Ali Salman
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Ali Salman
| Ali Salman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 30 October 1965 Bilad Al Qadeem, Bahrain |
| Political party | Leader of Al-Wefaq |
| Religion | Twelver Shia Islam |
| Website | |
| www.toqa.net | |
Ali Salman (Arabic: علي سلمان) is the president of the Al-Wefaq political society in Bahrain. He is a Twelver Shi'a cleric educated in Qom. In January 1995 the Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to Dubai for leading a popular campaign demanding the reinstatement of the constitution and the restoration of parliament during the 1990s Uprising. From there he made his way to London and sought asylum. He continued opposition activities from London, where he was associated with the Bahrain Freedom Movement. Salman returned to Bahrain in March 2001 in a general amnesty as part of a set of political reforms announced by King Hamad.
Within Al Wefaq he is considered the 'moderate' public face of the organization, and has opposed the more confrontational approach with the authorities of other leaders.
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Religious Beliefs
Ali Salman originally studied in Qom, a major centre of Iranian theological thinking in Iran. He is a Twelver Shiite who originally followed the quietest teachings of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul-Qassim al-Khoei, the spiritual leader of much of the Shia world until his death in 1992. Following death of his original Marja’, Salman has not felt compelled to speak publicly about his new Marja’. However, in a private interview he claimed that he now tended to rely on the rulings of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani.[1]
This choice is significant as Salman does not rely on an external source of authority to justify his political positioning. This following of Sistani is on a purely individual basis that does not spill over into the public sphere; Sistani is a Marja’ known for avoiding interference in the political choices of his followers.[1]
Role in 1990s Uprising in Bahrain
Ali Salman is widely perceived to have been one of the leaders of the 1990s uprising in Bahrain. The starting point of the uprising is described as having been a charity marathon organised in November 1994 by several foreign companies. As the marathon runners, both men and women dressed in shorts and t-shirts, entered some Shia villages, groups of villagers headed by activist clerics tried to stop them, considering that running among them in such light clothing was a direct insult to their religious and moral values. Events disintegrated into fist-fighting and stone throwing. The same night, security forces arrested several of the protesters, including Ali Salman.[2] His arrest sparked a cycle of mass-demonstrations that led to the death of a dozen demonstrators and the incarceration of hundreds of others. Salman was the leader of several of these demonstrations, some of which resulted in episodes of violence against Asian immigrant workers.[3]
Following his arrest in 1994, Salman was exiled and made his way to London, where he associated with the Bahrain Freedom Movement, an opposition group led by Saeed al-Shehabi. Salman did not take up a formal position with the group but nevertheless cooperated with them in an attempt to give political meaning to the Shia uprising, mainly by releasing regular communiqués distributed in Bahrain in which they demanded the reinstatement of the Parliament.[4]
Position in Al Wefaq
Salman is the current official leader of Al Wefaq. His legitimacy as leader is derived from his leadership in the 1990s uprising and his subsequent activities in exile. He faces little competition as leader of the movement and is regarded as an inspirational figure.
However, Al Wefaq’s organisational structure is such that its leader is in reality Sheikh Isa Qassim, a senior Bahraini cleric. Some believe that Ali Salman, the formal head of al-Wefaq and also a cleric, is a “puppet obeying the orders of Isa Qassim, his former teacher and superior in the clerical hierarchy”.[5] The independence of ‘Ali Salman as the formally-elected leader of al-Wefaq is believed to be limited by his obligation, as a cleric who has not yet reached the level of independent reasoning (ijtihad), to submit his decisions to the sanction of a higher-ranking scholar. Because its leadership is considered subservient to an external religious authority, al-Wefaq is considered as lacking the transparency for the normal exercise of internal democracy.[5]
References
- ^ a b Louėr, Laurence (2008). Transnational Shia politics: religious and political networks in the Gulf. Hurst & Company. p. 274. ISBN 978-1-85065-911-2.
- ^ Michael Sheridan "Violent Shia protests embarrass Bahrain Violent Shia protests embarrass Bahrain ", The Independent, 20 December 1994
- ^ Louėr, Laurence (2008). Transnational Shia politics: religious and political networks in the Gulf. Hurst & Company. pp. 237–238. ISBN 978-1-85065-911-2.
- ^ Louėr, Laurence (2008). Transnational Shia politics: religious and political networks in the Gulf. Hurst & Company. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-85065-911-2.
- ^ a b Louėr, Laurence (2008). Transnational Shia politics: religious and political networks in the Gulf. Hurst & Company. p. 284. ISBN 978-1-85065-911-2.
External links
- Office of Ali Salman
- Gulf News: Exiled Bahrain opposition leader returns
- The Victory of Al Wefaq: the Rise of Shiite Politics in Bahrain, Mohammed Zahid Mahjoob Zweiri, Research Institute for European and American Studies, Research Paper 108, April 2007 (Athens)
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