Draft:Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani
| Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani | |
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| religion | Islam |
Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani, also known as Abu Maria al-Qahtani, was a general Sharia official for Jabhat al-Nusra. He collaborated with ISIS. During the American administration under Bremer in 2004 CE, he joined the police force and operated in Mosul.
Biography
He was known as Al-Harari, named after his village in Iraq, and was also referred to as Al-Jubouri al-Iraqi. Although Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani al-Jubouri claimed to have studied during the era of Saddam and hid the book Al-Tawhid out of fear of security forces, he actually served as a soldier in Saddam's Fedayeen militia. During the American administration under Bremer in 2004 CE, he joined the police force and operated on Baghdad Street in Mosul. After being threatened by militants, he repented and joined them. He was arrested shortly thereafter and spent several years in prison. While incarcerated, he studied under a deviant sheikh named Mayyahi, from whom he drew the most influence.
After his release from prison, Abu Mariyah worked as a Sharia official in the right sector of Mosul. He was later transferred to the Hisbah unit and tribal relations department within the Islamic State of Iraq. During this period, his activities focused on strengthening his own position, which aroused the sensitivity of the security forces of this self-proclaimed government. However, his arrest by police forces and subsequent handover to the Red Cross were prevented through the intervention of elements within the aforementioned Islamic State. In prison, he attempted to draw individuals closer to himself and distance them from cooperating with the said self-styled state. After escaping from prison, he continued this path in Syria, even inciting tribes against that entity.
Activities
Following the collapse of administrative centers, al-Qahtani expressed regret, repented, and was imprisoned for nine months in Camp Bucca. This was a time when the first generation of Salafi-jihadist fighters had been killed or captured. It is said that he was removed from his position after some time, despite claims that his level and status were such that he served as a liaison between al-Julani and Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was employed during the tenure of notorious Sharia officials such as Bahjat and Izzu, opportunistically entering the field of activity. He readily issued fatwas calling for killing. Immediately after his release from prison, he obtained authorization to issue fatwas based on the rulings of Ibn Taymiyyah from the lying and war-fleeing sheikh Abu Abdullah Mayyahi. Despite his very superficial grasp of scholarly matters, he adopted grandiose titles for himself such as Abu Hamzah, Abu Musab, al-Qahtani, al-Shammari, and others.
Collaboration with Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS
In 2011 CE, Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani collaborated with the Islamic State of Iraq in Mosul. Under the pretext of seeking medical treatment, he obtained permission and two million dinars to travel to Syria, and later received seven hundred dollars under the pretext of treating his wife. As this period dragged on, officials of Nineveh Province concluded that he had fled. It later emerged that he was working in a clothing store in Damascus. When Abu Mohammad al-Julani came to Iraq to consult with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he interceded with him to employ Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani. Consequently, after the establishment of Jabhat al-Nusra, he was hired due to necessity. Objections from his opponents had no effect on this matter. Thus, despite lacking any scholarly standing, he became one of the Sharia officials of Jabhat al-Nusra. During his preaching and teaching, he classified the ISIS state as Khawarij and promoted the beliefs of the Sururi movement.
Death
Abu Mariyah al-Qahtani, who had spent several months in al-Julani's prison on charges of espionage, was killed shortly after his release in a suspicious explosion at his residence in the town of Sarmada, located in northern Syria.
It is said that explosives were planted inside a gift box delivered to Abu Mariyah. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham accused ISIS of carrying out this assassination via a suicide operative, while critics of al-Julani presented considerable evidence implicating him in the assassination; meanwhile, to date, the terrorist group ISIS has not claimed responsibility for this killing.
See also
References
- See: Zabihullah Naeimian, An Introduction to the Typology of Movements in Syria, published by the Research Institute for Approximation Studies, affiliated with the Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Schools of Thought, Qom, 1402 SH.