Theoretician of Leaderless Jihad Reported Freed in Syria

Interesting story in Foreign Policy by Aaron Zelin of the Jihadology blog reporting that Abu Musab al-Suri, the theoretician of leaderless jihad, may have been freed from prison in Syria. Al-Suri is the author of the jihadist treatise, Dawat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah al-Alamiyyah (Call of Global Islamic Resistance), a 1,600-page tome that, as Zelin puts it, "articulates a strategy of decentralized jihad, rather than one that depends on clandestine organizations. If there is an architect of the jihadists' post-9/11 line of attack, it's Suri." Zelin write:

It is hard to determine Suri's intentions or capabilities now that he has reportedly been released. After being imprisoned for the past six or seven years, his psychological state remains a mystery. And even if he wanted to, it is not clear whether Suri could muster a large base of supporters in Syria. He has not lived freely in the country since the early 1980s -- his following may be larger online than in the real world. But Suri does have a number of advantages working in his favor if he wants to once again play a role in the jihadist world. The fact that so many of the old guard -- such as bin Laden, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mohammed Atef, and Atiyyatullah Abu Abd al-Rahman -- are dead or captured would bolster his status instantly, especially since his ideas have become more accessible and popular through translations of his work. Additionally, his lore will grow in light of an alleged vision he had this past August, which was relayedby online jihadist Jundi Dawlat al-Islam ("Soldier of the Islamic State"), a member of the important Shamukh al-Islam Arabic Forum. "I have been informed that the Shaykh [Suri] saw in the past days a vision that he will have an important role in Bilad al-Sham (Syria), we ask Allah that it becomes true," the jihadist wrote. Suri's release will be seen as a vindication of that vision by his supporters, and no doubt boost his influence.

UPDATE: My apologies to Zelin for misspelling his name in the initial version of this post.