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/ | |
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.