“JABHAT AL-NUSRA” - TERRORIST ORGANIZATION AND PARTICIPANT OF SYRIAN CONFLICT

• Main Author: А В Крылов
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2017-12-01
• Series: Vestnik RUDN International Relations
• Subjects: Сирия; сирийский конфликт; сирийская оппозиция; исламизм; исламский радикализм; салафизм; джихадизм; терроризм
• Online Access: http://journals.rudn.ru/international-relations/article/view/17526

The article focuses on the history and evolution of the jihadist terrorist organization “Jab-hat al-Nusra” (“The Support Front for the People of the Levant”). It also reveals the ideological principals of the organization, its main goals and objectives and the methods used to achieve them. “Jabhat al-Nusra” was created as a branch of “Al Qaeda” in Syria. Subsequently, the organization changed its name twice. From July 2016 known as the “Jabhat Fateh al-Sham” (“The Liberation Front of the Levant”) and from January 2017 - as the “Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham” (“Organization for the Liberation of the Levant”. The replacement of the signboard was determined primarily by the fact that “Al-Nusra” had been designated as a terrorist organization in many countries around the world, including Russia. The main goals of “Jabhat al-Nusra” are follows: first - to overthrow the legitimate government of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; second - to create a Muslim Sunni state governed by the laws of Sharia on the territory of Syria. The article shows that now the front “Al-Nusra” is the most powerful military and political force among all political organizations and military groups of the Syrian opposition. “Al-Nusra” is actively trying to become a more respectable movement and persistently seeks to get rid of the image of a terrorist organization. The article reflects the official position of the Russian Federation toward “Jabhat al-Nusra”.