Origins and architects of Yemen's joint meeting parties

International Journal of Middle East Studies

Volumn 39, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 565-586

  Browers, Michaelle ^a  

^a WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARAB WORLD; ELECTION; PARTY POLITICS; POLITICAL DISCOURSE; POLITICAL REFORM; POWER RELATIONS;

ASIA; EURASIA; MIDDLE EAST; YEMEN;

EID: 38549108464     PISSN: 00207438     EISSN: 14716380     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0020743807071085     Document Type: Article

References (95)

1. Zaydism is a Shi'i sect that predominates in Yemen's north-central highlands. A Zaydi imamate ruled northern Yemen until it was overthrown in a military coup in 1962.
2. The Popular Nasirist Unity Organization was founded in Ta'iz in 1965. The Union of Popular Forces was founded in 1959 by Ibrahim bin 'Ali al-Wazir, a member of a prominent family of Zaydi sayyids who led a failed constitutional movement in 1948 against the imam.
3. Al-Haqq was established in 1990 by a group of Zaydi scholars and sayyids primarily to defend Zaydism against the growth of Wahhabism in Yemen. The National Socialist Arab Ba'th Party, a small, Iraqi-leaning party that emerged in the 1960s from the Arab Nationalist Movement, was listed as a signatory when the JMP program was publicized. However, the party never formally signed and eventually positioned itself closer to the GPC.
4. A full review of this literature is provided in Jillian Schwedler, Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), chapter one.
5. Janine A. Clark, "The Conditions of Islamic Moderation: Unpacking Cross-Ideological Cooperation in Jordan," International Journal of Middle East Studies 38 (2006): 539-60. See Clark for a useful overview of a number of studies that test the cooperation-moderation relation.
6. Schwedler and Clark organized two conferences to study Islamist-leftist cooperation, at the European University Institute and the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies Mediterranean Programme in March 2004 and at the Rockefeller Foundation Conference Centre in Bellagio in August 2005. My own work benefited tremendously from participation in the 2004 workshop.
7. Schwedler, Faith in Moderation, 195.
8. Ibid., 192.
9. Determining whether Yemen has become more or less democratic over a period of time is an inexact science at best. Although some studies indicate marginal progress in regard to particular indicators at points, the more general assessment seems to be that democratization in Yemen stalled in the mid-1990s. See Jillian Schwedler, emen's Aborted Opening,Journal of Democracy 13, no. 4 (2002): 48-55.
10. Sheila Carapico analyzes the curtailment of local initiatives by an increasingly centralized state following a period of democratic experimentation between 1990 and 1994: Civil Society in Yemen: The Political Economy of Activism in Modern Arabia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), chapter seven.
11. Comparing the 1993 and 1997 parliamentary elections, Abdu H. Sharif notes a series of ρeversalsin Yemen's progress toward democracy: "Weak Institutions and Democracy: The Case of the Yemeni Parliament, 1993-97," Middle East Policy 9, no. 1 (2002): 92.
12. Freedom House moved Yemen from νot freeto πartly free" in 2003 but has more recently noted that "in the two years from the end of 2003 until the end of 2005, Yemen's overall performance on democratic governance weakened, with little progress to report on strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, and increasing transparency." Brian Katulis and David Emery, "Country Report: Yemen," Countries at the Crossroads (New York: Freedom House, 2006).
