Liar, Liar, Syria on Fire

"The Islamic unity against their common enemy Israel is coming to an end and Muslims are about to display their brutality against each other." ~ Mosab Hassan Yusef

al-Jolani in his jihadist attire days, before his Hollywood makeover

News flash: Rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has dropped his nom de guerre and is now referring to himself by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. What a relief. I guess that means he’s a moderate now.

You can listen to me read this essay here:

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Why do we keep believing liars? We trust “reformed” jihadists when they promise they have changed their ways— “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.”— and then we’re shocked when they betray us.

Such is the case with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the Islamist alliance that has brought down President Bashar al-Assad, ending five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria.

Watch this short interview from just a few days ago, a nice propaganda piece from CNN, to see how reasonable Jolani has become.

While many celebrate the end of Bashar al-Assad, and with good reason, those who know the region are careful to remind us that Syrian rebels are probably much worse than Assad.

Son of Hamas author, Mosab Hassan Yusef, who I quote a few times in this essay, tells us, “The fact is, few Westerners can come close to understanding the complexities of the Middle East and its people.”

Those who do understand, such as Sam Harris, warn us, “A jihadist is more dangerous than Nazism. Jihadists are Nazis who are certain of paradise. They are Nazis who are eager to die and have their children die'.

Even if we in the West refuse to listen to those who warn us, it won’t change the truth, and even the blind will be forced to see it eventually.

So, who is Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda. He is an Islamist militant inspired to become a jihadist by the 9/11 attacks and the Second Palestinian Intifada against Israel in the early 2000s. In 2011, when he was in his late twenties, he moved back to Syria from Iraq with six men and a monthly stipend of $50,000 from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph of the ISIS terrorist organization. Baghdadi would go on to become the world’s most wanted terrorist.

Jolani’s mission was to establish Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, Jabhat Al Nusra. By December 2012, the US Department of State had designated al-Nusra as a terrorist organization. Under Julani's leadership, Al-Nusra emerged as one of Syria's most powerful groups.

Terrorists have a habit of transforming themselves into “moderates” once they gain enough power, in order to take advantage of the West. It was Yassar Arafat who perfected the art of “the moderate’s lie”.

Arafat should be remembered as the hated father of modern terrorism. Instead, he is eulogized as a “charismatic, revolutionary leader, fighting for a national homeland as part of the global struggle for equality, justice, freedom and above all self-determination.”

In Hard Facts: From the River to the Sea, I list the acts of terrorism initiated by Arafat from the founding of Fatah in the 1950s up until the year of his death in 2004. One of the last was the suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus, where 11 people were killed and over 50 wounded.

Throughout those years and when it was to his advantage, Arafat periodically claimed to have changed his ways. Each time, the West believed him.

After denouncing terrorism in 1988, Arafat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. By 1990, he was back at it, with the PLO failing to condemn the Palestine Liberation Front’s (PLF) attack on Israeli beaches.

In 1993, Arafat once again pledged to stop incitement and terror, and to foster co-existence with Israel, but failed to comply. Throughout the years of negotiations, aside from token efforts, Arafat did nothing to stop Hamas, PFLP, and Islamic Jihad from carrying out thousands of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.

Yassar Arafat set the example for all who followed in his footsteps, each one hoping to realize the dream Arafat started. That dream was NOT a Palestinian state, but a Caliphate where all of the Middle East and then the world is subjugated to Islam and the “will of Allah”.

Within that overarching goal are power struggles between men whose ambition is to become the caliph of that Caliphate. The caliph is a successor of Muhammad as the temporal and spiritual head of Islam. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is one such man; the rebel who has risen above all others to be the potential ruler of Syria. It remains to be seen, however, if conflicting factions can be subdued. Those factions united in ousting Assad but could now descended into a bloodbath of infighting.

The collapse of Assad’s regime is a blow to Russia and perhaps the final nail in Iran’s coffin. Iran will now have to decide if it should make a deal with President Trump to secure peace, at least for the next four years, or if it wants to remain defiant and continue its nuclear mission, which is the one, desperate card it has left on the table.

Turkish officials have denied claims of any involvement in Assad’s downfall however it is believed that the offensive could not have gone ahead without Ankara’s consent.

