The Homeland Party[2] or Libyan National Party[3] (also styled Alwattan Party, Arabic: حزب الوطن Ħizb al-Waṭan or Ħizb el-Waṭan) is a conservative Islamist political party in Libya, founded in November 2011,[4] after the Libyan Civil War and the overthrow of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. It is endorsed and led by Ali al-Sallabi, an influential Salafist cleric. Members include Abdelhakim Belhadj, Mahmoud Hamza, Ali Zeidan and Mansour Saif Al-Nasar.[1][5] At the time of its establishment, it had the provisional name of National Gathering for Freedom, Justice and Development.
Homeland Party حزب الوطن Ħizb al-Waṭan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founder | Ali al-Sallabi |
| Founded | November 2011 |
| Ideology | Islamism Islamic democracy Conservatism[1] |
| International affiliation | Muslim Brotherhood |
| Website | |
| http://wattan.ly/, https://www.facebook.com/alwattan.ly/ | |
Al-Sallabi has strong ties to both Yusuf al-Qaradawi, spiritual leader of the international Muslim Brotherhood, and Abdelhakim Belhadj, former "emir" of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. The party calls for "moderate" Islamic democracy, but demands to base a new Libyan constitution on Sharia law.[6]
The Arabic word waṭan can be translated as "nation"[1] or "homeland".[7] The party claims to have offices in 27 Libyan cities.[1] The party won no seats in the Libyan General National Congress election of 2012.
See also edit
- List of Islamic political parties
- Justice and Development Party, a rival Islamist Libyan party.
External links edit
- Official website Archived 2021-03-08 at the Wayback Machine (Arabic)
- Official Alwattan Party website (auto-translated to English).
References edit
- ^ a b c d Khan, Umar (10 April 2012), "Three-day event in Tripoli to announce "Nation Party"", Libya Herald, retrieved 5 December 2012
- ^ Libya: Analysis by Kamil Al-Tawil of Jihadi Types` Attitudes to Political Life
- ^ Coker, Margaret (22 June 2012), "Libya Election Panel Battles Ghosts", The Wall Street Journal
- ^ Beaumont, Peter (3 December 2011), "Political Islam poised to dominate the new world bequeathed by Arab spring", The Guardian, London, retrieved 31 January 2012
- ^ Nordland, Rod; Kirkpatrick, David D. (15 September 2011). "Islamists' Growing Sway Raises Questions for Libya". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
- ^ Spencer, Richard (19 November 2011), "Libyan cleric announces new party on lines of 'moderate' Islamic democracy", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 31 January 2012
- ^ "The Hizb Al Watan official homepage". 20 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
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