[cnlevy]

Well, you haven't read it properly then:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Mohammad_al-Julani]

> 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.

Idlib governance

> In response to the unrest, al-Julani made several concessions. He released hundreds of detainees from a previous summer's security operation, including his former deputy Abu Maria al-Qahtani, who had been arrested along with 300 others in a purge of his movement. He also promised local elections and increased employment opportunities for displaced persons, while warning protesters against what he termed treachery. [38]

[cm2187]

Not to go straight to the godwin's point but that's a "Hitler didn't hurt puppies" argument. This guy is former Al Quaeda and clearly a jihadist.

[cnlevy]

I see his experience as governor of Idlib matching his moderate rhetoric. He has clearly evolved his views from his younger years of international jihadist towards syrian nationalism, including tolerance of minorities that make part of the syrian people, and economic development (christmas trees and free mass, or a more reliable electricity supply than Damascus for example)

[cm2187]

Well, let's hope you are right

[perihelions]

I agree with the other commenter; I don't believe this language, which seems to be directed towards western audiences for self-serving reasons.

- "He also mentioned that al-Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority, despite their support for the Assad regime"

In the past, al-Julani (or al-Golani) has explicitly demanded Alawites convert to Sunni Islam,

- "But any Allawite considering taking advantage of Golami’s kind offer must meet certain conditions. They must not only stop supporting Assad, but they must convert to Nusra’s brand of extreme Sunni Islam or, in other words, stop being Allawites. Christians will be given a grace period before they have to start pay jizya, a special tax, and Golani takes for granted that Sharia will be implemented. “The basics remain the same,” says Lund, “and they’re extreme enough to be borderline genocidal even when sugar-coated by Al Jazeera.”"

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/syrian-civ... (2015)

And the surrounding context of that quote is apropos, too: "They had earlier forcibly converted hundreds of Druze to their fundamentalist variant of Sunni Islam." These people have no intention of coexisting with different religious groups—they intend to violently convert them, and eradicate their religions.

[postingawayonhn]

You're using a 9 year old source. The whole point of this discussion is that HTS appear to have significantly moderated their views since then.

Maybe they're naive, but here are Syiran Christians celebrating: https://x.com/GrecoLevantines/status/1865621018531840273