13. Robert D. Burrowes and Catherine M. Kasper, "The Salih Regime and the Need for a Credible Opposition," Middle East Journal 61 (2007): 264.
14. Michael Hudson, "Bipolarity, Rational Calculation and War in Yemen," in The Yemeni War of 1994: Causes and Consequences, ed. Jamal S. al-Suwaidi (London: Saqi Books, 1995), 22.
15. Paul Dresch and Bernard Haykel report that "the Brothers in Yemen are few, and they are not unified." "Stereotypes and Political Styles: Islamists and Tribesfolk in Yemen," International Journal of Middle East Studies 27 (1995): 406.
16. Hudson, "Bipolarity," 22.
17. Schwedler reports that "after more than a decade under Zindani's guidance, a number of younger Muslim Brotherhood members felt it was time for a change in leadership and mounted what several of them describe as an internal coup against Zindani. They felt that Zindam was developing his own cult of personality at the expense of the teachings of Hassan al-Banna, the Egyptian who founded the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928." "Islam, Democracy, and the Yemeni State," paper presented at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy annual conference (Washington, D.C., April 2001). AI-Zindani was based in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, where he headed the Institute for Scientific Inimitability, an organization devoted to proving the correspondence of science and revelation. Further biographical information on al-Ahmar and al-Zindani is found in Khalil Muhammad al-Surimi, Lamahat min Masirat al-Islah al-Yamaniyya (Sanaa, Yemen: Al-Surinti, 2004), 103-5 and 106-8, respectively.
18. British Broadcasting Corporation, 19 April 1990.
19. Joseph Kostiner, Yemen: The Tortuous Quest for Unity, 1990-1994 (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1996), 42. Tariq al-Fadli was eventually absorbed into the GPC and appointed to the upper house of parliament.
20. Dresch and Haykel, "Stereotypes and Political Styles," 405.
21. The presidential council was altered in 1993 to include one Islah member and then eliminated in 1994 through constitutional amendment.
22. Hudson, "Bipolarity," 22.
23. Iris Glosemeyer, "The First Yemeni Parliamentary Elections in 1993," Orient 34 (1993): 446.
24. Yemen Times, 20-26 June 1994.
25. Masira' 'Ata', April 1993-April 1997 (Sanaa, Yemen: Al-Tajammu' al-Yamani li-I-Islah, n.d).
26. This shift is well documented by Jillian Schwedler, "The Islah Party in Yemen: Political Opportunities and Coalition Building in a Transitional Polity," in Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach, ed. Quintan Wiktorowicz (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2004), 205-28.
27. The first reference to the JMP that I have found in print is in al-Milaff al-Watha'iqi li-l-Intikhabat, 1997: Ihsa'iyyan, Tahliliyyan, Siyasiyyan (Sanaa, Yemen: Awan for Services and Information, 1997), 39-40.
28. Another early reference is in Mahmud Mansur, "al-Masar al-Tatbiqi li-l-Tajribat al-Dimuqratiyya fi al-Yaman wa-Mu'ashshirat al-Mustaqbal," Markaz Dirasat al-Mustaqbal 3, no. 4 (1998): 68-80.
29. The Higher Coordination Council for the Opposition Parties (Majlis al-Tansiq al-'Ala'li-lhzab al-Mu'arida), founded in 1995 to ally the YSP and several smaller, mostly left-leaning parties, consisted of seven political parties in 1997: The YSP, the Popular Nasirist Unity Organization, al-Haqq, UPF, the Yemeni Unity Gathering, the Ba'thist Party, and the Constitutional Freedom Party. Bilqis Ahmad Mansur, al-Ahzab al-Siyasiyya wa-l-Tahawwul al-Dimuqrati: Dirasat Tatbiqiyya 'ala al-Yaman wa-Bilad Ukhra (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli, 2004), 368.
