Not only Syria: From Local to Global Jihad: Interview with a Syrian fighter from Ansar al-Islam
In the search for a greater understanding of the Syrian jihadist galaxy, between August 2023 and September 2024, after numerous attempts, due to the group’s strong closure and focus, I managed to get the chance to interview a fighter from the jihadist group Ansar al-Islam, who said he used the name de guerre Abu Louay al-Shami, to ask numerous questions about the group, its goals, but also more general questions about jihad, other organizations such as al-Qaeda, Islamic State and HTS, and about international events and actors, such as Turkey, Iran, Russia, Israel, etc.
Ansar al-Islam is a historical group in the jihadist galaxy, present in the field of armed struggle for over 25 years. It is currently operational in Syria and consists of between 250 and 300 highly trained fighters, veterans of first the Iraqi conflict and then the Syrian war, many of whom belonged to other jihadist groups such as Junud al-Sham, Hurras al-Din and Ahrar al-Sham.
Below is the complete interview consisting of 29 questions:
1) Ansar al-Islam was born in Iraqi Kurdistan, then moved to Syria. Is your group then, or is it now, composed of Kurdish fighters?
This idea of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam is wrong; Ansar al-Islam has many nationalities. We are Arabs, Kurds, Turks and Persians; there are Egyptians, Tunisians, Iraqis, Jordanians, Lebanese, Germans, French, Afghans, Iranians and many other nationalities.
Those who spread the idea that we are a Kurdish group aim to tarnish our image; to show us that we are only a national or ethnic movement. This is not the case.
2) Which areas do you operate in, and which do you control?
I can't answer that, besides we don't say in our areas of control. This term is imprecise. But some facilities are ours, like the mosque is ours.
3) How is it correct to say that?
There is something called the liberated areas, and these areas are divided into two control areas with Islamic factions and groups. Most are under the management of Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) because it is the largest force, others are managed by the Free Army, like Afrin and its campaign.
4) What group is Ansar al-Islam? How do you position yourselves? Are your operations coordinated with anyone?
We are independent and we don't follow anyone. We don't take orders from anyone. But at the same time, we try to protect ourselves by avoiding clashes with others or being dragged into internal struggles with other groups. Independence, however, reduces funding.
5) Do you manage to remain independent? In military and economic terms?
In order to avoid alliances or alignments and remain independent, we face financial problems. Most of the group's money is invested in weapons, fortifications, propaganda, building Ribat points and the mosque I mentioned earlier. This means that the fighters do not receive salaries. Many of us, veterans, have families to take care of and since we cannot work because we have to devote ourselves to training and military operations, we are forced into debt. Now, the accumulated debts, which are growing for many of us, lead to legal problems and we are subjected to trials by the courts in the liberated areas because of complaints from creditors. We therefore risk imprisonment. Our only concern is to seek donations or sources of support, as many of us are afraid of having to give up our families or the armed struggle.
6) What are your current goals?
We are currently trying to focus our efforts against the Syrian regime, the Russians and the Iranians. We currently have no reason to deviate from this battle. This is our main battle. And we are honoured to fight against the infidels and apostates who fight Islam and Muslims. We support Islam, we support Muslims, this is our faith, this is our battle.
7) It is not easy to achieve victory against these states.
We do not seek victory. We strive to make Islam victorious.
8) Will Ansar al-Islam work with jihadist, Islamist groups or the rebel coalition?
Jama'at Ansar al-Islam is working for the victory of Muslims and Islam everywhere and we will spare no effort to achieve this goal. It is understood that these alliances and any agreement is not against the rules and contrary to the doctrine of monotheism.
9) The target of your jihad is therefore local? In Syria?
If we are defeated in Syria, we must close ranks and gather our forces again, then repeat the Jihad in Syria again, or move to another country where we can perform the ritual of Jihad. One can transfer the Jihad to another arena to support Islam there. Jihad is always global because it is not limited to artificial political boundaries within the global system of unbelief
10) So Ansar al-Islam, once the Syrian battle is won, could choose to go and fight the infidel enemy elsewhere?
Yes it would. If there is jihad elsewhere, the Ansar al-Islam group will go to wage jihad there if it has the capacity to do so. The universality of jihad is at the core of the doctrine of the Ansar al-Islam group. In our belief, Jihad is an act of worship through which we approach God Almighty, like prayer, fasting, Hajj and zakat. Just as we pray, give zakat, perform Hajj and fast anywhere on earth, so we will undertake jihad anywhere on earth if we have the capacity to do so. Here in the Levant, we adopt the project of Jihad as an Islamic nation and for this we offer our lives, our blood, our children, our families and all that we possess. But all this is not enough; the battle is a great burden, one that rests on us alone. We are fighting great powers with the simplest of weapons. Therefore, victory can only come if the Ummah helps us, it must help us even with little.
