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Umma Islamic Party

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Umma Islamic Party
حزب الأمة الإسلامي
LeaderDr. Abdullah al-Salim
Founded10 February 2011
HeadquartersRiyadh
IdeologyIslamism
Reformism
Shura
Website
islamicommaparty.org

The Umma Islamic Party (Arabic: حزب الأمة الإسلامي) 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 2011, 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]

Creation in 2011

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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, led by the Kuwait Hizb al-Umma and 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

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Al-Ghamidi, al-Dughaithir, al-Wuhaibi, al-Qahtani, 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 in 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

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Laessing, Ulf (10 February 2011). "Pro-reform Saudi activists launch political party". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Moderate Saudi scholars form kingdom's first party". The Jordan Times. Associated Press. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Saudi authorites [sic] detain founders of new party". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b "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 3 December 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d Wilcke, Christopher (19 February 2011). "Secret Police Crackdown on Founders of First Political Party". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  6. ^ Yazici, Abdurrahman (June 2020). "Sacralising Freedom: The Kuwaiti Umma Party versus post-Islamism". Academia: 10.
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