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On November 26, 2024, the pro-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) "Thughour [Battlefronts]" Telegram channel published a two-page essay by senior Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) religious official Mazhar Al-Ways titled "In Memory Of The Martyr Scholar 'Abdallah 'Azzam." The essay commemorated the 35th anniversary of the killing of Salafi-jihadi ideologue 'Abdallah 'Azzam, who was one of the founders of Al-Qaeda.[1]
"'Azzam Revived The Culture Of Jihad"
Praising 'Azzam as a majestic figure of knowledge, da'wa ("preaching, invitation to Islam") and jihad, Al-Ways described Salafi-jihadi ideologue as a "mujaddid [renewer]" who revived the "culture of jihad in the lungs of Islamic ummah." Al-Ways urged fellow Muslims to honor 'Azzam's jihadi and intellectual journey and let it serve as a model for Islamic scholars, teaching them how to combine active jihad with Salafi ideology.
He asserted: "The mujahid shaikh revived the obligation of jihad and translated it when he migrated to Afghanistan, where he became the leader of the Arab Mujahideen and a symbol of Afghan jihad."
Al-Ways argued that 'Azzam was a visionary who played a significant role in once again spreading the culture of jihad across the globe. He stressed that the latter's most important milestone was the innovative employment of Islamic knowledge to serve the mujahideen in performing jihad: "He realized that the Islamic nation needed to stimulate its blood circulation, so he utilized the blood of jihad to help the nation regain its strength. His biography must be a role model for scholars, many of whom refrained from the arenas of jihad for many reasons and separated from the reality of the mujahideen."
"The Foundation Of Islam: A Guiding Book And A Championing Sword"
Bemoaning that the majority of today's jihadi clerics do not wage jihad on the battlefield, the senior HTS religious official asserted that the Islamic nation needs to be revived once more through the implementation of 'Azzam's models and methods: "Benefiting from his collections and building on them will result in pioneering models, which will rely in combining Islamic knowledge with jihad in order to bring scholars closer to fighters and away from the interpretation of the ignorant, the distortion of the extremists, and the leadership of the Ruwaybidahs [ill-informed]."
Al-Ways stressed the importance of merging "brains and brawn," explaining that Islamic scholars who are not protected by jihadis will remain hostages and captives to the bitter reality of the "filthy governments," and likewise, the jihadis who appear on the battlefield without having any solid Islamic knowledge will be subjected to improvisations, mistakes, and sin. He writes: "The foundation of this religion is a guiding book and a championing sword, and the victorious sect is of knowledge, work, and jihad."
He concluded: "Oh Allah, provide the arenas of jihad with divine scholars and reformist leaders who will cooperate in supporting Islam in this difficult time."
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