11) Why do you think the Muslims do not help you as you describe?
There are several reasons. The first is that many Muslims are attached to worldly life, their attachment to it and their fear of death. Then there is the lack of loyalty in Muslim beliefs and doctrines. Finally, the increased prevalence of Sufi doctrine in Muslim societies which holds that Jihad is a temptation and therefore there should be no Jihad until the emergence of the Mahdi and the descent of Jesus Christ, son of Mary, at the end of time. Another motivation is the spread of Salafist Mahdali thought which believes that these infidel rulers who dominate Muslim peoples, are in fact legitimate rulers and it is not permissible to rebel against them and wage Jihad. Finally, the last reason is that in the last two decades there have been many failures of various Jihadist experiments and the loss of many battles by the Mujahideen.
12) What about your enemies? Are they helped?
Of course. Russia, China and Iran have been directly supporting Bashar al-Assad's regime since 2011, and Western countries indirectly support it. Our Muslim nation, on the other hand, has not supported us mujahideen. The individual actions of many Muslims are not enough to turn the wheel of Jihad. That is why the Palestinians accepted Iran's help, because all Muslim doors were closed in their faces. For example, after what happened on 7 October, the US allocated $8 billion in aid for Israel. A Kalashnikov round costs half a dollar, imagine how many bullets the Palestinian mujaheddin could have had. Both we in Syria and Palestine do not need men or fighters, but we lack the money to continue on the path of Jihad.
13) Later I would like to ask you again about the Palestinians, but first I wanted to ask you about Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which you mentioned in one of your answers. How can we consider it? An Islamist or jihadist group?
13) Hayat Tahrir al- Sham (HTS) is the largest of the Islamist groups.
14) So there are no jihadists in the areas of HTS, within its ranks or in the aligned groups, integrated into its brigades or groups that have adapted to its rules and those of its operations room?
No, this is not right. There are many jihadists in the ranks of HTS. Most, however, are among the immigrant fighters.
15) Does HTS aim to have the most control over liberated areas?
Yes, something like that. It is trying to impose its control over the rest of the Islamic groups in many ways, including political methods, economic methods, control of military roads.
16) HTS often oppressed jihadist groups.
This is correct. It has happened. Before, force was also used against us. Now we are on the right track, and we have not changed.
17) HTS has arrested several leaders of Ansar al-Islam (some released later, some not). Why do they do this?
Yes, that is correct. The real explanation for all these actions by HTS is that it wants to be the only decision-maker on the ground. He does not want anyone, any group, or faction, to oppose him with his decisions or his project; therefore, if he feels that any group or faction may come from any opposition to his decisions, he confronts them directly in a hostile manner and starts arresting the leaders of that organisation and goes after the soldiers of that organisation.
18) How does this happen in your opinion?
The first aspect is that HTS initially established itself as a branch of al-Qaeda. This is one of the reasons why many mujahideen joined its ranks. Then HTS later broke free from its organisational ties with al-Qaeda and became independent of it. Here, a number of mujaheddin emerged and founded the organisation of the Guardians of Religion as an alternative branch of al-Qaeda to HTS. This prompted many mujaheddin to leave the ranks of HTS and join the ranks of Hurras al Din, which is effectively a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria. The issue worried HTS leaders, prompting them to start working on ending the presence of HaD once and for all.
19) Recently, the Islamic State announced the death of its leader in HTS areas, accusing them of killing him and handing him over to the Turks. What do you think about this? And in general what is your idea of the Islamic State.
We heard about the killing of the ISIS emir through the ISIS media, and they claimed that HTS was the one who killed him. But HTS denied this claim in its media. I do not explicitly believe either side.
As for the Islamic dominance of ISIS, they are extremists of religion. Extremists of takfir. They declare that all groups and factions are takfir and see every group and faction that does not follow them as infidels. They allow the spilling of Muslim blood, steal the mujahideen's money, and demand that every Muslim must swear allegiance to their supposed caliph, otherwise they threaten you with death.
HTS's fight against ISIS, therefore, has two reasons: the first is that for HTS, ISIS is part of the extremism and excess of the takfir, hence of the Kharigites. The second is that HTS wants to show that it is moderate, that it fights terrorism and takfiri ideology. As I mentioned before, HTS separated from al-Qaeda and saw the emergence of the Syrian Qaedist branch of Hurras al-Din as a threat to its entity and therefore started to fight al-Qaeda. This is because HTS wants to show the international community that it is no longer linked to al-Qaeda and is instead fighting it. To gain the trust of international actors.
