Umma Islamic Party

The Umma Islamic Party is a political party in Saudi Arabia that was formed on 10 February 2011 in response to the Arab Spring. Formed by a collective of opposition members including Islamists and intellectuals, the party is pro-reform and demands representation and an end to absolute monarchy in the country.[1] The party is run by a ten-member coordination committee and requested official recognition from the government as an official party.[2] On 18 February, most of the party co-founders were arrested by Saudi authorities.[3] All except for Sheikh Abd al-ʽAziz al-Wuhaibi were released later in 2011, subject to travel and teaching bans, after agreeing in writing not to carry out "anti-government activity".[4]

Umma Islamic Party

حزب الأمة الإسلامي
LeaderDr. Abdullah AlSalim
Founded10 February 2011
HeadquartersRiyadh - Saudi Arabia
IdeologyIslamism
Reformism
Shura

Creation in 2011

The Umma Islamic Party was created on 9 February 2011[1] by an 11-member coordination committee[2] of Islamists and intellectuals including Dr Abdullah Alsalim, Dr. Ahmad bin Sa'd al-Ghamidi, Sheikh Abd al-ʽAziz al-Wuhaibi and Sheikh Muhammad bin Husain al-Qahtani.[5] The party is pro-reform and demands representation and an end to absolute monarchy in the country.[1] The party requested official recognition from the government as an official party.[2]

The Umma Islamic Party was part of the Umma Conference network headquartered in Istanbul and lead by the Kuwait Hizb al-Umma chaired by Hakim al-Mutayri, until it severed its ties in 2017 for increasing tutelage and lack of autonomy, though retaining its program in a revised edition.[6]

2011 detentions

Al-Ghamidi, al-Dughaithir, al-Wuhaibi, al-Qahtani, and al-Ghamidi, al-Majid and al-Khadhar were detained on 17 February 2011.[5] Human Rights Watch stated that they "[appeared] to have been detained solely for trying to create a party whose professed aims included greater democracy and protection for human rights."[3][5] Prior to his own arrest, al-Khadhar stated that his colleagues were apparently held in the Mabahith's ʽUlaysha Prison.[5] The detained party co-founders were told that they would be released only if they signed a pledge to stop advocating for political reform, which they initially refused.[3]

All except for al-Wuhaibi were conditionally released during 2011 after signing declarations that they would not carry out "anti-government activity". The release conditions included travel bans and teaching bans.[4]

See also

References
  1. Laessing, Ulf (10 February 2011). "Pro-reform Saudi activists launch political party". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  2. "Moderate Saudi scholars form kingdom's first party". The Jordan Times. Associated Pres. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. "Saudi authorites [sic] detain founders of new party". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  4. "Saudi Arabia's political prisoners: towards a third decade of silence" (PDF). Islamic Human Rights Commission. 30 September 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  5. Wilcke, Christopher (19 February 2011). "Secret Police Crackdown on Founders of First Political Party". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  6. Yazici, Abdurrahman (June 2020). "Sacralising Freedom: The Kuwaiti Umma Party versus post-Islamism". Academia. p. 10.
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