Political Islamists and the Islah Party

Abstract

Often portrayed as either an opportunity for democratization or the surest guarantee against it, political Islam has gained wide popularity in Yemen since unification. Despite the persistence of authoritarianism in postunification Yemen, the activities of political Islamists have increased, and their most organized voice, Islah, has gained considerable popularity. This chapter looks at the internal structure and practices of the Islah party, its strategies, ideologies, successes, and failures at affecting political decision making, its relationship with the regime, and the internal debate over whether to become a full member of the opposition or not. It will also expand on the themes of coerced, co-opted, and internally divided opposition groups to show how even a group with an extensive independent grassroots support network has been largely contained by the Yemeni system. It will conclude, however, by suggesting that while Islah did not build a power base that was sufficient to allow it to seize significant formal power, the party moved into a position where it would be a likely beneficiary of sudden political shifts against the regime. By the 2006 presidential and local elections, Islah had moved into a position where it was standing under a tree in case fruit might fall in the wind, but had made contradictory moves when it came to actu-ally shaking the branches. As will be shown, this was largely because of the party’s internal divisions and historical position in the president’s patronage network.