Israel and the United States are watching closely to see who might gain control of chemical weapons in Syria, as well as strategic weapons such as P-800 Oniks, ballistic missiles, helicopters, aircraft, and massive arms stockpiles, perhaps looking for an opportunity to swoop in and destroy them.

Mosab Hassan Yusef advised that the United States and Israel should have “immediately destroyed the Syrian regime's chemical weapons and long-range missiles before they fall into the hands of Islamists. Events are developing very quickly. Preventing Muslim terrorists from obtaining heavy weaponry requires immediate action.”

A priest stands before the ruins of St. Mary's Syriac Orthodox parish in Homs. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need.

The fate of Christians in the region should be of major concern to the West.

Despite the West’s Christian foundation, there is little attention given to the genocide of Christians living in the very birthplace of Christianity. After two millennia of Christian presence, the Middle East is being cleansed of Christians, and no one seems to care.

Before the Syrian war in 2011, 10% of Syrians were Christian. Today, less than 2% are, thanks to the "moderate rebels" that the West armed and enabled. (2)

That number could now shrink to zero. The Christian Post reports of atrocities happening to Christians. Dr. Arwant Arslanian, a Christian physician, was killed by sniper fire while attempting to flee the advancing rebels and a bus carrying young Christians was stranded on the Aleppo Road, later finding refuge at the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese.

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop Mor Boutros Kassis

Christian leaders have remained behind, providing spiritual guidance and practical support to their dwindling communities. Leaders such as Franciscan Father Bahjat Karakach and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop Mor Boutros Kassis encourage Christian residents to “face the reality with awareness, courage and faith.”

Where are the Western Christians standing in solidarity with these Syrian Christians. Why aren’t pastors and priests across the United States speaking out and encouraging their congregations to do the same? Are Christians even learning these names so they can pray for them?

Even if you aren’t a Christian, if you are an atheist or a Buddhist, or whatever, we should all acknowledge the West’s historical and moral roots to Christianity, vowing an unbreakable bond with our brothers and sisters in the Middle East.

Instead, all we hear is endless whining about Israel being an apartheid, genocidal state, when, in fact, Israel is the ONLY country in the region with a growing Christian community. In 2020, the Christian population in Israel grew by 1.4%.

The purposeful twisting of facts by Western media and educational institutions to demonize Israel and extol genocidal jihadists is astounding.

By the way, why hasn't the ICC ever issued an arrest warrant for Assad who is responsible for murdering 600,000 of his own people, some by chemical attack.

But why should anyone in the West worry? We have Abu Mohammed al-Jolani’s promise that he isn’t going to persecute or kill non-Muslims.

We should believe him because he looks like a moderate now. Just check out his makeover below. From an Osama bin Laden inspired turban to a cool Zelensky-khaki number:

CNN has published an article about Abu Jolani titled: How Syria’s rebel leader went from radical jihadist to a blazer-wearing ‘revolutionary’.

While APF titles their recent piece: Syria's Jolani: from jihadist to pragmatist.

Why should we believe him any more than we should have believed Yassar Arafat.

Read this review of Jolani’s 2015 Aljazeera interview, to know what he really thinks of Christians and the Alawite minority of which Bashar al-Assad is a member:

Jabhat al-Nosra won’t fight those Christian villages that do not fight the Muslims (meaning the rebels), adding that only after an Islamic government has been set up will they start collecting the Jizya, and even then, it will only be taken from those who can afford it … and so on. Again and again, he made the point that Jabhat al-Nosra would be totally justified in taking action against certain minorities but has chosen not to because they are in fact un-crazy non-extremists.

In one of the interview’s more memorable moments, he said that an Alawite can surrender to Jabhat al-Nosra and as long as he repents, he won’t be killed “even if he killed a thousand of us”. You won’t hear that from the Islamic State, which proudly broadcasts videos of its soldiers shooting defenseless Alawite and Shia prisoners-of-war or slitting their throats. Indeed, those who imagine there is no room for nuances in jihadi thinking, or jihadi rhetoric, are wrong. There is already more than a glint of daylight between the classical salafi-jihadism of Jabhat al-Nusra and the still-developing neo-jihadi ideology that was set loose by the Islamic State’s split from al-Qaeda in 2013. The difference will surely widen over time.