30. Formed in 1993, the SCER is responsible for administering and regulating all aspects of the electoral process. Its status as a neutral institution has been questioned by the opposition since its inception.
31. British Broadcasting Corporation, 7 July 1998.
32. Yemen Times, 4-10 September 2000. The YSP's fourth party congress was held in two rounds, the first in November 1998, when various party policies and programs were voted on, and a second in August 2000, when party elections were held.
33. Sawt al-Shura, 26 August 2001.
34. Nasser Arrabyee, "Strife Blights Elections," Al-Ahram Weekly, 1-7 March 2001.
35. Yemen Times, 26 February 2001.
36. Agence France Presse, 26 February-4 March 2001.
37. British Broadcasting Corporation, 27 July 2001.
38. Saadaldeen Ali Talib, "A Decade of Pluralist Democracy in Yemen," in Parliamentary Reform, ed. Ali Sawi (Cairo: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2003), 208.
39. A similar assessment of 'Umar's role in brokering the YSP-Islah alliance is offered by Sheila Carapico, Lisa Wedeen, and Anna Wuerth, "The Death and Life of Jarallah Omar," Middle East Report Online (31 December 2002).
40. Many biographical details were provided by Fawwaz Traboulsi, a close friend of 'Umar's since the early 1970s, who generously provided me with the text of unpublished remarks he delivered at a memorial held for 'Umar at the Cultural Council for South Lebanon in Beirut.
41. Jarallah 'Umar, "A Short Autobiography," Yemen Gateway, www.al-bab.com/yemen/biog/jarallah.htm (accessed 20 August 2007).
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid.
44. Yemen Times, 2-8 November 1998.
45. A text of the speech is found in Sadiq Nashir, Jar Allah 'Umar Yatakallam (Sanaa, Yemen: Markaz al-'Abadi, 2003), 80-84.
46. Ibid., 12-13.
47. Mideast Mirror, 5 July 1999.
48. Muhammad al-Maqalih, Man Qatala Jar Allah 'Umar: Al-Jarima bayn al-Din wa-l-Siyasa (Sanaa, Yemen: Markaz al-'Abadi, 2004). Al-Maqalih has moved through a number of organizations. By his own account, he began as socialist member of the Muslim brotherhood, later joining al-Haqq - drawn to Zaydi ideas of revolution - before finally settling in with the YSP. Nabil al-Sufi, Islah member and editor of News Yemen explained al-Maqalih's move as follows: "Since parties are so undemocratic, if you find you have a disagreement, then you have no choice but to leave." Interview with author, Sanaa, Yemen, 11 January 2006.
49. Yemen Times, 17-23 November 2003.
50. Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Maqrami, al-Tajammu' al-Yamani li-l-Islah: al-Ruya wa-l-Masar-Dirasa fi al-Mash'a wa-l-Tatawwur (Sanaa, Yemen: Yemeni Reform Gathering, 1998).
51. Quoted in al-Maqrami, al-Tajammu' al-Yamani li-l-Islah, 113.
52. Ibid., 164.
53. Ibid., 189. The quoted passage is from a party document.
54. Paul Dresch, "The Tribal Factor in the Yemeni Crisis," in The Yemeni War of 1994, ed. Jamal S. al-Suwaidi (London: Saqi Books, 1995), 39.
55. François Burgat, "Yemen: On Which Side?" Le Monde Diplomatique 9 April 2003.
56. Ahmar's status as a shaykh derives from his leadership of the Hashid tribe and has different resonances than al-Zindani's title, which appears to stem from his status as a religious scholar. The shaykh-professor distinction may indicate a juxtaposition of "traditional" and "modern" as well.
57. Paul Dresch, A History of Modern Yemen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 175, 187.
58. Schwedler, Faith in Moderation, 72.
59. Quoted in Brian Whitaker, "Rumblings from a Distant Outbreak of Democracy," The Guardian, 4 January 1992.
60. Yemen Times, 24 February-2 March 2003.
