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Al-Islah (Yemen)

FieldValue
colorcode
chairpersonMohammed al-Yadoumi
nameYemeni Congregation for Reform
native_nameالتجمع اليمني للإصلاح
logoAl-Islah (Yemen) logo.png
leader1_titleDeputy Chairperson
leader1_nameAbdul Wahab al-Ansi
leader2_titleFounders
leader2_nameAbdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar
Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar
Abdul Majeed al-Zindani
Mohammed al-Yadumi
foundation13 September 1990
()
headquartersSanaa
ideology{{UBL
* Islamic fundamentalism<ref name"google1"
* Sunni Islamism<ref name"Yemen: The Tribal Islamists"/
* Conservatism<ref>{{cite booklastLansfordfirst=Tomdate=2014-03-20title=Political Handbook of the World 2014url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iC_VBQAAQBAJpublisher=SAGE Publicationspage=1603isbn=978-1483386263access-date=2025-07-21}}
* Anti-communism<ref name"Sarah Phillips 2008 138"
* Federalism<ref name"Al Islah" (Yemen)
* Republicanism<ref name"Al Islah" /
* Anti-Shia sentiment<ref nameabdul1
* Tribalism<ref name"Yemen: The Tribal Islamists"/
positionRight-wing
internationalMuslim Brotherhood
seats1_titleHouse of Representatives
seats1
coloursBlue
native_name_langar
countryYemen
religionSunni Islam (Salafism)
flagLogo of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (al-Islah).svg
website

Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar Abdul Majeed al-Zindani Mohammed al-Yadumi ()

  • Islamic fundamentalism

  • Sunni Islamism

  • Conservatism

  • Anti-communism

  • Federalism (Yemen)

  • Republicanism

  • Factions:

  • Anti-Shia sentiment

  • Tribalism

  • Qatar

  • United Arab Emirates (Sometimes, Until 2018) Non-state allies:

  • Yemen Presidential Leadership Council

  • General People's Congress flag.svg General People's Congress (Anti-Houthi faction)

  • Flag of the Muslim Brotherhood.svg Muslim Brotherhood

  • Al-Qaeda (Alleged)

  • United States

  • United Arab Emirates (2018-Present)

Non-State opponents:

  • YemenSlogan of the Houthi Movement.svg Houthi Movement
    • Supreme Political Council
  • General People's Congress flag.svg General People's Congress (Pro-Houthi faction)
  • Islamic State
  • Flag of South Yemen.svg Southern Transitional Council (until 2026) Yemeni Civil War (2015-present)

The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, frequently called al-Islah (; ), is a Yemeni Sunni Islamist movement established in 1990 by Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, with Ali Saleh's blessing.

Islah is more of a loose coalition of tribal and religious elements than a political party. Its origins are in the Islamic Front, a Muslim Brotherhood affiliated militia supported by Saudi Arabia to combat the Marxist National Democratic Front during the Cold War. The Islamic Front regrouped after the unification of Yemen in 1990 under the banner of the Islah Party with considerable financial backing from Saudi Arabia. It has been identified as a client of Saudi Arabia, and since the civil war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has forged even closer relations with the group.

The Joint Meeting Parties came into existence in 2003 when Islah and the Socialist Party joined three other smaller parties to establish a joint opposition to the ruling General People's Congress. At the last legislative elections on 27 April 2003, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and 46 out of 301 seats.

As of late 2025, Islah had begun denying any formal affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Foundation

The party was created on 13 September 1990 in Sana'a, Yemen, by the tribal sheikh Abdullah Al Ahmar.

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. The third is the Salafi movement, led by the country's most prominent Sunni religious scholar, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani. Muhammad Al-Yadomi succeeded Al Ahmar as the head of the party following his death on 28 December 2007.

In the 2003 parliamentary election, Al-Islah won 46 seats. , 13 of Al-Islah's parliament members were women, including human rights activist and Nobel laureate Tawakel Karman, who created the activist group Women Journalists Without Chains in 2005 and became the first Yemeni and Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. On 5 February 2018, she was suspended from the party.

As of 2014 the party was the second biggest political party after the General People's Congress (GPC).

Publications

The party has two major media outlets, Al Sahwa, an Arabic daily newspaper, and Suhail TV. The latter is owned by Hamid al-Ahmar, a relative of the party's founder.

Relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE

The party was blacklisted by Saudi Arabia in March 2014 due to its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. and it was later claimed that the UAE hired American mercenaries to assassinate people like Al-Islah leader Mayo. In December 2018, it was reported that Islamist political parties like Al-Islah and jihadi militant groups like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) were the main targets of the UAE, with the Houthis no longer being regarded as the greatest enemy of the UAE, and the Saudis being unable to do anything about it.

