Ahmad Rahhal is a Syrian journalist who supports the jihadist rebels. He was recently hired by OGN, a pro-jihad outlet created by the American Bilal abdul-Kareem, and previously worked for Aldorar al-Shamiya outlet.
In this video, which was (edited and) put online by himself in August 2018, he confronts and offends Shi'a evacuees from the besieged town of Fu'a in Idlib, and gloats over their predicament.
Transcript:
Ahmad Rahhal: Greetings! How are you guys?
Soldier C: Good.
Ahamad Rahhal: May you be well! hint of sarcasm
Soldiers laugh
Ahamad Rahhal: Where from, guys?
Soldier C: From Fu’a.
Rahhal: All of you from Fu’a? No one here from Kafriya?
– *Both gesturing “NO”
Rahhal: Why did you leave Fu’a?
– It’s Allah’s will.
Rahhal: Why didn’t you stay?
Off-camera Jihadist: You stayed for 3-4 years.
Rahhal: Repent! Come back to Allah! Stay and repent for Allah. Reconcile! Do a self-examination and stay here with the Mujahids of the revolution, and stay in your hometown!
Soldier A: inaudible
Rahhal: No, no.. if you want to reconcile, you have to get off [the bus] now.
Soldier A: How… now, after everything…
Rahhal: Just step out now; get your kids and get off!
Repent to Allah; to your God. Better than staying in the rank of the oppressors, the traitors, the infidels, the Rawafidh…
Do you want to stay in their ranks; the ranks of unjust, to be in the ranks of justice?
Soldier A: In the ranks of justice.
Rahhal: Alright then! Step out then. Better than they settle you in the Hasiya desert.
Soldier A: *inaudible
Rahhal: *inaudible
Rahhal: After all the boasting and promises of: we’ll get to Fu’a; we’ll liberate Fu’a, have they liberated it?
*soldiers gesture “no”
Rahhal: They didn’t. Why didn’t they liberate it?
Soldier A: You know better than I.
Rahhal: They’ve sold you out; they’ve sold you at the cheapest price. In the end they got you out with these buses, humiliated, where will they take you? They will take you to al-Hasya desert.
Soldier B: Thank God, for whatever will be.
Rahhal: Why not stay? Go ahead, reconcile, repent and come back to your God!
Soldier B: I will reconcile there.
Rahhal: Why there? Repent and come back to Allah, stay in your hometown here, in your home! Do you have a home or not?
Soldier B: I have everything.
Rahhal: Alright then, turn back to your home, and stay there!
Soldier B: I’ve left millions.
Rahhal: For whose sake have you left millions?
Soldier B: For nothing…
Rahhal: For nothing? The Mujahids will take it as spoils.
Soldier B: So be it. I have gained it and I’ll gain it again.
Rahhal: The Mujahids will take it as spoils.
Soldier B: I will gain it back.
Rahhal: You’ll gain it back?
Soldier B: Yes!
Rahhal: I you could; if there was hope for you to regain it, they wouldn’t have got you out. If there was hope for you to come back, they wouldn’t have got you out. It’s over; gone!
There isn’t bubkes left for you in Idlib. The Shi’a presence in Idlib is over.
Soldier A: Possible?
Rahhal: Yes, possible: if Shi’a presence was meant to remain, they would've let you stay.
Soldier A: Alright, I would like to ask you: would you like the Shi’a to be kicked out?
Rahhal: God willing the Shi’a will be kicked out. Because you follow falsehood. Allah willing, Islam will prevail.
soldier A expresses disdain
Rahhal: The Shi’a are Rafidha! They insult mother ‘Aisha; they insult abu-Bakir; they insult Omar.
Soldier A: I’ll tell you who insults!
Rahhal: Who does?
Soldier A: The ignorant.
Rahhal: Most of the Shi’a are ignorant.
Soldier A: No, no...
Rahhal: If they weren’t ignorant, they wouldn’t have given you the Shi’a doctrine.
Soldier C: There are some from your side who insults.
Rahhal: No one form our side insults anyone. Anyone on our side who insults, we would behead him.
Soldier B: What about all this… * gestures to the bus side; broken windows*
Rahhal: What is there?
Soldier B: All this here, you see it… What of all the insults on our way?
Rahhal: Who has insulted you?
Soldier B: I don’t know who… we didn’t image it.
Off-camera Jihadist: What of the warplanes bombing for 5 years?
Rahhal: The warplanes that bomb the people for 5 years. You bring your warplanes everyday to bomb people.
