Syria’s new Islamist leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani refused to shake hands with Germany’s female foreign minister Anna Baerbock when she visited Damascus at the weekend.
Since the former al-Qaeda leader’s forces overthrew the Syrian government, his links to terrorism and militant jihadism have been downplayed by Western powers – but now observers in Germany are expressing concern about how Syria will develop under the new leadership.
Al-Julani has reverted to calling himself Ahmed al-Sharaa (his real name) to downplay Islamist links since taking power, and on Friday he met both Baerbock and her male French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot.
The Islamist leader chose to extend his hand to the male foreign minister but greeted the woman by putting his hand to his chest instead.
Although Baerbock claims that it was already expected that there would be no “ordinary handshakes“, the video clip of the incident has gone viral, with many suggesting that moderate or secular rule is unlikely in Syria in the future.
Oh, look, the “moderate” leader of the new Syrian government snubs the German Foreign Minister’s handshake.
But no worries, Annalena Baerbock, the beacon of progress, is still more than happy to funnel German taxpayers’ hard-earned money to this “moderate” regime…..
pic.twitter.com/cTafhHb0T3— Richard (@ricwe123) January 3, 2025
Sudden turnaround
Instead, a common perception is that the new regime’s attempt to shake off its image as fundamentalist and extreme is just a show – and not a very credible one.
– This is not good, comments Volker Perthes of the German think tank Foundation for Science and Politics.
The Nordic Times has previously highlighted al-Juliani and his background as founder of al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria and leader of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham . The newspaper has also pointed out how the man who was recently one of the United States’ most wanted terrorists, suddenly after the overthrow of Bashar-al-Assad’s secular rule began to be described by Western powers as a legitimate political actor worthy of cooperation and support.