Among the various problems within the jihadist galaxy, we can therefore say that there is also that of disputes both between jihadist groups among themselves and between jihadists and Islamists.
This is God's will. God will not waste our Jihad. And it does not matter how much they conspire and fight. How much they clash. The victory will be ours, God willing. We have the victory of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan before our eyes. They fought for 40 years against the Russians and the Americans. There were many problems and clashes among the Mujahideen in Afghanistan over the years. Then they won, thank God.
20) The Jihad you speak of, should it only be conducted in Syria or everywhere? What do you think about Iraq? Of Yemen? Iran?
Jihad against the infidels should be waged everywhere and in every place; Everywhere where there are infidels who stray from religion we must fight them. We must fight them to the best of our ability.
And the nation today must be engaged in jihad. Jihad is obligatory for every Muslim in every country of the world. Every Muslim today must fight in some way: alone or with his own money, otherwise God Almighty will hold him responsible because he has not fulfilled his duty to Jihad on the Day of Resurrection.
Our creed as Muslims says that all infidel countries will eventually fall; and that Islam will return to rule most of the globe, and that the caliphate will return, God willing, and that the religion of Islam will eventually triumph, God willing.
21) What do you think of one-man jihad today. How often does this happen in the West?
The Prophet, may God's prayers and peace be upon him, commanded in stirring hadiths that the person join the congregation, warned not to be alone. The Mujahid must work within a group. His right actions will be much more than his wrong actions. Shari'a requires the Mujahid to seek out the groups closest to the path of truth and join them. Because the opinion and viewpoint of the group that is close to the truth is broader, more comprehensive and closer to realising the interest of Islam than the viewpoint of a single individual.
A fighter must have a legal knowledge of the issues of Jihad jurisprudence, so as not to fall into the forbidden. The Jihad of a Muslim who does not possess a unique knowledge of Shari'a can fall into error. Thus it gives a negative image of Jihad to society. Therefore, Jihad with groups is better, closer to the truth, away from mistakes. It is like a safety valve for an individual's jihad.
And if, as in the West, a Muslim cannot join a group's armed struggle, then he must support the mujahideen with his money, collect money, prepare himself and as soon as possible migrate to one of the jihad arenas.
The main idea is that: all the earth is the land of God Almighty; and the infidels who fight the religion are the enemies of God Almighty. The Muslim, therefore, is the soldier of God Almighty. Therefore: wherever the soldier of God finds the enemy of God anywhere on God's earth, he must fight and strive against him according to God's commands, and of course that jihad must be in accordance with the controls and restrictions of Islamic law. Therefore, we must continue our Jihad against the infidels, and not let other problems distract and discourage us from our main goal. This is what we in Ansar al-Islam believe, this is the main foundation and the solid base from which we proceed in our work.
22) You often see images of attacks and bombings. Who is conducting the bombing of your areas? Americans and Russians? The Americans claim they only target AQ and IS leaders?
Yes, the Americans do that. They don't bomb randomly like the Russians do, but they pick important targets, like jihadist leaders. But they get it wrong, a month ago they killed a shepherd who had nothing to do with it.
23) Who gives them this information about the leaders' positions?
Certainly they have spies here. Just as US-led coalition reconnaissance planes and drones, but also the Turks and Russians, are in our skies, 24 hours a day. They are constantly gathering information. They essentially send a message to the mujaheddin, to say: 'Watch out we are everywhere, we can reach anyone'.
I often see them responding with attacks on the ground to Russian attacks.
Yes, but these are primitive ways. They are often methods that do no good. Because of the constant bombing and enemy aviation, the war in Syria has been uneven for 12 years now.
24) What do you think of the USA? In general about the war on terror? I remember in 2015 and 2017 they told Bashar al-Assad not to cross the chemical weapons red line.
America is the number one enemy of Islam. They and its allies in these areas will find no better servant to fight Islam and Muslims than Bashar al-Assad. No one will remove Bashar al-Assad from power. America has only destroyed Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. It turned a blind eye to the massacres of Muslims in Bosnia. American history is full of wars against Islam. Americans are not to be believed when they have claimed to be against Bashar al-Assad in recent years and now. It is all lies. American drones bomb fighters here every day and kill them. They have never targeted Assad's soldiers, ever. America has its own interests, it is present in the eastern region of Syria and has large and numerous bases. But it could change the rules of engagement based on Russian and Iranian activity. It has its own interests and those of Israel in the area. This could also lead to a clash with the Iranians.
25) What do you think of the European and Arab governments? How they have taken sides in the war in Syria.
