Al-Islah (Yemen)
 | This article needs to be updated. (March 2013) |
Al-Islah التجمع اليمني للإصلاح Al-Tajammu'u Al-Yamani Lil-Islah | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Leader | Mohammed Qahtan, Sadeq Al-Ahmar, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani |
| Founded | 13 September 1990 |
| Headquarters | Sana'a[citation needed] |
| Ideology | Islamism Salafism Tribalism |
| Political position | Right-wing[citation needed] |
| Religion | Wahhabi Islam |
| International affiliation | Muslim Brotherhood |
| Parliament of Yemen | 46 / 301
|
| Website | |
| Official website | |
The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, frequently called Al-Islah,[1][2](pronounced [al iːsˤlaːħ]; Arabic: التجمع اليمني للإصلاح at-Tajammu’u al-Yamanī lil-Īṣlāḥ) is the main opposition party in Yemen. At the last legislative elections, 27 April 2003, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and 46 out of 301 seats.
Foundation
The party was created on 13 September 1990 in Sana'a, Yemen, by the tribal sheikh Abdullah Al Ahmar.[3]
General structure, leadership
Al-Islah has been described as consisting of "three components. The first is the political faction, Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood, led by Mohammed Qahtan. The second is the tribal confederacy which was led by top tribal chief Abdullah Al Ahmar until his death in 2007 at which time he was succeeded by his son Sadeq.[4] (Hamid al-Ahmar is Sadeq's younger brother and is active in politics.) The third is the mainstream in Yemen, led by the country’s most prominent Sunni religious scholar, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani."[5] Abdulla Al-Yadomi succeeded Al Ahmar as the head of the party following his death on 28 December 2007.[3]
In the 2003 parliamentary election, Al-Islah won 46 seats. As of 2010[update], 13 of Al-Islah's parliament members were women, including human rights activist and Nobel laureate Tawakel Karman,[2][6] who created the activist group Women Journalists Without Chains in 2005[7] and became the first Yemeni and Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
As of 2014 the party was the second biggest political party after the General People’s Congress (GPC).[3]
Policies
National
Al-Islah says that those thinking of fighting for the Yemeni government against the Shia insurgency of the Houthis should instead keep well out of the war because Yemenis must not help Yemen's pro-Western government, which deserves to be overthrown.[1]
Al-Islah is agitating, at the moment, against a draft amendment to the constitution of Yemen that could allow the president to run for life. The party is also involved in organising demonstrations for the ongoing 2011 Yemeni protests.[2]
Personal rights
Senior member of Al-Islah Tawakel Karman[2] received the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, Ali Mohammed Hassen Ali Jaro'a leader for life makers team on Yemen
Publications
The party has two major media outlets, Al Sahwa, an Arabic daily, and Suhail TV.[8] The latter is owned by Hameed Al Ahmar, a relative of the party's founder.[8]
Bans
The party was blacklisted by Saudi Arabia in March 2014.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b Camp, Mazrak (19 November 2009). "Yemen's War – Pity those caught in the middle". The Economist. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "New protests erupt in Yemen". Al Jazeera. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Ali Ibrahim Al Moshki (13 March 2014). "Saudi Arabia blacklists Yemeni groups". Yemen Times. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ "Ruling party defies Al-Ahmar family, threatens unity of Hashid tribe". Elaf. 17 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011.
- ^ Yemen: An Election Realignment STRATFOR, 20 September 2006
- ^ "The United States & Yemen – Destroying Lives in the Name of National Security". Brecht Forum. 2010. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Al-Sakkaf, Nadia (17 June 2010). "Renowned activist and press freedom advocate Tawakul Karman to the Yemen Times: "A day will come when all human rights violators pay for what they did to Yemen"". Women Journalists Without Chains. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Government Raids Suhail TV Station and Newspaper". Yemen Post. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
