STATUS UNKNOWN
- Full name: Jawad Salih
- Pseudonym: Gawad al-Masri
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: France
- Affiliation: Lunel Network [FdL]
Jawad Salih is an Islamist of Moroccan descent from the southern French town of Lunel. He served as the local coordinator of the Justice and Spirituality [AwI; Adl wal-Ihsane] Moroccan Islamist religious organization and gave religious courses at the Tablighi mosque of Lunel.1 By 2013, Salih had become radicalized in his religious beliefs under the influence of Hamza Mozli. Together they would attract a following among local Muslims and give rise to the notorious Lunel Network [FdL; Filière de Lunel]. Salih gave religious instruction during regular meetings at the eatery of an associate.2 During these gatherings, he incited attendees to jihad.3 Between November 2013 and December 2014, about twenty FdL associates who frequented his courses eventually went to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham].4 At one point, Salih also considered going to Syria but he eventually decided against it.5
As reports emerged of Lunellois fighters active in the Levant, the FdL came under intense scrutiny. On Jan. 27, 2015, French security forces arrested Salih and four other associates of the network during a series of raids in Lunel.6 In March 2017, he was released in the runup to his trial.7 Salih was sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Paris on Apr. 13, 2018.8
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