Hayat Tahrir al-Sham began during the 2011 Syrian civil war. It was previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, which was designated by the US Department of State as a terrorist organization in May of 2018. Currently Mohammad al-Jolani, also known as Ahamd al Sharaa, has been conducting interviews, such as the one given to the BBC, saying “Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way.”
However, there are some real victims of Hayat Tahrir al Sham. What is happening to the Kurdish minority that is living in Syria? What about the Christians, Armenians, the Turkmen and the Circassians? What about the women? Will they be given the same rights as men living in Syria? How safe is America, Israel and the West with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in power?
About Our Speaker: Diliman Abdulkader is the founder of American Friends of Kurdistan (AFK), an advocacy and education organization established to strengthen, protect and promote U.S.-Kurdish relations. AFK supports policies that advance the national security and prosperity of Americans, Kurds, and our other allies. Diliman comes from a foreign policy, national security background where he invests his time on Capitol Hill, educating lawmakers and staffers on the plight of the Kurds. Diliman received his M.A. at the American University in Washington, D.C., in International Peace and Conflict Resolution.