Then again, the basics remain the same and they’re extreme enough to be borderline genocidal, even when sugarcoated by Aljazeera. If you listened closely, Golani [another spelling for Jolani] also said that Alawites are a people who have left Islam. He made it clear that not only must Alawites stop fighting for Assad, they must also abandon the elements of their faith that contradict Islam. And of course, by Islam he means his own salafi brand of Sunni Islam, not that they can be regular Shias or anything like that. So minus the wrapping, his core message remains the same: Alawites will be left alone as soon as they agree to stop being Alawites.

In October 2015, al-Julani called for indiscriminate attacks on Alawite villages in Syria. He said, "There is no choice but to escalate the battle and to target Alawite towns and villages in Latakia" Julani also called for Russian civilians to be attacked by former Soviet Muslims.

In the current CNN interview, when concern was expressed over what might happen to the Alawite this time, Jolani repeats the same ominous promises of “moderation”:

When asked about al-Nusra's plans for a post-war Syria, al-Julani stated that after the war ended, all factions in the country would be consulted before anyone considered "establishing an Islamic state". He also mentioned that al-Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority, despite their support for the Assad regime.

"Our war is not a matter of revenge against the Alawites despite the fact that in Islam, they are considered to be heretics.” He added that Alawites would be left alone as long as they abandon elements of their faith which contradict Islam.

What are those contradictions? Whereas Shi'a Muslims believe that there is only one God, and that Mohammad was a prophet, the Alawite believe in a divine trinity made up of Ali, Mohammad, and Salman al-Farisi. The Alawite also do not have any dietary restrictions, do not prohibit alcohol, and do not require women to cover their heads.

The rhetoric may change depending on which way the wind blows, but at the end of the day, all infidels, whether they be Jews, Christians, Alawites, whatever, must submit to the rule of the Islamic Caliphate or face death.

And just in case you are still doubtful, Al-Nusrah Front (ANF)’s founding statement makes it clear:

“The time of subduing Muslims has ended and gone...The strength of the Islamic umma (nation) has regained its will and determination to defend itself against tyrants and oppressors and to defend its wealth, honor, and the chastity and lives of the faithful.”

THE FAITHFUL.

Anyone refusing to understand what that means while continuing to parrot the lies of terrorists, deserves to live under the Caliphate that they are encouraging. Only when facing harsh reality of submitting to the will of Allah or death, will they realize how foolish they had been. But by then, it will be too late.

As of this writing, Israel has invaded the Syrian demilitarized zone while the U.S. has carried out a major round of airstrikes on Islamic State targets.

Along with Israel taking advantage of the situation to strengthen its security, those airstrikes are destroying the chemical weapons and others I wrote about earlier.

"There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria," said Central Command chief Gen. Erik Kurilla.

On Thursday, Mosab Hassan Yusef predicted the fall of Assad, reminding us how all things in the Middle East, indeed in the entire world at this stage, start and end with Israel:

The illusion of “Palestine” is changing the world order in favor of Israel.

The “Palestinian” slaughter of Jews on October 7 led to the destruction of Hamas, Hezbollah and led to an open war between Ayatollah and Israel which will eventually lead to the destruction of the Islamic republic.

Hezbollah’s defeat in Lebanon encouraged Sunni Jihadists to launch a surprising assault against the Syrian dictator.

Russia can’t save the Assad regime this time, Ayatollah’s hands are tied, and Hezbollah, his greatest asset in the past, is too weak to fight to his side. As a result, Bashar al Assad will certainly fall.

Sunni Jihadists will take over Syria for a while, this will result in a bloodbath between Sunni and Shi’i Muslims.

The Islamic temporary unity against their common enemy Israel is coming to an end and Muslims are about to display their brutality against each other.

I don’t know how long this new ugly Islamic war will last but I am certain that Israel will emerge as a superpower.

Regimes will fall and rise as a result of the “Palestine” trigger. The black hole that will swallow its creators.

We must start listening to people who know the truth, like Mosab Hassan Yusef, and stop believing the nonsense of lying jihadists. My next essay delves into the most inspiring—and disturbing—debate that you will ever see, illustrating the black hole so many have fallen into. The contrast between the warriors of truth and those who are exposed as genocidal Jew-hating ogres, is becoming only too clear. Stay tuned.