The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
This report compiles clips from the MEMRI TV archive of Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, leader of Syria's Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the group he initially established as Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, called Jabhat Al-Nusra and later Jabhat Fath Al-Sham. Starting with his first interview, conducted by Al Jazeera in December 2013, when his face was not shown, these MEMRI TV clips document his statements through 2020.
MEMRI has the largest archive of translations of clips of jihadis over the past 25 years.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Al-Joulani In First Ever Interview: Syria Will Be Governed According To The Shari'a – December 2013
Following are excerpts from an interview with Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani. The interview – the first ever to be held with Al-Joulani – was conducted by Tayseer Allouni, the former Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Kabul, who had been detained in Spain for seven years over charges of collaboration with Al-Qaeda. He was released following a European court ruling on January 17, 2012. The interview with Al-Joulani was aired by Al-Jazeera on December 18, 2013.
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In Wide-Ranging Interview, Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Al-Joulani Discusses Jihad in Syria, Declares: Our Conflict with ISIS Has Been Resolved – December 2013
Following are excerpts from an interview with Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani. The interview – the first ever to be held with Al-Joulani – was conducted by Tayseer Allouni, the former Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Kabul, who had been detained in Spain for seven years over charges of collaboration with Al-Qaeda. He was released following a European court ruling on January 17, 2012. The interview with Al-Joulani was aired by Al-Jazeera on December 18, 2013.
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Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Joulani: We Have Instructions to Refrain from Launching Attacks in the West from Syria – May 2015
In an Al-Jazeera TV interview, Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani said that his organization had received instructions from Al-Zawahiri "to refrain from using Syria to launch attacks in Europe and the West, so that it does not interfere with the war at hand." Joulani further said that it was only a matter of time until the fall of Bashar Al-Assad and that Hizbullah would meet its end soon after. Following are excerpts from the interview, which aired on May 27, 2015.
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Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani: The Muslim Brotherhood Should Bear Arms and Wage Jihad – June 2015
In a TV interview, Jabhat Al-Nusra Commander Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani said: "We all hope that one day, the Muslim Brotherhood will realize that their plan of action is wrong... They should take up their arms and wage Jihad for the sake of Allah." His statements were made in the second part of an interview with Al-Jazeera TV, which aired on June 3, 2015.
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Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani: Participating In Riyadh Talks Constitutes High Treason – December 2015
In an interview with the Syrian opposition Orient News TV, Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani said about the Riyadh conference on Syria, which concluded December 10, 2015: "[It] constitutes high treason against the youth who shed their blood and sacrificed their lives." He rejected the demand for his faction to disconnect from Al-Qaeda, saying that it was not Jabhat Al-Nusra's link to Al-Qaeda that was preventing the toppling of the Al-Assad regime. Al-Joulani further said that he was confident that the Al-Assad regime was "on the verge of collapse." The interview aired on the Syrian opposition Orient News TV on December 12, 2015.
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Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani Establishes 'Jabhat Fath Al-Sham' – July 2016
On July 28, 2016, a video recording of Jabhat Al-Nusra leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani was released on the Internet and aired on Al-Jazeera TV. In the video, Al-Joulani declared that his group has severed ties with Al-Qaeda and changed its name to Jabhat Fath Al-Sham (JFS). In the video, Al-Joulani who thanked Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri and expressed appreciation for Al-Qaeda's understanding of his decision, said: "We declare that we are no longer operating under the name Jabhat Al-Nusra, and announce the formation of a new group operating under the name Jabhat Fath Al-Sham."
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Jabhat Fath Al-Sham Leader Al-Joulani Criticizes Ceasefire Agreement: The Americans Have Placed Themselves Alongside The Syrian Regime – September 2016
In an Al-Jazeera interview broadcast on September 17, Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, Leader of Jabhat Fath Al-Sham, the Syria-based Jihadist group formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusrah, said that the Americans would find themselves up against the entire Syrian people, not just one faction, if they went ahead with the ceasefire. The Sunnis, he said, were now fighting "for their very survival." Al-Joulani warned that the "Rafidite enterprise," through an "American conspiracy," would affect the Sunnis in the entire region ten years down the line.
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HTS Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani in Pep Talk To Fighters On The Idlib Front: We Are Not Defeated, Jerusalem Awaits Us – January 2018
In a video released by Amjad Visual Production, a media group affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), HTS leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani is shown speaking words of encouragement to a few dozen fighters in the field. In the six-minute video, titled "Confident Of Allah's Victory," Al-Joulani says: "We are not at a moment of defeat" and promises the men: "Allah willing, we will reach not only Damascus. Jerusalem awaits us as well." The video was released on January 27, 2018, two days before the first anniversary of the founding of HTS.
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Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani in Eid Al-Adha Address: We Will Not Surrender To The Criminal Regime Or Compromise On Our Weapons – August 2018
An address by Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani circulated on telegram channels associated with the organization on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, celebrated this year on August 20-21. Al-Joulani said that the weapons of the revolution and the Jihad "constitute a 'red line,' on which there can be no compromise" and that "the honorable people of Syria will not allow what happened in the south to be repeated in the north." He called on the people not to heed all the "false rumors" and claimed that "with the grace of Allah, the mujahideen are in the best possible state" and that "they are in their advanced posts, waiting to meet the enemies of Allah in battle."
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Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani: Hmeimim Air Base Is Legitimate Target; For Us To Stop Shelling It, Russia Must Cease Support for Syrian Regime – May 2019
In a video interview posted on Telegram, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) leader Abu Muhammad Al-Jouliani said that HTS has the right to shell Hmeimim air base and that "If the Russian leaders want the shelling of Hmeimim to stop, they must stop their support of the regime and stop killing the Syrian people."
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HTS Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani: Mujahideen Forces Are Withdrawing In Order To Reorganize In Face Of Overwhelming Russian Military Force; We Will Return To Liberate Syrian Land – February 2020
On February 15, 2020, Syrian pro-jihadi journalist Tahir Al-'Umar published a 12-minute video on his Telegram channel in which he interviews Al-Joulani. Al-Joulani discussed recent rebel losses of territory and the Turkish presence in the Idlib area, and responds to criticism raised by some of the group's detractors, such as accusations that HTS has seized other factions' weapons, prevents its rivals from fighting the regime, and has imprisoned members of rival factions.
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HTS Leader Muhammad Al-Joulani Attends Eid Al-Fitr Celebration With Families Of 'Martyrs,' Gives Children Toys – May 2020
On May 26, 2020, a video was uploaded to Telegram of HTS leader Muhammad Al-Joulani at an Eid Al-Fitr celebration with families of fighters who have been killed. Al-Joulani said to the families that their martyrs are beacons for the future, and that HTS is also following the path of martyrdom. Al-Joulani was then shown hugging and kissing children, and giving them gifts such as dolls and toy guns.
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