Electoral history

House of Representatives elections

ElectionParty leaderVotes%Seats+/–Position
1993Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar382,54517.14%622nd
1997637,72823.4%92nd
20031,333,39422.55%72nd

References

References

  1. Sarah Phillips. (2008). "Yemen's Democracy Experiment in Regional Perspective". Palgrave Macmillan.
  2. (2015). "Yemen: The Tribal Islamists".
  3. Stephen W. Day. (2012). "Regionalism and Rebellion in Yemen: A Troubled National Union". Cambridge University Press.
  4. (1996). "Islamic fundamentalism in Yemen". Westview Press.
  5. Lansford, Tom. (2014-03-20). "Political Handbook of the World 2014". [[SAGE Publications]].
  6. Sarah Phillips. (2008). "Yemen's Democracy Experiment in Regional Perspective". Palgrave Macmillan.
  7. Stephen W. Day. (2012). "Regionalism and Rebellion in Yemen, A Troubled National Union". Cambridge University Press.
  8. Abdullah al-Munifi. (2023). "Yemeni Islah Party.. Guard of values of the Republic, constancy of the state, and terms of politics".
  9. "Yemeni Sheikh of Hate". [[National Review]].
  10. (23 September 2014). "Yemen crisis: Why is there a war?". BBC News.
  11. "How Sunni-Shia Sectarianism is Poisoning Yemen".
  12. (17 December 2017). "Saudi and UAE leaders meet Yemen Islah party chairman". alarabiya.net.
  13. (9 March 2014). "U.A.E. Supports Saudi Arabia Against Qatar-Backed Brotherhood". Bloomberg News.
  14. (14 February 2016). "Saudi Arabia's Problematic Allies against the Houthis".
  15. (20 September 2022). "Weak and Divided, the General People's Congress Turns 40".
  16. (5 April 2015). "Rebels in Yemen abduct Sunni rivals amid Saudi airstrikes".
  17. (February 24, 2004). "United States Designates bin Laden Loyalist".
  18. "Microsoft Word - nefabackgrounder_alawlaki.doc".
  19. (November 10, 2009). "Al Qaeda Recruiter New Focus in Fort Hood Killings Investigation Army Major Nidal Hasan Was In Contact With Imam Anwar Awlaki, Officials Say". ABC News.
  20. (7 January 2018). "Yemeni party names new leader after Saleh killed". Reuters.
  21. (13 November 2014). "Islamic State leader urges attacks in Saudi Arabia: speech". Reuters.
  22. (21 October 2017). "Brothers no more: Yemen's Islah party faces collapse of Aden alliances". [[Middle East Eye]].
  23. "قيادي بالإصلاح: صنعاء لم تسقط بل سُلمت للحوثيين".
  24. (2010). "Between Religion and Politics". Carnegie Endowment.
  25. (2009). "Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World: Challenges for U.S. Engagement". US Institute of Peace Press.
  26. Letta Tayler. (2011). "Yemen's Hijacked Revolution".
  27. Sheila Carapico. (2007). "Civil Society in Yemen: The Political Economy of Activism in Modern Arabia". Cambridge University Press.
  28. Francesco Cavatorta. (2012). "Civil Society Activism under Authoritarian Rule: A Comparative Perspective". Routledge.
  29. (2025-09-14). "Houthis Escalate Confrontation with Israel as Yemen’s Islah Distances Itself from Muslim Brotherhood". YemenOnline.
  30. (2026-01-02). "Yemen is back from the brink, but frenemies Saudi Arabia and UAE have much to negotiate". France24.
  31. Ali Ibrahim Al Moshki. (13 March 2014). "Saudi Arabia blacklists Yemeni groups". Yemen Times.
  32. (17 November 2009). "Ruling party defies Al-Ahmar family, threatens unity of Hashid tribe". Elaf.
  33. [http://www.stratfor.com/yemen_election_realignment Yemen: An Election Realignment] {{webarchive. link. (7 March 2012 STRATFOR, 20 September 2006)
  34. (29 January 2011). "New protests erupt in Yemen". Al Jazeera.
  35. (2010). "The United States & Yemen – Destroying Lives in the Name of National Security". Brecht Forum.
  36. 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.
  37. (5 February 2018). "Yemen Islamist party suspends membership of Nobel laureate Karman". [[Reuters]].
  38. (26 May 2011). "Government Raids Suhail TV Station and Newspaper". Yemen Post.
  39. (15 December 2017). "Saudi-Emirati overture on Yemen deepens Houthi isolation". arabiafoundation.org.
  40. (17 October 2017). "Abbas rival 'hired Israeli mercenary to assassinate UAE's enemies in Yemen'". timesofisrael.com.
  41. (16 October 2018). "A Middle East Monarchy Hired American Ex-Soldiers To Kill Its Political Enemies. This Could Be The Future Of War.". Buzzfeed News.
  42. (21 December 2018). "Yemen on the brink: how the UAE is profiting from the chaos of civil war". The Guardian.
Wikipedia Source

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