Zahran Alloush (, 1971 – 25 December 2015) was a Syrian Islamist rebel leader who was the commander of
Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), a major component of the
Islamic Front, of which he was the military chief, and was described as one of the most powerful leaders in rebel-held Syria. He was killed in a joint Russian and Syrian airstrike on 25 December 2015 and was succeeded by
Essam al-Buwaydhani as head of Jaysh al-Islam.
Early life
Zahran Alloush was born in
Douma, Rif Dimashq, in 1971, and was married to three women. His father was Abdullah Alloush, a scholar and the previous director of Al Assad center for Quran studies in Damascus. He joined the faculty of law at
Damascus University
Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...
, and completed a master's degree in
Shariah at the
Islamic University of Madinah.
The Syrian Intelligence Palestine Branch arrested him in 2009 on charges of weapons possession. He was released from
Sednaya Prison in 2011 as part of a general amnesty three months into the
Syrian Uprising.
Syrian Civil War
Following his release, he established a rebel group called the Battalion of Islam to fight the Syrian Government. The group expanded and renamed itself the Brigade of Islam, and in 2013 it merged with other rebel factions to form
Jaysh al-Islam, still under Alloush's leadership. This became the most powerful rebel group operating in the Damascus area.
According to
Joshua Landis, Alloush called for cleansing
Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
of all Alawites and Shiites,
later telling Western journalists that these and similar statements had been caused by the pressure and "psychological stress" he was under from living through the Syrian Government's siege of
Ghouta.
A number of Syrian opposition figures have accused Alloush of being responsible for the kidnapping of Syrian activist
Razan Zeitouneh and her companions in Douma on 9 December 2013. Alloush denied the allegations.
In April 2015, Zahran Alloush suddenly appeared in the
Turkish city of
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. A spokesperson from the Army of Islam declared that Alloush would meet rebel groups' leaders there in order to discuss how to lift the siege in Ghouta. This led to public criticism, with many in the media wondering how he could travel to
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and come back to
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
while Ghouta was under siege.
Alloush has denounced democracy and called for an Islamic state to succeed Assad; however, in a May 2015 interview with
McClatchy journalists, his spokesperson used moderate rhetoric, claiming that Syrians should decide what sort of state they wanted to live under and that
Alawites
Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...
were "part of the Syrian people" and only those with blood on their hands should be held accountable. His spokesman went on to say that the sectarian and
Islamist rhetoric Alloush had previously made was only intended for internal consumption and to rally his fighters. In an interview with ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' in the same period, his spokesman disassociated Zahran from
al-Nusra
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...
, denied that he wanted to impose Sharia law, and called for a technocratic government.
He was reported killed, along with other senior members of his faction in the village of Utaya, east of Damascus, on 25 December 2015, in an
airstrike
An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...
on a meeting with rival rebel commanders from
Ahrar al-Sham.
Lebanese pro-government media said that 13 pro-government airstrikes had targeted Damascus that day.
Although the Syrian army claimed the strike, local reports said it was by Russian warplanes.
A senior member of Ahrar al-Sham group, which also lost commanders in the airstrike, said "The martyrdom of Sheikh Zahran Allouch should be a turning point in the history of the revolution and rebel groups should realize they are facing a war of extermination by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's regime." Other insurgent groups, including Jabhat al-Nusra, lamented his loss.
His targeting was linked by Western media to his participation in forthcoming peace talks between the government and opposition.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' commented that his death was "a significant blow to the armed opposition, bolstering President Bashar al-Assad".
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alloush, Zahran
1971 births
2015 deaths
People from Rif Dimashq Governorate
People of the Syrian civil war
Syrian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Syrian Salafis
Critics of Shia Islam
Islamic University of Madinah alumni
Syrian prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Syria
Deaths by Syrian airstrikes during the Syrian civil war
Deaths by Russian airstrikes during the Syrian civil war
Damascus University alumni
2015 murders in Syria