Named after the Kurdish founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, Saladin, the group is non-sectarian and officially advocates equal rights for all ethnicities in Syria, although it stated that it is not secular. According to the militia's former leader, Mahmoud Khallo, "Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians, Armenians and Alawites" are "all brothers under the roof of a single homeland". Though not categorically opposed to the federalization of Syria, the Descendants of Saladin Brigade believed that "federalism is not an effective system for Syria" due to most areas of the country being ethnically diverse.