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. 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.

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. Buwaydhani then became an official in the defence ministry.

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.