Rahhal: You were bombing as well, even more viciously. We have the right [to retaliate] too.
Off-camera Jihadist: No, no… we haven’t committed any…
Rahhal: You have no right, you have no right. The pigs from your side are killing Sunnis everywhere. They bomb and commit the worst crimes.
Talking over each other
Rahhal: Why don’t you join the ranks of the Mujahids?
Soldier B: I won’t!
Elderly woman in the bus tries to say something
Rahhal: What do you say Hajiya [ma’am]?
Elderly woman: No more talk; Allah wanted us to be humiliated, and we are humiliated; that’s all!
Rahhal: You are humiliated!
Soldier B: We are, that’s all!
Rahhal: Why were you humiliated?
Soldier 2: Enough ma’am, go back [to your seat]
Rahhal: Let her talk!
Soldier B: No, no…
Rahhal: Let the old lady speak!
Rahhal: Bashar al-Asad has humiliated you! He’s sold you at the cheapest price.
Elderly woman: It’s alright.
Rahhal: Hizb-Allah, the Iranians, the Shi’a militia and Hussein Murtadha sold you at the cheapest price.
Elderly woman: It’s alright.. Say whatever you like!
Rahhal: Yes, they’ve sold you out cheap. Now they’ll take you to the Hasya desert.
Elderly woman: Doesn’t matter…
Rahhal: We want you to stay here and reconcile. Repent and come back to Allah!
Soldier A: I want to ask you something…
[Quran verse] “Say: oh infidels, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. You have your religion…”
Rahhal: “...and I have mine.”
Alright! We have a religion, and you have another. Our religion is not the same as yours.
Soldier A: Don’t interrupt me friend, I want to say something.
Rahhal: You are… you want the Rafidha.
Soldier A: We belong to the closest doctrines; you and us.
Rahhal: No! Who are you?
Soldier A: [Followers of the] Shi’a doctrine.
Rahhal: What is the Shi’a doctrine?
Soldier A: What it is?
Rahhal: Yea?
Soldier A: It is worshipping Allah…
Rahhal: I will tell you what Shi’a doctrine is: The Shi’a doctrine offends our lord abu-Bakir, offends our lord Omar. The Shi’a doctrine offends our mother Aisha; mother of the Muslims. We’ve seen how the Rafidha and the Shi’a offend them.
Soldier A: If anyone offends them, I would gauge out their eyes in the middle of Fu’a.
Rahhal: You don’t offend them here, because you’re here now.
Soldier A: You’re wrong!
Soldier B: We’re Rafidha [rejectors] of falsehood.
Rahhal: You are Rafidha, and with falsehood.
Soldier B: We are rejectors of falsehood.
Rahhal: You are Rafidha, and with falsehood. Your faith is corruptive. By Allah your faith is corruptive. I want for you to repent to your God. Repent for Allah.
Soldier A: I am pious.
Rahhal: You are not! Repent for Allah!…
Stay in your hometown!
Soldier A: Why?
Rahhal: Stay in your village, don’t let anyone come and take you [somewhere else]
Soldier A: If God wishes me to return, then I it will happen.
Rahhal: You will not return; take it from me, you will not…
Just like the convoy before yours, you will end up in al-Hasya.
Soldier A: Who has told you they went to Hasya?
Rahhal: By the way, I heard something: the pages you had like “End The Siege On Fu’a” You have changed their names to “We’ll Return” or something.
Old woman: Nooo.
Rahhal: Yes, many such slogans:
We want to end the Siege; we want… we want…
In the end they sold you out in the most vile manner. They sold you out in the most vile manner!
In the end they got you out in buses.
You’ve tasted from the same poison you gave the Muslims. The same poison… when the Muslims were displaced from Damascus region and elsewhere, and you liked and were laughing, thinking you’ll never taste the same; that they’ll free you. In the end they sold you out cheapest.
And Idlib is cleansed now.
Soldier A: You define Muslim to me!
Rahhal: A Muslim is one who worships Allah; believes in him; believes in his prophet [Muhammad], and respects the prophet’s companions.
Soldier A: I merely talk with you for the sake of the video; as it is your wish. A Muslim…
Rahhal: If you don’t want me to film you, I won’t.
Soldier A: No, I have no problem [with that.]
Rahhal: I will not film those who don’t want to be filmed.
Soldier A: What did the prophet say about Muslims? Do you know, or should I tell you?
Rahhal: I just want to ask you one question: you consider yourselves Muslims?
