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Syria’s new most powerful man has, up to now, gone by two names: his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and the one he was given at birth, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
And as the international security correspondent Jason Burke explains, it is notable that since his militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, toppled Bashar al-Assad nine days ago he has reverted back to Sharaa – an attempt, seemingly, to downplay his Islamist past and reassure the country that its next government will be run for all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or faith.
But there is a lot to downplay. As Michael Safi hears, Jolani has spent much of his life in some of the region’s most notorious jihadist groups, and while his rule in the Syrian region of Idlib before this latest offensive was relatively competent, it was severe and draconian too.
Jolani claims he has genuinely reformed – but should he be believed? And if not, what does it mean for Syria after Assad?
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