**Memorial of a Hero**

Many amazing young men have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution, but not many have been as popular and well-loved as Abdul Qader Al-Saleh.

Today, 18 November, marks the twelfth anniversary of the death of one of the heroes of the popular Syrian revolution that began in 2011.

Abdul Qader Al‑Saleh was born in the town of Mar'ea, north of Aleppo, in 1979. From childhood he showed a strong sense of commitment. After completing his primary education and serving in the military, he opened a grocery shop and got married.

Before the Syrian uprising, he joined the *Da‘wah and Tabligh* group (other wise known as "Tablighi Jama'at") and traveled with them on missionary trips to Jordan, Turkey, and Bangladesh to teach people Islam and bring Muslims closer to their religion.

Al‑Saleh, a tradesman specializing in grains working in the food industry when the revolution began, was among the first organizers of the peaceful demonstrations in his hometown of Maree; his great popularity and the people’s love for him earned him the nickname "Hajji Marae" where the word Hajji in the local Syrian dialect refers to older men or men worth of respect for their apparent religiosity. As the regime intensified killings of protesters, he began gathering comrades to take up arms and formed the battalion “The North Fist.”

Later, about 33 rebel groups from various villages in the Aleppo countryside convened and established the **“Liwaa al‑Tawhid” (The Unity Brigade)** on 18 July 2012, becoming the largest military FSA faction in Aleppo and the surrounding regions.

AbdulQader Al‑Salih, then 34 years old, was chosen as its leader. The brigade planned and executed its swift offensive into the heart of Aleppo's city-center on 21 July 2012.

Al‑Saleh participated in several key battles, including the liberation of Azzaz (northern rural Aleppo), support for Al‑Qusayr in Homs, the freeing of Sfeereh (southern rural Aleppo) and its surroundings, and other operations. He became the most renowned military commander in northern Syria, enjoying great respect, love, and appreciation among Syrians.

He survived multiple assassination attempts; the Assad regime even placed a bounty of $200,000 for his killing or capture.

On the anniversary of his death, Sheikh [Muhammad Abdullah Alsalem](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=25230458603301300&id=100002915227119) recalls Abdulkader Al Saleh and says:

* There was no equal to his kindness, integrity, morals, and humility.
* Al‑Saleh repeatedly emphasized that the revolution was, and would never be, sectarian.
* In several interviews he declared that his vision was the establishment of a **civil state governed by justice.**
* When he first joined the Tablighi group he had a long beard; after becoming a military commander he trimmed it, because he had become the focus of local, regional, and international attention and did not want obstacles placed before the people’s revolution.
* He dealt with everyone, saying: “Anyone who fights the criminal Assad regime is one of us,” and cooperated militarily with all factions. When the Jabhat al‑Nusrah (was no more than 40 fighters) asked him for a base in Aleppo after its mid‑2012 entry, he gave them the **Al‑Oyun Hospital** as headquarters and coordinated with various factions, whether they were from Sufi orientation or Muslim Brotherhood or Salafi streams, out of a spirit of Muslim solidarity and trust in the great battle against the regime.
* He never abandoned his kindness, principles, and moderation, which is typical of Tabligh members, and bore many of the mistakes of some popular or Islamist factions.
* He once told me: “Any conditional support is unacceptable to me.”
* In a meeting he said: “I wish to be martyred before victory! People will one day say you destroyed Syria and caused our tragedies, or even accuse me of theft, although I sold all my property to buy weapons at the start of the revolution." And God granted him his wish, and he was martyred before he seeing the rebel factions fall into rival division, before seeing extremism rise, before seeing people scatter, before seeing the great victory that came by God’s grace in December 2024.
* He told us: “You are our elders; guide us with what pleases God so we may remove oppression from the people.”
* He was an example of a moderate, aware popular man… this does not mean he was flawless; some errors stemmed from inexperience or pressure. He tried to curb the military excesses of some factions, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, and attempted to establish administrative foundations in the judiciary and local council, but dual loyalties undermined those efforts.

Your martyrdom day, Oh Abdulqader, was hard for us and our comrades, and we felt a breaking that only God knows, yet everyone pledged to continue the path until victory.

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His death:

Seriously injured after a regime fighter jet bombed a meeting of the leaders of the Al-Tawhid Brigade in the Infantry School in Aleppo, Abdul Qader Al-Saleh, **Hajji Maree fell as a blessed martyr at the age of 35** on November 18, 2013, in the Turkish city of Gaziantep where he had been taken after he was wounded. As he had requested, Al-Saleh was buried in the grave he had dug for himself in his home city of Marea in northern Syria but his memory still lives on in the hearts of free Syrians everywhere and continues to inspire them in their quest for freedom, justice, and dignity in Syria.

[REPOST] Today marks the 12th anniversary of Abdulqader Al-Saleh's martyrdom, the revolutionary legend that won hearts of free Syrians