Soldier A: What else would I be?
Rahhal: Let me tell you one thing… The Muslim...
Soldier A: Define Muslim for me…I swear on my honor...
Rahhal: First of all, don’t swear with your honor! “Whoever swears by anything but Allah, then he blasphemes”
Soldier A: By God, by God… define Muslim for me!
Rahhal: I will.
Soldier A: Do it then; in front of your friends.
Rahhal: Muslims are these honest Mujahid youths…
Soldier A: Those are them?
Rahhal: …who have sold themselves to God, to him alone. Not to Shi’a mullahs, nor to Hussein Murtadha, nor to Bashar [al-Asad] and others.
Soldier A: Film me! We don’t belong to Bashar, nor to Hasan Nasrallah, nor any other person. I only worship Allah.
Rahhal: You make partners for Allah. If you worship Allah honestly, then you must stand with what is just.
Soldier A: Where do I stand then?
Rahhal: You stand with the oppressors, who rape women and the free women. Have you seen the videos of Hizb-Allah how they rape our sisters?
Soldier A: Those aren’t with Hizb-Allah, and have nothing to do with Allah anyway.
Rahhal: They are Hizb-Allah; from yours; the Shi’a; those wearing the black turban.
Soldier B: Have we done with your buses when they left? points to the broken windows
Off-camera Jihadist: Worse, you’ve done worse.
Rahhal: You had removed the brakes from the buses to make them crash. Tens of our sisters have suffered at your hands. At the hands of your group.
Off-camera Jihadist: The civilians did this to the buses, not the Mujadids.
Asad’s warplanes, what have they done…
Soldier B: Are we getting out under your supervision or that of civilians?
Off-camera Jihadist: Correct, but civilians can’t stopped.
Rahhal: They’re protecting you now here.
By God, has any Mujahid here harmed you?
Soldier A: Yes.
Rahhal: Tell me who!
Soldier A: Why did they take out the stuff [from the bus]?
Rahhal: Taking out stuff?
Soldier A: Are we smuggling?
Rahhal: There is an agreement between our revolutionary Mujahids and Iran, which oversees with your own agreement: that you get out with your light weapons only.
And we were generous to let you have extra.
Soldier A: Thank you then!
Rahhal: Those are all spoils that belong to the Mujahids; we should’ve taken it out.
Soldier A: And why have you taken all those weapons from us?
Rahhal: Those weapons don’t belong to you.
As long as those weapons is on the side of falsehood, then it is spoils for the Mujahids.
Off-camera Jihadist: You can get out with one rifle alone.
Soldier A: A rifle. Then why did you take the magazines?
Off-camera Jihadist: Just a rifle with one or two magazine [is allowed]
Rahhal: The brothers and Mujahids got out like this from Damascus, Ghouta, Qalamoun, Homs countryside, etc.
Your group is on the side of the wrongdoers. Now you taste the same…
It’s over for you. It’s all over for you. You know why?
Soldier A: Where are you from?
Rahhal: I’m from Mount Zawiya.
Soldier A: And you?
Off-camera Jihadist: Aleppo.
Rahhal: Let me tell you something...
Soldier A: Brother, the three of you, just define Muslim for me!
Rahhal: I defined Muslim for you.
Soldier A: A Muslim, guys…
Rahhal: Alright, you define Muslim for me!
Soldier A: I will…
Rahhal: Just a question! Just a question!…
Soldier A: Why do you…
Rahhal: Are you Muslims?
Soldier A: I don’t know. You tell me! *angrily
Rahhal: Are you Muslims?
Soldier A: A Muslim is the one peaceful in deed and word with people.
Rahhal: We haven’t seen peace neither from your words, nor your deeds, nor your warplanes…
Soldier A: Neither us from your hands…
Rahhal: You complain about a stone! A stone broke your window and you’re upset. It didn’t even harm or offend you...
Soldier A: Aren’t you going to Fu’a?
Rahhal: Just one thing: how should we see you when you have killed thousands of Muslims with barrelboms, warplanes, rockets and artillery, and you’ve raped hundreds of free women. How should we see you? Thousands of innocents are in your jails. How should we see you, except infidels, Rafidha, and Nusaiyri?
Soldier A: Anyone who behave like that, be they on your or our side, is not a Muslim.
Aren’t you going to Fu’a now?
Rahhal: Yea?
Soldier A: Go see the devastation!
Rahhal: What devastation? You haven’t seen devastation. Tanks! That destroyed entire cities!