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Bodies lying on the streets, mass executions and kidnappings amid silence in the region. On March 7, Alawite families in Syria woke up to horrors. The death toll, at the time this article is being written, has reportedly increased to 4,000. It’s expected that the number of victims will increase as attacks on Alawite villages west of Syria continue. Many of these victims are children and women. There is no way to confirm numbers amid silence and fear, and of course darkness with a shutdown of power to the city.
My friend mourned his cousin, her husband and her child along with their in-laws. Islamist militants raided their homes while they were peacefully gathered. His other cousin lost her only son. One is too many. Every Alawite family is mourning today during Ramadan, the month of fasting. Al-Jolani’s Islamist militants, who are now officially the new Syrian army, launched an offensive targeting Alawites, aiming to erase their presence.
Known previously as Al-Nusra, these militants launched attacks on Aleppo. The morale of the Syrian Army deteriorated as many of its leaders gave up amid economic sanctions and regional tensions. Swiftly, the army withdrew, and Islamist militants led by Al-Jolani took control over Aleppo. The army tried to defend Hama, but gave up soon after. In no time, militants found their way to Homs.
On December 8, 2024, former President Bashar Al-Assad left the country. Damascus officially fell into the grip of Al-Jolani, ending decades of Assad’s rule and marking the birth of a state led by an Islamist militant on many international terrorism watchlists.
Ahmed Al-Sharaa, previously known as Al-Jolani, now leads the new interim government. Though designated as a terrorist by many, including Canada, countries like Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extended congratulations. Trudeau even appointed Omar Alghabra as a special envoy to Syria, signaling recognition of the new regime. Al-Jolani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has transformed from fugitive to head of state—at least in the eyes of some global powers.
Al-Jolani’s forces quickly began demographic changes, granting Syrian citizenship to foreign Islamist fighters. Armed men paraded in Damascus and minority-dominated coastal towns. Soon after, videos circulated threatening Alawite, Shia, Druze, and Christian minorities. Christians were threatened with a hefty religious tax (Jizya), while others faced death threats.
Militants began raiding homes, targeting public servants, teachers, doctors, and professors linked to Assad’s former government. Hundreds of thousands lost jobs and income amid an economic crisis. Meanwhile, HTS loyalists—many foreign—were appointed to top military and political roles. Symbolically, a woman, Aisha Al-Dibs, was appointed Minister of Women’s Affairs, only to publicly state that a woman’s role is limited to serving her family and husband.
The new government rewrote school curricula, erased prominent female historical figures, removed criticism of the Ottoman Caliphate, and inserted extremist religious interpretations. Shadi Al-Wais, appointed Minister of Justice, was previously filmed overseeing executions of women—a chilling reminder of the regime’s brutality.
I visited Syria several times under Assad’s regime. Yes, Assad was a dictator, but Syria was a secular nation. Women and men enjoyed equal access to post-secondary education. Today, activists report gender segregation on public transport and the presence of a new religious police enforcing strict dress codes. Holy shrines sacred to Muslims are now under control of militants who oppose veneration. Verified footage from Bab Toma, a Christian district in Damascus, shows an armed man threatening Christians to convert.
Each day in Syria now brings new horrors. HTS militants have ensured that no Alawite, Christian, or Shia is safe in cities like Hama, Homs, and Aleppo. Eyewitnesses confirm abductions, killings, and torture, targeting children, women, and professors. As militants cleared minorities from these cities, they advanced toward Alawite and Druze areas to continue their campaign of terror and sectarian cleansing.
Even the ancient city of Maaloula, a Christian stronghold, has been overrun. Armed propaganda parades send a clear message: Syria belongs to a new regime with no place for religious minorities. In Sunni-majority cities, women now wear face coverings out of fear, mirroring Taliban-style enforcement.
Understanding today’s Syria requires reviewing Al-Jolani’s roots and ideological mission. He once clearly stated that his regime would enforce Sharia law across Syria with zero tolerance for minorities. No suit and tie can hide that ideology.
Before becoming the de facto leader of Syria after toppling Assad, Ahmed Al-Sharaa went by the nom de guerre Abo Mohammad Al-Jolani. The name Al-Jolani (or Al-Golani) references his family’s origin in the Golan Heights, a territory occupied by Israel.
Born in 1982 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Al-Jolani returned with his family to Syria in 1989. His radicalization began not against the Syrian government, but after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. That year, Al-Qaeda in Iraq recruited the young man. Though ostensibly formed to resist the U.S., Al-Qaeda in Iraq was infamous for its brutal attacks on civilians—bombing markets, mosques, and cafes, and carrying out mass kidnappings and executions.
In 2005, Al-Jolani was imprisoned at Camp Bucca, Iraq—a detention center notorious for breeding jihadist networks. There, he developed deeper ties to extremist ideology and forged key relationships, including with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who would later lead ISIS.
After his release, Al-Jolani returned to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and was appointed commander by Al-Baghdadi. More than comrades, they were strategic allies. Al-Baghdadi dispatched Al-Jolani to Syria, where he founded Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012—a Syrian offshoot of ISIS. Al-Nusra successfully recruited fighters both locally and from abroad, including Central Asia, Chechnya, and neighboring Arab countries. In 2013, the U.S. officially designated the group a terrorist organization.
That same year, Al-Jolani gave his first media interview, stating openly that his goal was to impose Sharia law throughout Syria and that there would be no tolerance for religious minorities such as Shias, Alawites, Christians, or Druze.
In 2016, Al-Jolani rebranded his group as Jabhat Tahrir al-Sham, later merging with other jihadist factions to create Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which then took control of Idlib. From that stronghold, HTS eventually launched the campaign that toppled Assad in 2024.
HTS, like ISIS, has committed grave human rights abuses. According to a 2016 Amnesty International report: “Some non-state armed groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Shamia Front, and the Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement have established their own Shari’a (Islamic law) ‘justice systems’… They have also appointed judges, some of whom have no knowledge of Shari’a… Some groups… have imposed punishments amounting to torture or other ill-treatment for perceived infractions.”
After Assad’s fall, Al-Jolani attempted to reinvent his image—trimming his beard and wearing Western attire. But a wardrobe change doesn’t erase ideology. The massacres of thousands of Alawites are a grim reminder that his beliefs and methods have not changed. Ahmed Al-Sharaa remains a significant threat to secular governance and human rights in Syria—and to stability in the region.