Homeland Party (Libya)

Not to be confused with Union for Homeland.
For other uses, see Al-Watan Party.
Homeland Party
حزب الوطن
Ħizb al-Waṭan
FounderAli al-Sallabi
FoundedNovember 2011
IdeologyIslamism
Islamic democracy
Conservatism[1]
International affiliationMuslim Brotherhood
Website
http://wattan.ly/, https://www.facebook.com/alwattan.ly/

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.

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.

  1. ^ a b c d Khan, Umar (10 April 2012), "Three-day event in Tripoli to announce "Nation Party"", Libya Herald, retrieved 5 December 2012
  2. ^ Libya: Analysis by Kamil Al-Tawil of Jihadi Types` Attitudes to Political Life
  3. ^ Coker, Margaret (22 June 2012), "Libya Election Panel Battles Ghosts", The Wall Street Journal
  4. ^ Beaumont, Peter (3 December 2011), "Political Islam poised to dominate the new world bequeathed by Arab spring", The Guardian, London, retrieved 31 January 2012
  5. ^ Nordland, Rod; Kirkpatrick, David D. (15 September 2011). "Islamists' Growing Sway Raises Questions for Libya". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
  6. ^ Spencer, Richard (19 November 2011), "Libyan cleric announces new party on lines of 'moderate' Islamic democracy", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 31 January 2012
  7. ^ "The Hizb Al Watan official homepage". 20 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-20.