Essam al-Buwaydhani

Essam al-Buwaydhani, also known as Abu Hammam (Arabic: أبو همام البويضاني) is a Syrian rebel leader. He was reportedly born in Douma and was a businessman by profession.^[1] He was elected leader of Jaysh al-Islam after Zahran Alloush, the previous leader of the group, was killed in a Syrian Air Force air strike in December 2015.^[2]

Essam al-Buwaydhani
Native name	عصام البويضاني
Born	1971 Douma, Syria
Allegiance	Jaysh al-Islam
Battles / wars	Syrian Civil War Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018)

Following the fall of the Assad regime, Buwaydhani and other rebel leaders, met with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham head Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024 at a conference in Damascus, where they agreed to dissolve their factions.^[3] Buwaydhani then became an official in the defence ministry.^[4]

On 24 April 2025, Buwaydhani was arrested at Dubai International Airport while exiting the United Arab Emirates. He was reported to have entered the country for private reasons using a Turkish passport.^[4]