HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Al-Asalah Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الأصالة الإسلامية) is the main Sunni
Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
political party in
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...
. The party is the political wing of the
Islamic Education Society The Islamic Education Society ( ar, جمعية التربية الإسلامية) is an Islamic organization in Bahrain that follows and promotes the conservative Salafist ideology. It participates in politics through its political wing, Asalah ...
(''Al-Tarbiya Al-Islamiya'') which funds the party. Asalah's leader is Ghanim Al Buaneen, who took over in 2005 from
Adel Mouwda Sheikh Adel Al Mouwda was the second deputy chairman of Bahrain's parliament of 2002, the Chamber of Deputies, and the former leader of salafist party, Asalah. Sheikh Al Mouwda is considered the leading spokesman for political Islam in Bahrain and i ...
, who was sacked because he was perceived to be too close to Shia Islamists in the
Al-Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الوفاق الوطني الإسلامية; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest cou ...
party. Asalah is most popular in the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
bastions of
Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain I ...
and Riffa. Asala often aligns with Al-Menbar to outvote Al-Wefaq.


Ideology

Asalah seeks to promote a hardline interpretation of Islam which rejects much of Bahrain's modernism as well as encouraging religious observance. It has led opposition to US military action in Iraq and was at the forefront of demonstrations against military action in Falluja. On the issue of women's political rights, Buaneen told the Bahrain Tribune on 18 January 2006 that the party disagrees with them having any. Buaneen said that this position reflects the party's "honesty" while other parties support women’s participation only in their statements. Buaneen said: "If women make it to parliament, then we would cooperate with them, but our society wouldn’t support any woman candidates". The party's ideology has seen it at the forefront of debate on the Bahrain's national heritage, arguing, especially during Adel Mouwda's leadership, that the country should consider the destruction of all sites that pre-date Islam. During a parliamentary debate on 17 July 2005, Asalah deputies clashed with other MPs over government plans to build a national museum to showcase the Dilmun burial mounds. Adel Mouwda told MPs that the money should be invested in building houses over the burial mounds. "Housing for the living is better than the graves for the dead. We must have pride in our Islamic roots and not some ancient civilisation from another place and time, which has only given us a jar here and a bone there." Adel Al-Mouwda's approach to the preservation of Bahrain's historic sites differs markedly with that of his successor, Ghanim Al Buaneen, who in March 2006 criticized the government for not doing enough to protect the dilapidated, but historic centre of
Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain I ...
and demanding more government money for restoration work. The less ideological approach of Buaneen towards the preservation of the Kingdom's history is a reflection of a more conciliatory attitude on his part towards modernity in general. The party has been actively campaigning against
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
and has sought to introduce legislation to make the practice of sorcery and fortune telling illegal with a two-year prison sentence or BD500 fine for offenders. MP
Ali Mattar Ali Mohamed Mattar ( ar, علي مطر) is a salafist Bahraini MP who represents Asalah in the Chamber of Deputies. Mattar is one of Asalah's most active MPs, and is seen as carving out a niche for himself in parliamentary life with legislative p ...
, who has taken a lead, told the English language
Gulf Daily News The ''Gulf Daily News'' (''GDN'') is an English-language local newspaper published in the Kingdom of Bahrain by Al Hilal Group. The paper, which is one of six daily newspapers in Bahrain, calls itself "The Voice of Bahrain". Al Hilal Group publi ...
: "It's becoming more popular for people in Bahrain to turn to fortune tellers and sorcerers to find out what their future holds or to act as mediums to harm others or make people fall in love with them. There are many homes around the country that are known to be practising black magic and if you drive past them a large number of cars from around the GCC would be found parked outside." However, the move has been resisted by Bahraini sorcerers who described the plan as 'unfair', with a fortune teller responding: "I can understand the MPs' feelings because there are fraudsters out there, but it's not fair for those who truly have the gift of seeing the future and dealing with the supernatural".Move 'unfair to those with the gift'
/ref> The relationship with Bahrain's Shi'a
Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...
, such as
Al Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الوفاق الوطني الإسلامية; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest co ...
, is ambiguous. Asalah's Salafist ideology sees Shias as at best misguided, which precludes full cooperation between the two parties. However, both types of fundamentalists are opponents of what they consider moral laxity and are ready to campaign together on "morality issues". The party's relationship with the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
's political wing,
Al-Menbar Islamic Society The Al-Menber National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية المنبر الوطني الإسلامي, ) is the political wing of the Sunni Islamist Al Eslah Society in Bahrain and Bahrain's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The president and p ...
, is one of competitors for Sunni Islamist voters, but, as with Al Wefaq, they are willing to informally work together to pursue particular objectives. The party has a bad relationship with MP
Jassim Al Saeedi Jassim Al Saeedi is a Bahraini salafist MP, member of parliament representing a constituency in Riffa, Bahrain. After he was banned from standing in 2002's general election for the main Salafist party, Asalah, for being "too extreme", Al Saeedi ...
who was rejected as a member for being 'too extreme'.


Electoral history

The group won seven seats in the
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...
i
Council of Representatives The Council of Representatives (''Majlis an-nuwab''), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the national legislative body of Bahrain. The council was created ...
(parliament) at the 2002 election, four seats at the 2006 election (when three Sunni independents generally voted with Asala), three seats at the 2010 election and two seat at the 2014 election. It won three seats at the 2018 election.


Council of Representatives elections


References


External links

* http://www.alasalah-bh.org {{Bahraini political parties Political parties in Bahrain Politics of Bahrain Salafi Islamist groups Social conservative parties Sunni Islamic political parties Political parties with year of establishment missing Conservative parties in Asia