One might assume that the most unpopular individuals in Iraq are US President Donald Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, interim Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al Jolani, holds a top spot as one of the most despised figures in Iraq.
Since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime, statements from Iraqi politicians, actions by Iran-backed militias against Syrians, and public rhetoric from Iraqi Shiites targeting Sharaa have become increasingly strident and widely circulated. The reasons for this animosity can be attributed to two main factors: first, Sharaa’s former role as a member of Al Qaeda in Iraq following the US invasion of Iraq, and second, his position as a Sunni who weakened the primarily Shiite, Iran-led Axis of Resistance by overthrowing Assad.
The hatred towards Sharaa has been prominently showcased in Shiite pop culture. Iraq’s Shiite community in Iraq is known for its performances of nasheeds—musical pieces that often reference Islamic beliefs, history, religion, and current events. In these performances, the munshid (singer) typically recites a poem or song to an audience, with the music creating an interactive experience. These nasheeds often center on the martyrdom of Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and a major figure in Shiite Islam, and other significant events.
Sharaa has been the subject of a nasheed that highlights the animosity Iraq’s Shiite community holds towards him. The following chant, sung by famous nasheed singer Karrar Karbalaei, explicitly references Sharaa multiple times. Below is a translation of the verses portraying the Syrian, who is referenced as Jolani:
Jolani is a copy of Al Shimr,
He inherited treachery from his ancestors,
He slaughters for love, not for life,
Everyone who loves Haidar, in his state, blood flourishes …
Hajjaj slaughters with his own hand,
And he repeats every cruel scene,
He thinks the hunt will last, and no wolf will come out to warn him.
The nasheed compares Sharaa to Al Shimr, an Arab commander who initially fought alongside Husayn at the battle of Karbala but later betrayed and killed him. The verse about slaughtering everyone who loves Haidar refers to a believed intent by Sharaa to kill Shiites. The name Haidar is a reference to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad, who many Shiites revere as their first imam.
When Ahmad al Sharaa was a young man, he abandoned his studies in Syria and crossed into Iraq just weeks before the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. He chose to join Al Qaeda, which was deeply involved in the bloodshed against Iraqis. Sharaa was imprisoned in 2006 by the United States for five years in different prisons, including Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca.
Under the leadership of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Al Qaeda in Iraq became notorious as one the most brutal groups in the world, and it was the forerunner of the Islamic State. Zarqawi, in his infamous fanaticism, declared all Iraqi civilians who participated in Iraq’s 2005 parliamentary elections as legitimate targets, sanctioning their bloodshed. He went further by launching an all-out war against the Shiites in Iraq, igniting the devastating sectarian conflict that tore through the country in the years that followed. In 2013, The Times of Israel reported that Sharaa, then known as Jolani, was “a close associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi” before the US killed Zarqawi in 2006.
The hostility towards Sharaa is not just rooted in historical grievances, however. It is also sharply reflected in Iraq’s current political discourse. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who leads the State of Law Coalition, bluntly described the recent developments in Syria as “sedition.” Speaking at a gathering with tribal leaders in Karbala, Maliki remarked that those who assumed power in Syria after Assad’s fall were once prisoners in Iraq—a direct reference to Sharaa.
Reinforcing this sentiment, Mahmoud al Hayani, a senior member of the Coordination Framework, a political coalition of Iran-backed militias, told Iraqi media that Iraqis have “serious concerns and reservations” about Sharaa for his involvement in terrorism within Iraq.
Within Iraq’s parliament, which is dominated by Shiite factions such as the Reform and Construction Bloc, which includes many leaders from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), there is also noticeable hesitation. Abbas al Jubouri, a member of this bloc, declared that the Iraqi parliament remains “cautious” in stating its position towards Syria’s transitional government. Many Iraqi leaders are waiting to see if the new Damascus regime’s claims about embracing pluralistic values are sincere and if it will avoid marginalizing non-Sunnis.
This skepticism is understandable, given Sharaa’s leadership of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the group that led the offensive toppling Assad and whose members form a core of Syria’s new government and security services. While Sharaa has publicly espoused moderation and claimed HTS is disbanded, the jihadist organization he led began as Al Qaeda’s local branch in Syria, and Sharaa remains a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US.
Another reason behind the cautious stance of notable leaders in Baghdad lies in their alignment with Iran. Many of Iraq’s Shiite militias and leaders, as part of the regional Axis of Resistance led by Iran, find themselves bound by Tehran’s agenda, which discourages Iraq from expanding its ties with the new Syrian government. Additionally, the new Syrian leadership possesses substantial evidence implicating Iraqi Shiite militias that fought alongside the Assad regime in repressive actions during the Syrian Civil War. These are the same militia leaders who are now working hard to prevent any sort of official relations between Iraq and the new government in Damascus.
Recently, a video surfaced on social media showing a masked militia group calling itself the “Ya Ali Popular Brigades” conducting organized campaigns against Syrians in Iraq. The footage showed group members raiding Syrian workers’ workplaces, searching their phones, and physically assaulting and humiliating them.
Activists have speculated that the faction is linked to the Shiite armed movement and say it targets Syrians who openly supported the Syrian revolution. These targets include individuals who, for instance, display the new Syrian flag in their shops. According to reports from media outlets, the campaign began when Iraqi accounts shared the addresses of Syrians who had expressed support for operations against remnants of the Assad regime in Syria.
The group issued a statement on X declaring that the Ya Ali Popular Brigades had been explicitly launched to target Syrians who it perceived to be praising the crimes of figures like Hayat Tahrir al Sham’s leader, Abu Mohammad al Jolani (Sharaa), and others it accused of crimes against Alawites and Christians.
