ISTANBUL, Turkey — Shalal and Amer (pseudonyms of two Syrian men interviewed by Al-Monitor) never believed that the supermarket they worked in more than 10 years ago near al-Akram mosque in the Mezze district of Damascus would turn out to belong to the family of a man who, even after revealing his face for the first time, continues to make the headlines. The man is Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

When Golani, the emir of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Conquest of Syria Front), formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, appeared on Al Jazeera on July 28 without his cloak, several stories about his origin emerged in Syria. While some believed he was from Deir ez-Zor, others said he was from Damascus. Still others said he was from Daraa. But when seeing his face, Shalal and Amer confirmed to Al-Monitor that Golani’s real name was Ahmed Hussein al-Shara, who is originally from Daraa but lived in Damascus.

Shalal worked in 2003 and 2004 in a supermarket that belonged to the family of Shara, who later became known as Golani. Shalal and Amer are currently residing outside Syria.

According to Shalal, when Shara came back from jihad in Iraq in 2003, Shara (currently Golani) would go to the supermarket whenever his older brother Jamal, who ran the supermarket, was busy. “Shara was always lonely and depressed. He did not seem cultured or into politics. When a Kurdish janitor would visit the supermarket and start a random conversation, Shara would not engage in the conversation.”