61. Nasser Arrabyee, "Contentious Poll in Yemen," Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 May 2003.
62. Yemen Observer, 4 October 2005.
63. Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik al-Mutawakkil, "The Gap Between the Government and the Governed," in Yemen Today, 67.
64. Ibid., 68, 69.
65. Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik al-Mutawakkil, al-Tanmiyyat al-Siyasiyya (Sanaa, Yemen: N.p., 2004), 189-90.
66. Mu'tamar al-Qawmi al-Islami al-Awwal: Watha'iq wa-Munaqashat wa-Qararat al-Mu'tamar (Beirut: Center for Arab Unity Studies, 1995), 270.
67. Mutawakkil, al-Tanmiyyat al-Siyasiyya, 193-4.
68. Ibid., 194.
69. Al-Mu'tamar al-Qawmi al-Dini al-Awwal, 268.
70. Mideast Mirror, 23 May 1997.
71. Yemen Times, 16-22 August 1999.
72. Faiza Saleh Ambah, "Low Turnout, Attacks Mar Yemen Vote," Associated Press Online, 23 September 1999.
73. Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik al-Mutawakkil, interview with author, Sanaa, Yemen, 3 January 2006.
74. al-Shumu', 3 February 2001.
75. NDL, Yemen: Political Party Capacity Building and Women's Participation (CEPPS/NDI Quarterly Report: April-June 2005).
76. See CSID, Workshops on Islam and Democracy: Morocco, Egypt, Yemen (2002).
77. Faysal Makram, "Al-Mu'aradha al-Yamaniyya Yattajihu li-Hasm Khiyariha bi-Tarshih Faysal bin Shamlan li-l-Ri'asa," Al-Hayat, 6 July 2006.
78. Newsyemen, 8 August 2006.
79. Nabil Sultan, "Yemen: Breath of Principle in Presidential Race," Inter Press Service News Agency, 5 July 2006.
80. Newsyemen, 5 July 2006.
81. Al-Mu'tamar al-Qawmi al-Islami al-Awwal, 168.
82. Ibid., 168-9.
83. AIthough not officially linked to Islah, the Center for Strategic Studies' first and present directors - Nasr Taha Mustafa and Muhammad al-Afandi, respectively - have been members.
84. The conference took place on 8 December 1998 and was published in the fifth volume of the serial Nadwat al-Mustaqbal, entitled Mustaqbal al-Hizb al-Ishtiraki al-Yamani fi Daw' Mu'tamaru al-Rabi', ed. Faris al-Saqqaf (Sanaa, Yemen: Markaz Dirasat al-Mustaqbal, 2002).
85. Al-Majalla, 26 June 2003.
86. Rashad Muhammad 'Ulaymi and Ahmad 'Ali Bashari, al-Baramij al-Intikhabiyya li-l-Ahzab wa-l-Tanzimat al-Siyasiyya fi al-Jumhuriyya al-Yamaniyya: Dirasa Muqarana (Sanaa, Yemen: Majallat al-Thawabit, 1993).
87. Reference is to a hadith that states, "Women are the full siblings of men" (al-nisā' shaqā'iq al- rijāl), and Qur'an 4:34, which asserts, "Men are the protectors of women," alternatively translated as "Men are in authority over women" (al-rijāl qawwāmūn 'alā al-nisā').
88. Memo from the women's office of Islah, entitled "The Experience of Women in the Past Parliamentary Election for the Islah Party," in Taqrir 'an al-Halqat al-Niqashiyya hawla Taqayyum Musharakat al-Mar'a fi al-Intikhabat al-Sabiqa Abril 93 wa-Tashji'Musharakat al-Nisa'ka-Nakhubat wa-Marshuhat fi al-Intikhabat al-Niyabiyya al-Qadima Abril 97 (Sanaa, Yemen: National Committee for Women of the Yemeni Republic, n. d.), 21.
89. Yemen Observer, 1 February 2003.
90. Yemen Times, 3-9 February 2003.
91. Ibid.
92. Yemen Observer, 25 September 2004.
93. Yemen Observer, 9 October 2005.
94. European Union Election Observation Mission, "Yemen, Final Report: Presidential and Local Council Elections," 20 September 2006.
95. A fifth candidate, Yasin 'Abd al-Sa'id, stood for the "National Opposition Council," an alliance of a dozen smaller parties that, despite their name, are known to be close to the ruling GPC. Al-Sa'id is head of the Nasirist Democratic Party, not to be confused with the Popular Nasirist Unity Organization, which is part of the JMP and led by Sultan al-Atwani.