section_path: Syrian civil war/Brief declaration of an Islamic Emirate in Syria (2014)
section_name: Brief declaration of an Islamic Emirate in Syria (2014)
paragraph_text: Brief declaration of an Islamic Emirate in Syria (2014)
  
  In July 2014, an audio recording of a major rally of fighters in Syria was leaked, including al-Sharaa, al-Nusra Front spokesman and former Osama bin Laden aide Abu Firas al-Suri, and al-Nusra deputy Emir and former Egyptian Islamic Jihad commander Ahmad Salama Mabruk. In it, al-Suri could be heard introducing al-Sharaa as "Abu Mohammad al-Julani", al-Nusra's emir, who then spoke of establishing an Islamic emirate in Syria. In a video released by al-Nusra on 8 August 2014, al-Suri said al-Nusra would declare an emirate in Syria only after consulting with other factions.