Al-Islah (Yemen)

The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, frequently called al-Islah (pronounced [alʔisˤlaːħ]; Arabic: التجمع اليمني للإصلاح, romanized: at-Tajammu’u al-Yamanī lil-Iṣlāḥ), is a Yemeni Sunni Islamist movement established in 1990 by Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, with Ali Saleh's blessing. The first article of Islah basic law defines it as "a popular political organization that seeks reform of all aspects of life on the basis of Islamic principles and teachings".

Islah is more of a loose coalition of tribal and religious elements than a political party. Its origins are in the Islamic Front, a Muslim Brotherhood affiliated militia supported by Saudi Arabia to combat the Marxist National Democratic Front during the Cold War. The Islamic Front regrouped after the unification of Yemen in 1990 under the banner of the Islah Party with considerable financial backing from Saudi Arabia. Islah has long been identified as a client of Saudi Arabia. In its official website, Islah summarizes its foreign policy agenda; one of five major goals is "strengthening our country’s relations with sister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council."

Islah differs from most other Arab Islamists. The party combines tribal influences along with those of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood. As a result, it faces deep internal divisions on key issues. Its fractious composition prevents it from developing a clear parliamentary platform, forcing it instead to balance tribal and political interests, differing interpretations of the party's Islamist platform, and both loyalist and opposition constituencies. Given its origin as an alliance, Islah's ideology remains vague and its political platform ambiguous. Islah could be best described as a conservative party that promotes tribal and religious values.

The Joint Meeting Parties came into existence in 2003 when Islah and the Socialist Party joined three other smaller parties to establish a joint opposition to the ruling General People's Congress. At the last legislative elections on 27 April 2003, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and 46 out of 301 seats.

The party is a part of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is considered a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. However, since the civil war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has forged closer relations with Al-Islah.