Al-Jolani: A Tool to Fragment Syria

In this political cartoon, artist Jawad Morad portrays a fractured map of Syria being shattered by a sledgehammer, whose head takes the form of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
The hammer is not held by al-Jolani himself, but by a blue, external hand — a visual metaphor for foreign powers using him as a tool to fragment Syria.

The artwork critiques the authoritarian control of al-Jolani over large Syrian territories, representing a new form of religious despotism that threatens the unity of Syria and deepens internal divisions.
It is a visual outcry — not just against military dictatorship, but also against emerging theocratic fascism cloaked in revolutionary claims.