{"id":23146,"date":"2015-10-06T18:17:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T22:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=23146"},"modified":"2015-10-07T16:23:05","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T20:23:05","slug":"abdallah-al-muhaysini-a-pivotal-figure-in-the-islamist-insurgency-in-syria-by-%ef%bb%bfwaleed-rikab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/abdallah-al-muhaysini-a-pivotal-figure-in-the-islamist-insurgency-in-syria-by-%ef%bb%bfwaleed-rikab\/","title":{"rendered":"Abdallah al-Muhaysini, a Pivotal Figure in the Islamist Insurgency in Syria,” by ?Waleed Rikab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abdallah al-Muhaysini, a Pivotal Figure in the Islamist Insurgency in Syria
\nby Waleed Rikab*
\nfor Syria Comment – 7 October 2015
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdallah al-Muhaysini<\/a> came to Syria in 2013 to partake in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad. He presents a unique case of the outsized role a single person can play in the lawless world of the Syrian rebellion.\u00a0 He has positioned himself at the center of radical jihadist politics, fund raising, and legal opinion.<\/p>\n

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Al-Muhaysini with a captured Syrian pilot. Jabhat al-Nusra’s flag, which also includes the al-Qaeda insignia, can be seen in the background<\/p>\n

Al-Muhaysini hails from the al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. Prior to his arrival to Syria, he completed his MA and PhD studies in Islamic Jurisprudence in the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, with a dissertation on “The Treatment of Prisoners of War in Islamic Jurisprudence.” A self-professed Salafi jihadist scholar, al-Muhaysini is often seen on the battlefields of northern Syria together with various Islamist factions, prominent among whom are Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), in addition to other factions affiliated with the Jaish al-Fateh<\/a> coalition. He has set up institutions that provide military and financial aid to jihadist groups, and runs a proselytization (Dawah) center (named “The Jihad’s Callers Center<\/a>“) in Idlib Province.<\/p>\n

Al-Mushaysini holds the title General Judge of Jaish al-Fateh<\/a>. He is highly revered in the jihadi-Salafi landscape (notwithstanding Islamic State adherents), embracing a leading role in the warfare – most recently in the Jabha al-Nusra takeover, together<\/a> with the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) of the Abu al-Dhuhur Air Base and in the Jaish al-Fatah battles for control over al-Fuah this month (September 2015). During clashes in the last year, he was documented delivering inflammatory speeches to the troops and bestowing religious blessing upon suicide bombers<\/a> before embarking on their missions.<\/p>\n

\"Muhaysani1\"<\/p>\n

Al-Muhaysini gives his blessing to a suicide bomber in al-Fuah<\/p>\n

A picture of his activities since arriving to Syria two years ago reveals a person immersed in all aspects of the effort to establish Islamist rule in Syria, currently developed mainly in the Idlib Province, but also spreading to other regions (as demonstrated in the creation of Jaish al-Fateh \u2013 Qalamoun<\/a> and Jaish al-Fateh \u2013 the southern region<\/a>). His main activities are:<\/p>\n