Khatib Al-Idrissi Urged Young People to Join Terrorist Organizations and Fight in Iraq and Syria
The criminal chamber specializing in terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance recently sentenced Khatib Al-Idrissi, known as the “Sheikh of Jihadists” and the spiritual leader of extremist factions, to 22 years in prison. The verdict also included several other defendants, both in custody and at large, for inciting individuals to join terrorist organizations and fight within their ranks.
Abu Osama Khatib bin Al-Hanashi is considered one of the most prominent figures of the jihadist movement in Tunisia. He was a founding member of the now-banned group Ansar al-Sharia. He was arrested in 2023 in the town of Sidi Ali Ben Aoun, in the central governorate of Sidi Bouzid, following complaints filed by families accusing him of encouraging their sons to join conflict zones in Syria, Iraq, and Libya during the rise of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
A Controversial Figure
Al-Idrissi is among Tunisia’s most controversial figures. He played a key role in the emergence of Ansar al-Sharia following a meeting with Sifallah Ben Hussein (a.k.a. Abu Iyadh), a former Guantanamo detainee who was later killed in a French airstrike in Mali in 2019.
Even prior to the January 14, 2011 revolution that ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Al-Idrissi had faced imprisonment on terrorism-related charges.
Although he never openly called for violence, his sermons were heavily influenced by Salafi-Wahhabi ideology, which he adopted during his stay in Saudi Arabia, studying under prominent scholars such as Abdul Majeed al-Zindani and Ibn Baz. Upon his return to Tunisia, he became a central reference point for Salafi circles in the final years of Ben Ali’s regime. He was widely consulted by young adherents, particularly in Sidi Bouzid.
According to Tunisian reports, Al-Idrissi declared during a 2014 meeting with Tunisian and Libyan Salafi leaders that “Tunisia has entered the phase of general mobilization,” the final stage of jihad, in which suicide attacks and the killing of women and children are permitted.
The same reports revealed his links with former or dismissed members of the security and military apparatus who allegedly support the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and the implementation of Sharia law.
A Mosque Off-Limits
Al-Idrissi owns a “private mosque” known as Masjid al-Ummah (Mosque of the Nation) in the Ben Aoun district of Sidi Bouzid. The mosque is strictly off-limits to outsiders and its internal activities are kept secret.
“In order to build a house of God, one must seek permission from God and God alone—no one has guardianship over mosques,” he declared during his first Friday sermon at the mosque he constructed next to his home, funded by donations.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, fearing backlash from Al-Idrissi’s family, was reportedly “powerless” to regain control of the mosque, which has been operating outside state supervision.
Who Is Khatib Al-Idrissi?
What are his ideological and theological foundations? What source of power enables him to defy the state and build a mosque where only his followers are allowed entry?
During Friday sermons, Al-Idrissi, known as Abu Osama, preaches loudly before large gatherings at the mosque adjacent to his home. His followers closely monitor attendees, often denying entry to unfamiliar faces out of fear that they might be undercover agents. In past sermons, he harshly condemned “spies infiltrating the houses of God,” threatening them with divine punishment.
He prohibits photography and ensures, through his aides, that no recording equipment is present. Even the single photo circulating of him is widely believed by those who know him personally to be inaccurate.
In recent years, Al-Idrissi has rarely left his home or mosque in Ben Aoun, due to increasing security scrutiny of places of worship, which are now more tightly regulated. Nonetheless, little is known about what goes on inside Masjid al-Ummah or the content of his sermons.
Academic Background
Al-Idrissi left Tunisia in the mid-1980s for Saudi Arabia after graduating as a nursing technician. He lost his sight in the early 1990s but continued pursuing Islamic studies. He returned to Tunisia in 1994 and settled in Ben Aoun.
The town, once known for its annual festival honoring the local saint Sidi Ali Ben Aoun, saw its celebrations disrupted by Al-Idrissi, who condemned them as acts of polytheism and grave-worship. After the revolution, he succeeded in halting these festivities altogether.
In late 2006, he was imprisoned for two years for holding unauthorized religious classes at his home, during a time of heightened confrontation between Salafi groups and security forces. Upon his release, he was placed under house arrest and required to report daily to the local police station.
