section_path: Syrian civil war/Syrian uprising and foundation of al-Nusra
section_name: Syrian uprising and foundation of al-Nusra
paragraph_text: Syrian uprising and foundation of al-Nusra
  
  Upon his release from prison coinciding with the Syrian Revolution, al-Sharaa was tasked in August 2011 by Ayman al-Zawahiri and al-Qaeda's central command to establish al-Qaeda's mission in Syria. Al-Shara'a crossed into Syria with significant funding and a mandate to establish al-Qaeda's presence. Alongside senior operatives from al-Qaeda's central command, he formed " Jabhat al-Nusra ", also known as the Al-Nusra Front, which was envisioned by al-Zawahiri as a broad coalition of Islamist militant groups led by al-Shara'a in Syria, with direct allegiance to al-Qaeda's central command. During this time, al-Sharaa went under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, which is sometimes transliterated as Joulani, Jolani, and Golani. According to one source, his "al-Julani" nisba referred to the al-Julani neighborhood of Fallujah in Iraq where he had distinguished himself.
  
  Despite tensions with then al-Qaeda-allied leadership of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), who were content with his departure, al-Sharaa proceeded to orchestrate an agreement with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to expand al-Qaeda 's Syrian branch, Jabhat al-Nusra. The group maintained this alliance with ISI the until 2013, with an arrangement between al-Sharaa and al-Baghdadi to resolve disputes through mediation by al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri. Over time, al-Sharaa began distancing himself from transnational jihadist ideology, increasingly framing his faction within the context of a nationalist Syrian struggle. ISI initially provided al-Sharaa with fighters, weapons, and funding to establish the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Al-Sharaa implemented these plans alongside ISI leaders after his release from prison.
  
  Sources differ on whether Sharaa was the one who came up with the idea of forming Jabhat al-Nusra or another leader in the Islamic State of Iraq; however, what is certain is that al-Sharaa became the "general emir" of al-Nusra when it was officially announced in January 2012. By December of that year, the US Department of State designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization, identifying it as an alias for al-Qaeda in Iraq (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq). Under al-Sharaa's leadership, al-Nusra emerged as one of Syria's most powerful groups. Its stronghold was centered on the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria.