The one who rules Syria today is not Ahmad al-Sharaa, but rather Abu Abdullah al-Shami [Abdul Rahim Atoun] and his group. He is a jihadist who serves as a member of the Supreme Council for Fatwas in Jabhat al-Nusra and later Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Since December 8, 2024, after the arrival of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa as president by the Fatwa Council and the faction leaders, Abu Abdullah al-Shami [Atoun] became the head of the Advisory Office for Religious Affairs in the Presidency of the Republic.
Abdul Rahim Atoun studied under Sheikh Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani in Jordan, after having previously received his religious education in Turkey.
The body that issues the fatwas that shape the policies of the authority is not the Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Osama al-Rifai, nor the Dar al-Ifta in Damascus, but rather the Supreme Council for Fatwas in Jabhat al-Nusra, and then Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Abu Abdullah al-Shami [Atoun], which has become the sole source of legislation related to the policies of the Syrian transitional authority.