After the revolution, his home became a pilgrimage site for young jihadist Salafis recently released from prison under a general amnesty. Although he remained close to Abu Iyadh, he never officially joined Ansar al-Sharia, choosing instead to maintain some distance while continuing to influence its ideology.
Al-Idrissi sees jihad as the “forgotten obligation” that the Muslim community has abandoned. He routinely urges believers to engage in jihad with both wealth and life.
In one sermon, he famously exclaimed: “They call us Kharijites… but where is the Caliph we rebelled against?”—a statement that underscores his endorsement of jihadist Salafism and his belief in the caliphate as a solution for the Muslim world.
His theological training came from notable Wahhabi scholars, including Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz, revered by Salafis as the leading authority of his time. He also studied under Mohammad Saeed Al-Qahtani, who co-authored a 2015 declaration, along with 55 other Saudi clerics, urging the “Afghanization of jihad” in Syria against Russian forces.
In early 2011, Al-Idrissi advised Abu Iyadh not to name their movement “Ansar al-Sharia,” warning that such labeling would make it easier for authorities to track and target members. He feared the name could fragment the jihadist current in Tunisia.
As government pressure increased on Ansar al-Sharia, tensions grew between Al-Idrissi and Abu Iyadh. In 2013, the latter wrote a long letter criticizing Al-Idrissi for his silence, stating: “It is as if the battle does not concern you, as if you are not obligated to speak the truth and defend it by any means permitted by God.”
Al-Idrissi’s sermons and lectures have been widely published on online platforms that also host key Salafi-jihadist texts.
ISIS Slogan
One of Al-Idrissi’s poems became an inspirational slogan among ISIS supporters. The line, “When Islam is fought, it strengthens; when it’s left alone, it spreads,” is believed by some to have influenced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s infamous phrase: “Remaining and Expanding.”
Leaked documents from within ISIS reveal that Tunisian recruits often boasted about having studied under Al-Idrissi, whose teachings are still influential in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. His sermons enjoy widespread circulation on the internet.
Many in the legal and political community consider the verdict against Al-Idrissi a turning point in Tunisia’s counterterrorism policy.
According to analysts, convicting Al-Idrissi—who enjoyed support from Islamist factions post-2011—sends a clear message of the state’s intent to dry up the roots of extremism and close the chapter on jihadist travel networks.
A Fair Verdict
Tunisian security expert and political analyst Khalifa Chibani stated that the sentence reflects an independent judicial decision.
He explained that Al-Idrissi was originally detained in 2011 for his foundational role in jihadist Salafism in Tunisia. He was released in 2015 despite well-documented ties to dangerous figures such as Sifallah Ben Hussein. “In 2014, he contacted extremist elements in neighboring Libya who aimed to turn Tunisia into a jihadist battlefield and called for general mobilization,” said Chibani.
He added that Al-Idrissi was re-arrested in 2023 after families accused him of facilitating their sons’ travel to war zones. “This ruling is, in my view, a just sentence,” he concluded.
Chibani also stressed that Al-Idrissi’s incitement made him complicit in terrorism. However, during Tunisia’s “black decade,” he enjoyed a form of political immunity, like other extremist elements.
Tunisia has witnessed a sustained period of stability, with terrorist attacks virtually eliminated due to effective preemptive operations by security forces and the military—most notably the 2016 dismantling of a nascent jihadist emirate in Ben Guerdane.
A Tool of a Regional Project
University professor and terrorism expert Obeid Al-Khalifi wrote that the issue of foreign fighter recruitment is deeply rooted in regional and international dynamics, and cannot be resolved solely through judicial measures.
He argued that Al-Idrissi and other Islamist leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya have functioned as tools in a broader transnational recruitment network, shaped by deals and strategic bargains with regional and global powers.
Al-Khalifi acknowledged a strong political and security will in Tunisia to close the file, but warned that the current geopolitical context might lead to a superficial resolution, without fully addressing the functional roots of jihadist mobilization linked to the post–Arab Spring era.
He concluded by cautioning that “rushing to judicial closure without a comprehensive understanding of jihadist networks—especially the issue of foreign fighter recruitment—will not provide real protection against future threats.”
He likened the danger to what unfolded in Syria, where groups like Taliban and Jabhat al-Nusra were eventually rebranded and redeployed as geopolitical tools by international actors.
