The FRONTLINE Interviews:

The Jihadist

Our Sources. On the Record. At Your Fingertips.

FRONTLINE conducted more than three dozen interviews for the June 2021 documentary The Jihadist, on the former Al Qaeda commander Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, including during two trips to Idlib province, in Syria, in February 2021. Interview subjects ranged from former U.S. officials to human rights activists, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, refugees and others. We are publishing five extended transcripts of key interviews, providing access to our source materials. These interviews are part of FRONTLINE's Transparency Project, an interactive archive that lets you explore hours of insights, analysis and stories behind our films.

Interviews

Rania Abouzeid
Journalist and Author, No Turning Back

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Abu Mohammad al-Jolani
Military Leader, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

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James Jeffrey
Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey

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Theo Padnos
Journalist, Jabhat al-Nusra Captive

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Mohamed al Salloum
Brother of Executed Journalist

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Interviews for this film were conducted by Martin Smith and edited for the web by Phil Bennett and Lauren Prestileo. The Transparency Project is produced by Phil Bennett and Lauren Prestileo.

Design and build for The Jihadist by Dan Nolan and Anthony DeLorenzo with assistance from Kimberly Patch. Copy editing by Jennifer Wehunt and Julie Wolf.

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