This video, in Arabic with Russian subtitles, was posted on a Russian-language pro-jihad YouTube channel. It tours an Islamist school run by an organization named the “Right of the Brothers”حق ا, which works in Jabal al-Turkman (Turkmen Mountains) and the Latakia countryside in northern Syria.

Most of Jabal al-Turkman is insurgent-controlled. The north of the region is bordered by Turkey, which is largely supportive of the insurgency. To the south by the Alawite-inhabited mountains, an area supportive of Assad.

The project is an example of how foreign “Islamist” non-combatants are waging a different, non-violent form of “global jihad” in Syria. The leader is an Egyptian, Sheikh Abu Anas, who says that he came to the “Land of Ash-Sham” — Syria — to provide an Islamic education to local children who had been deprived of such learning under the secular “Alawite regime” of Bashar al Assad. Abu Anas describes how he and his group won over local hearts and minds, through food and other aid, when they came to the Sunni village to set up a new school.

Abu Anas says the initiative gets assistance from the Turkish IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, which is active in more than 100 countries.

The video opens with the citizen journalist who filmed the report, “We are now going to enter one of the centers of the organization ‘Rights of the Brothers’. These centers are considered centers for full-time study and centers for humanitarian aid for the local population in the Jabal al-Turkman and Latakia countryside. Right now we are going to meet with one of the project’s organizers.”

The next shot, inside the center, shows the project founder — later identified as Sheikh Abu Anas from Egypt. An Islamist banner is on the wall. Abu Anas says:

By the will of Allah, we combine here around 50 students, we teach them Sharia Law and several secular classes, we also teach them the subject of Islamic culture. We attend to them 24 hours a day. Through learning these subjects, and through educational works, we try to instill in them the spirit of Islam….

Thanks to Allah, we have not found anything but good in the Syrian youth., and they strive for knowledge, they strive to learn, in truth they thirst for it…But we need more students of Sharia sciences and [more] teachers, so they can fulfill their duty and teach these youth, whom the Assad regime refused everything. And we more than anything else need students of Sharia sciences and teachers so that they could stand alongside us and help us teach these students, [help with] the teaching of Syrian youth. Brothers in the Islamic world or at least the Arab world must gel us in this little matter, so that in this way we can present even just a small service in these difficult times. And this is our duty as Muslims in all corners of the Earth….

In this school, one of the branches of the organization “Rights of the Brothers” for education, we have about 50 students. Here there are dormitories and also above there are classrooms and there are classrooms here as well.

Abu Anas then says with pride:

“This morning during the lessons, everyone was busy. This way, if a new student arrives, then he could not find a free place to sit.This class, like the other classes, is full of students.

He opens a curtain to show a room with young boys and one young man asleep on the mattresses on the floor: “This is one of the places where the students sleep, so we can deal with 50 students 24 hours a day. They have a free day once a week. We also do educational work with them”.”

Abu Anas later explains how “Rights of the Brothers” was created:

It was formed not too long ago, with the help of several good people….

We work on two fronts. The first front is the call to Islam and its teachings. We opened several schools though which we teach Sharia and several secular classes. The second activity is humanitarian aid. We try to help as far as we can with essential items and foodstuffs, and this is most of what we do in these areas.

Asked, “Does the group encounter obstacles?”, the Egyptian replies:

In our activities there are also two types of obstacle — the first type is the most important and the biggest and it rarely happens, whoever carries out these activities, whether that be humanitarian aid or the activity of education, these activities require a lot of attention and care, but most of all it requires students of Sharia and teachers. Also needed are people who would take on themselves responsibility in the area of humanitarian aid. Here most of all there is a shortage of Muslims who would stand together with our brothers and who would help them with food, with medicines with clothing and other things they need.

The second type [of obstacle] that we find in teaching, we open branches, find a place for study and prepare the necessary things. After that come the students, who want to learn and take knowledge, but unfortunately we don’t find teachers who would teach them.

And how has the group been received by Syrians?

If I’m honest, then from the start people were afraid of us. The Alawite regime made them afraid of just about everything. When we come to a new place, we find there a place top open centers for learning and humanitarian aid, then we notice people who are afraid that a mass of people will congregate, so that their village might wind up under fire from the Alawites.

But when they see that we are their brothers, who have come to help them and when they don’t see anything in us except good, then we notice that they react quickly and interact with the help. Their children start to love us and help us in our work. In this way, people accept us and we visit each other.

Abu Anas is more cautious when asked, “Do you get help for your work and are there any organizations that pay for it?” He says:

If I’m honest, in all the time that we’ve worked, we’ve only found a few people who’re excited by it. Let Allah reward them well, and especially the group Junud Ash-Sham pays for that. They pay a lot of attention to education and humanitarian aid.

They give us money, thanks to which we buy things we need for teaching — textbooks, pens and much more. After that we try to set up humanitarian aid with large organizations which are prepared to help such organizations as ours. There are a few organizations like the I-N-N in Turkey. We’ve seen how they are ready to cooperate with such organizations as ours. But we need so much because the work in these mountains has only just begun.

And in terms of teaching, we need to catch up with Arab and foreign countries, to catch up with teaching through the whole world. For that reason, we want to take our students to an international level and at least to the level of that of Arab countries. So we need big possibilities, and Muslims need to help us out in that area.

First of all, we say to people who help that the people in the land of Sham are calling you, the people of Sham need you, the people of Sham hold out their hands to you. We say to Muslims in all corners of the earth who fear Allah — your brothers need a great deal. But most of all, they need — and I repeat this again and again — they need Muslims who work in the area of humanitarian aid, except the area of Jihad. But we also need men to wage Jihad. Most of all we need students of Sharia and teachers, the folk of these towns are thirsty for Islam, and we we don’t see from them any doubts in accepting our ministry. Why don’t scholars and students of Sharia come? They would find many fruits of their labors here.

They want that people accept knowledge from them. And in this land, if they come with their knowledge, then they will find many fruits, here in the land of Sham is a fruitful soil which accepts your knowledge. Also, just like we need students of Sharia and teachers we also need financial help, because we are bringing water and light at the expense of the generator [Editor — I think the Russian word генератор is a mistranslation from Arabic]. We are paying for everything and it’s very expensive. So we need finances, to buy textbooks and other school needs.

And through you we are turning to Muslims around the world, so that they fulfill their duty and answer our request…

As the film shows teenage students, the citizen journalist concludes:

These are the students who learn at the “Rights of the Brothers”. We teach them to carry out their duty towards others. They are carrying out humanitarian aid in their villages and they’re loading a car to hand out [goods] to their families.