Are Syria’s Salafi movements witnessing a split? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-salafist-groups-jaysh-al-sham.html
Jaish al-Sham has publicized its members to be all native Syrians. Lund underlines as well the group’s use of the Syrian independence flag, “which has become a widely recognized symbol of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad,” but is not used by al-Qaeda-like groups, which generally opt for a banner with the Islamic declaration of faith.
The creation of Jaish al-Sham might be indicative of widening ideological fissures inside Ahrar al-Sham and other Salafi movements. This year was marked by an ongoing rivalry between two competing currents within Ahrar al-Sham, namely between the “more moderate” movement of Labib al-Nahhas, the head of foreign political relations at Ahrar al-Sham, and the more conservative views of the military branch represented by Mohammed Abu Sadek, which is believed to be closer to Jabhat al-Nusra.
Read more: ▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-salafist-groups-jaysh-al-sham.html#ixzz3shRmqPFy
