it’s just pragmatism. There is currently no alternative to the Syrian dictator, and it appears he is trying to maintain stability within the country. Persecution of religious minorities has never been a problem for the United States as long as it maintains its alliance with the United States. Look at Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia still bans churches and synagogues and is called a “moderate” in Washington.
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