Ali Mohamed Mattar () is a

salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retur ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

i MP who represents

Asalah The Al-Asalah Islamic Society () is the main Sunni Salafist political party in Bahrain. The party is the political wing of the Islamic Education Society (''Al-Tarbiya Al-Islamiya'') which funds the party. Asalah's leader is Ghanim Al Buaneen ...

in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

. Mattar is one of Asalah's most active MPs, and is seen as carving out a niche for himself in parliamentary life with legislative proposals that have been described by supporters as "bold". In January 2006, he proposed legislation to ban

sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...

, telling parliament, "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 practicing black magic and if you drive past them a large number of cars from around the GCC would be found parked outside." This created consternation among the Kingdom's magicians and fortune tellers, with soothsayer Dina, 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." In February 2006, Mattar proposed the introduction of

Sharia Law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

, saying that the removal of thieves' hands would address rising crime, particularly burglaries. Explaining the move, he said, "Thieves should feel the agony of their victims and this would be a permanent lesson to them." Continuing his campaign to introduce amputations, in April 2006 he compared Bahrain's jails to "five star hotels" and said that a recent prison inspection by the

Bahrain Human Rights Society The Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS; ) was set up in 2002 following wide ranging political reforms by the Bahraini government to allow the functioning of independent human rights groups. In 2010 the government dissolved the BHRS's board of ...

is "something I really feel awkward about, considering that the criminals did not treat others fairly when they stole from them". Mattar's proposals for Sharia Law led to a clash with Bahrain's government when he tried to amend Article 342 of the Penal Code so that those who kill someone in an accident would have to pay

blood money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim * A stream of revenue used by boarding masters for placing many seaman on ships * Money obtained from crime, especially at the cost of another's lif ...

to the victim's family or lose their own lives. Determining the blood money would be at the discretion of the victim's family. ''Bahrain Tribune'', 4 January 2006 The move was opposed by a majority of Bahrain's MPs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattar, Ali Bahraini Islamists Sunni Islamists Members of the Council of Representatives (Bahrain) Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Al Asalah politicians