The Sharia-compliant Sheikh al-Dhahabi Campaign fits like a glove with the mission of former al-Qaeda man Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who is now president of Syria. Al-Sharaa also worked with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before double-crossing him out of loyalty to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
As the Lowy Institute has pointed out, the deluded West is leading a “fallacious rebranding campaign” of the Al-Sharaa government. Lowy points out that the “reality in Syria is that the leaderships of armed groups now establishing control over formerly Syrian regime territory had their origins in extremist Islamist and globally listed terrorist organisations.” Although Al-Sharaa put on a suit and managed to fool gullible Westerners, this is the reality on the ground in Syria:
Syrian Christians and Alawites are being slaughtered in Syria by soldiers of the ISIS/AlQaeda terrorist government. The death toll is 1800 in just the last few days, with many victims still missing. Entire villages are being slaughtered by these terrorist govt forces. These… pic.twitter.com/Gm0YVlg9VM
— Iraqi Christian Foundation (@iraqschristians) March 8, 2025
Everything in Syria has pointed to it becoming a country that will inevitably embrace Salafism, with the doctrines of al-Qaeda and ISIS implemented in al-Sharaa’s regime.
“Is Syria Returning to Salafi Islam? The Sharia Campaign of the ‘ISIS Mufti,’” by Devir Peri, Alma Research and Education Center, May 5, 2026:
Over the past year, a campaign focused on “Da’wah” (دعوة – inviting individuals to learn about and return to the path of Islam as part of preaching and spreading of Islam) has been underway throughout Syria. The campaign is titled:
“The Sheikh al-Dhahabi Campaign – Sharia-compliant clothing” (حملة الشيخ الذهبي – اللباس الشرعي)The campaign promotes an ideology of returning to Salafi Islam (associated with al-Qaeda and ISIS), while instilling strict dress norms and distributing Qur’an kits—as a conscious choice to return to the “correct” Islam.
The campaign is led by a figure known as “Sheikh al-Dhahabi.”
The campaign has recently expanded into regions previously vacated by Kurdish forces.
The new regime appears to be allowing the campaign to operate, with internal security forces even providing protection for its gatherings. The campaign may also receive ideological backing from the Sharia Council, led by Abd al-Rahim Atoun—a prominent religious figure since the era of Jabhat al-Nusra and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (see further details below), the earlier incarnations of Ahmad al-Shara’s organization prior to its rebranding as HTS.
The campaign is financially and logistically supported through donations via social media.
According to social media publications, the campaign also supports terrorist organizations in Gaza, including Hamas’ military wing (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades), but this cannot be verified and may be propaganda intended to raise additional funds.
Even if the campaign is not directly funded by the regime, it reinforces suspicions of Ahmad al-Shara’s dual strategy: tactical national pragmatism outwardly, alongside deepening Salafi-jihadist indoctrination internally.
Who is “Sheikh al-Dhahabi”?
According to reports, his real name is Hani Dahab (هاني دهب) or Hani al-Dhahabi (هاني الذهبي), originally from the Damietta (دمياط) governorate in Egypt. His ideological radicalization process began during his studies at the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University. During those years, he married three times and began associating with extremist Islamist movements in Egypt….
Islam is bad says
There should be international sanctions imposed on Syria by every Western country.