Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Director, Syria Office

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is the Director of the Middle East Forum’s Syria office. He is an independent Arabic translator, editor, and analyst. A graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford University, he earned his Ph.D. from Swansea University, where he studied the role of historical narratives in Islamic State propaganda. His research focuses primarily on Iraq, Syria, and jihadist groups, especially the Islamic State, on which he maintains an archive of the group’s internal documents. He has also published an Arabic translation and study of the Latin work Historia Arabum, the earliest surviving Western book focused on Arab and Islamic history. For his insights, he has been quoted in a wide variety of media outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and AFP.

Articles by this Author
A New Damascus Decree Restricts Alcohol Sales to Historic Christian Districts and Signals Islamist Administrative Priorities.
Behind Official Merger Language, Kobani Still Operates Under Kurdish Security Control
Not All Alawite Experiences on the Coast Are Uniformly Bad. Some Alawite Localities Have Enjoyed an Overall Better Relation with the New Authorities
Inside Hezbollah’s Justification for Renewed Conflict With Israel
An Al-Naba’ Editorial Urges Sunnis To Reject Tehran, Washington, And Israel Alike
A Purported New Group Raises Questions About al-Qaeda’s Reach in Iraq and Syria.
The ‘Popular Army,’ Led by One Ashraf Al-Mansi, Is Notable for Its Presence in the Northern Part of the Strip
Claims of an Ideological Pivot Obscure More Plausible Explanations for Riyadh’s Regional Behavior.
A Sudanese Militia Leader on War Aims, Allegations of Islamism, and the Future of the State
Abu Hudhayfa Al-Ansari Has Issued a New Speech to Mark the Occasion of the Month of Ramadan
A Circulated Iraqi Justice Ministry Document Provides New Detail on the Scope and Nationalities of Transferred Detainees
Genuine Reconciliation in Qumhane Does Not Appear to Be Imminent
Property Restitution, Security Conditions, and Minority Rights in Northwest Syria
The Group Frames Damascus’s Advance as Apostasy, Betrayal, and Proof of a Broader War on True Believers
Despite a Ceasefire Agreement, Clashing Visions of Central Authority and Kurdish Autonomy Are Driving Escalation in Hasakah and Along the Turkish Border
Damascus Signals Cultural Recognition While Using Legal Ambiguity to Pressure the Syrian Democratic Forces Into Centralized Rule
Contacts Between Displaced Alawite Fighters and the Syrian Democratic Forces Reflect Survival, Not Strategic Coordination
Claims of Mass Defection Obscure the Local, Fragmented, and Strategic Reality Inside the SDF
The Aleppo Clashes Reflect the Deeper Contradiction Between Syria’s Centralized State Project and the SDF’s Autonomous Vision