Ahmed al-Sharaa, the interim president of Syria, has the world guessing. Is he the Sunni jihadist leader of an Islamic militia with historic ties to al-Qaeda, planning to convert Syria into an autocratic Islamist state governed by strict Sharia law? Or has he reinvented himself as a democratic leader in the making, determined to transform Syria into a unified, inclusive, prosperous nation pledged to maintain freedom of opinion and expression, at peace with itself and the region?
With US President Donald Trump’s recent description of him as a “young, attractive guy,” his optimism about Sharaa having “a real shot at holding it together,” and his decision to lift US sanctions on Syria, the balance would seem to be shifting in Sharaa’s favor. That impression is strengthened by reports in the media on May 28 indicating that Syria and Israel are in direct talks concerned at the moment about security but could possibly broaden to discussions about normalization.
Even so, for the moment Sharaa remains an enigma. The transformation from what he was, to what he seems to aspire to become, has been too sudden to convince many of its authenticity.
The story of Ahmed al-Sharaa: From jihadist rebel to interim president
Ten years ago, Sharaa was leading a fighting militia closely tied to al-Qaeda. In March 2015, under his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, he participated in the onslaught on the governorate of Idlib in northwestern Syria. After a week or so of fighting, the Islamist coalition captured the city of Idlib from Syrian government forces and took control of the region.
The next few years were marked by a series of power struggles between the various jihadist factions. Finally Jolani’s militia, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), emerged dominant. By early 2019, HTS – which had either absorbed or militarily defeated most rival factions – became the de facto ruler of the entire Idlib governorate and surrounding areas, in defiance of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s then-president.
There, Sharaa ruled for nearly six years. Governing by decree, he and his HTS developed a complex administrative system which achieved relative order and comparative ideological moderation. He created a quasi-governmental civilian body known as the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) to administer the basic requirements of the population, such as health, education, justice, and internal security.
Compared to other parts of war-torn Syria, Idlib under HTS was seen by some as relatively stable and orderly, especially in areas like traffic control, civil policing, and municipal services. They ran courts, managed utilities, and collected taxes. NGOs reported that basic services were functional, even amid war and airstrikes.
The downside was that HTS was widely criticized for cracking down on rival factions, activists, journalists, and protesters. Arrests, disappearances, and suppression of free expression were common. The legal system was based on Islamic law, and critics noted it lacked transparency, with harsh sentences and little recourse for appeal.
In the first days of December 2024, a convergence of strategic, political, and military factors created a unique opportunity for Sharaa to take action. The previous month his HTS had captured Aleppo, the large governorate to the east of Idlib. Its fall had exposed the Assad regime’s weakening grip on power. Assad’s unsuccessful appeal for Russian military assistance further underscored the regime’s growing isolation and vulnerability.
So Sharaa seized the day. Leading his highly trained HTS, he swept down from the north, easily trounced Syrian government forces, and in a matter of days captured Damascus and overthrew the regime of Bashir al-Assad.
On December 8, 2024, then-prime minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced a transitional arrangement for the governance of Syria. Sharaa would assume the leadership as head of the New Syrian Administration. Subsequently, on January 29, during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference in Damascus, the Syrian General Command formally appointed Sharaa as president of Syria for the transitional period.
He immediately suspended the Assad-era constitution and produced an interim one. He set about forming a transitional government, and pledged to draft a new constitution within a few years. His interim constitution commits the nation’s governance to unity and inclusivity, explicitly pledges to maintain freedom of opinion and expression, and establishes a People’s Committee to function as an interim parliament.
AHMED HUSSEIN al-Sharaa was born in 1982 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a Syrian Sunni Muslim family originally from the Golan Heights. His father worked as an oil engineer, and his mother was a geography teacher. The family returned to Syria in 1989, settling in Damascus, where Sharaa later attended Damascus University, studying media and medicine for two years.
He has said that the Second Intifada in 2000 was a turning point that radicalized him.
Shortly before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Sharaa traveled to Iraq, joined the organization known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and participated in the Iraqi insurgency for three years. He was captured by American forces in 2006 and imprisoned until 2011.
His release coincided with the start of the civil rebellion in Syria against the Assad regime. As the uprising began, Sharaa was tasked by al-Qaeda’s central command to establish its presence in Syria. In 2012 he founded the al-Nusra Front, which quickly became one of the most powerful factions fighting against the Assad regime. Sharaa resisted the attempt by the head of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to take over al-Nusra, and in 2016 he publicly cut ties with al-Qaeda. In 2017 he formed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and under his leadership established a technocratic administration – the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) – in Idlib governorate.
There is no doubt that the nearly six years that Sharaa spent ruling Idlib have provided him with a wealth of experience that he is now putting to good use. As president, he has faced a series of challenges, including an Assad loyalist insurgency and sectarian violence. In combating them, the ruthlessness of the Sunni militia leader came very much to the fore.
On the other side of the coin, he has been engaging in diplomatic outreach. In his four months as interim Syrian president, he has met with officials from Turkey, Ukraine, Oman, the European Union, Greece, Azerbaijan, and South Korea. He has made eight official visits abroad, signed agreements to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces into the state, and overseen the drafting of an interim constitution for a five-year transition period.
He seems to have made every effort to distance himself from his al-Qaeda roots and to present a moderate and pragmatic image. In public statements, he has emphasized his intention to protect minorities and transform Syria into a pluralistic state. Even so, several countries and international organizations remain cautious and continue to designate Sharaa and his HTS as terrorists. Some human rights bodies criticize HTS for its suppression of dissent and alleged abuses.
Sharaa’s journey from jihadist commander to president presents the world with a highly dramatic transformation. Is it genuine or mere show? That remains the unanswered question. His future role in Syria and the region is being closely watched by the international community, still uncertain whether his image as an emerging democratic leader is the true Sharaa. Could it be, they ask themselves, mere camouflage, concealing a typical autocratic power-hungry Arab leader of which history has provided the world with too many examples?■
The writer’s latest book is Trump and the Holy Land: 2016-2020. Follow him at www.a-mid-east-journal.blogspot.com