I will divide the answer to this question into three parts. In principle, however, the European governments, the Arab and Muslim governments, and the Turkish government are enemies of the jihad in Syria and the Syrian Muslims. I mean the governments, not the people. These governments only have their own interests at heart. They do not care about anything. All countries have sought, and still do, to benefit from the situation in Syria. They have sought and are seeking ways to serve their own interests. Without taking into account the Muslims in Syria.
As for the European governments, they are secretly happy with what Assad has done to the Muslims in Syria. In the media and in statements they said they were fighting him, to preserve their fake democratic image. They pretend to hate him and say he was a war criminal. Secretly they love the lion.
As for the Arab and Muslim governments, they are all infidels who apostatise Islam just like Assad. Through their reconciliation with Assad they send a veiled message of threat to the Arab and Muslim peoples, namely: 'Beware, do not wage jihad against us, neither now nor in the future, otherwise your fate will be destruction, devastation and death', as happened to the Syrian people who rebelled. These apostate Arab and Muslim rulers only care about their personal interests. Their only interest is to stay in power and satisfy the interest of the West on their behalf. They are willing to pay any price to stay in power. Even if the price to pay would be the annihilation of all Arab and Muslim peoples.
As for Turkey, it is a secular government. It does not care about the interests and affairs of Muslims, neither in Syria nor elsewhere. Rather, it only cares about restoring its old political glories, expanding, influence and control as it did during the Ottoman Empire. The recent rapprochement between Turkey and Assad only aimed at gaining support for the Turkish elections. Because the Syrians in Turkey are creating economic problems. Erdogan is a liar, a bad Muslim. He tried to convince the Turkish people that he would reconcile with Assad, only to bring the Syrian refugees back to their country, and solve his problems. In short, we as the Syrian people are being fought by all countries and governments. And there is no one with us but Allah.
26) What do you think about the frequent tribal clashes in northern Syria and the Kurdish military presence?
Regarding this conflict, we take no position, because it is not a religious struggle but a war for national and tribal influence.
The PKK fights for a Kurdish separatist project, while the tribes fight for Arab nationalism and tribal affiliation. This is the core of the conflict and both sides are asking the coalition and America to intervene. This, therefore, makes it clear that they want to resolve the situation under the auspices of the coalition, the West and America. The religion of Islam has nothing to do with this. These are national disputes between the Kurds and the Arab tribes, all of whom seek America's approval. That is why we Mujahideen do not interfere in all this. Our current battle is against the Syrian Nusayri regime, the Russians and the Iranian Shias. We will not divert our efforts and energies to any other side at this stage.
27) You mentioned Palestinian fighters. You mentioned that some armed and political groups have received financial and armament support from Iran or its militias. But many of those militias, and Hezbollah itself, have fought against you in Syria, against the Syrian revolution and above all have committed crimes against Sunnis in Iraq and Syria. What do you think about that?
Because they were besieged by everyone except Iran. Even if we do not agree with the Palestinians for what they did with Iran (for Iran does not care about Muslims, but only about gaining prestige, advantages, political positions) we see the Palestinians seeking help from an enemy they share a common enemy with (Israel) and this is permissible in the legal polity of Islam. As the Afghan mujaheddin did when they accepted the economic and military support he US during the jihad against the Soviet Union. This is due to the intersection of interests between Muslims and an enemy, to fight an enemy state. Provided that this intersection of interests has a clear and achievable goal, and is of benefit to Islam and Muslims. What happened on 7 October confirmed to the world, both to Muslims and infidels, that however strong they may be, they are actually weak in the face of the mujahideen. The defeat of the Israeli army is the clearest proof of this.
It is true that the Iranians helped them, but they did so to gain political gains and cards to play to pressure the Israelis, the West and America. But the Palestinians were besieged by everyone, including the Arab countries, and no one helped them, neither with money, nor weapons, nor politics.
They had no choice but to accept help from the Iranians.
28) What is your opinion about the situation in Palestine?
What is happening in Palestine is the outbreak resulting from long years of tension, intolerance, injustice, oppression, displacement, desecration of holy places, at the hands of the Jews and their allies.
The liberation of Palestine is impossible to achieve without first removing all apostate Arab regimes that control Muslim Arab countries. Therefore, freeing Syria from Assad is the same as freeing Palestine from the Jews. After these events, Palestine will no longer be what it was before.
29) At the end of September, an American drone hit some of your leaders. Reports are circulating that nine of your leaders were killed? What can you tell me in this regard? Is it true?
They are liars, they did not kill our leaders. Only one of the nine was a leader, the others were simply brother fighters. The US lies to exaggerate what they did. We buried them the next day, may God grant us martyrdom like theirs as we fight our enemies.