IDLIB, Syria — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the United States, announced through its Sharia Council the disavowal of prominent jihadist ideologue Issam al-Barqawi, aka Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi.
In a statement released Oct. 10, the HTS-affiliated Sharia Council said, “He [Maqdisi] is not one of us, and we do not follow his ways. We distinguish between his heretical notion of 'tawheed' [the oneness of God] and the notion we were taught by our predecessors and successors [scholars]. We disavow Barqawi’s ideology and behavior.”
Maqdasi said in a statement via his Telegram channel a few days ago, which was later removed, “We have been shown the injustices and grievances of the HTS members and their cooperation with Turkish intelligence in their investigation with Muslims. Those who abet Turkish intelligence against Muslims commit a contravention in Islam, showing their apostasy and deviation from religion, if they cooperate with Turkey.”
Relations between Maqdisi and HTS have been tense since the latter, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, split from al-Qaeda in 2016 and announced the formation of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The split back then angered the more radical current within Jabhat al-Nusra, which in turn announced the formation of Hurras al-Din (Guardians of Religion), which is affiliated with al-Qaeda.
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