Al-Meethaq ( ar, جمعية ميثاق العمل الوطني, translit=Jamʿiyya Mīṯāq al-ʿAmal al-Waṭaniyy; ) is a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. It was founded by

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

and

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

businessmen from well-known families in 2002. It won no seats in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

general elections. Sixteen of its members were appointed by the

King of Bahrain The King of the Kingdom of Bahrain ( ar, ملك مملكة البحرين) is the monarch and head of state of Bahrain. The House of Khalifa has been the ruling family since 1783. Between 1783 and 1971, the Bahraini monarch held the title of ha ...

in 2002 to the wholly appointed

Consultative Council of Bahrain The Consultative Council (''Majlis al-shura''), also known as the Shura Council, is the upper house of the National Assembly, the main legislative body of Bahrain. The Council comprises forty members appointed directly by the King of Bahrain. ...

which co-legislates with the elected

Council of Representatives of Bahrain The Council of Representatives (''Majlis an-nuwab''), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the national legislative body of Bahrain. The council was created ...

. With other liberal groups, al-Meethaq has established the

Al-Muntada {{Politics of Bahrain Al Muntada (or The Forum) is a Bahrain society set up by academics, journalists and businessmen to promote liberalism in the Kingdom. It was established in 2001 to provide a place for liberals to debate how they could meet th ...

activist group which campaigns for personal freedoms.Bahrain Forum to campaign for personal freedoms
, ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...

'', 20 November 2005 The party's leader is Ahmad Juma, who is culture editor of the newspaper '' Al Ayam''.

Bahraini uprising

On 16 February 2011, the third day of the Bahraini uprising, al-Meethaq said that it was unconstitutional to ask for devolution of power and establishment of an elected government. "The repeated statements by

Ali Salman Ali Salman Ahmed Salman ( ar, علي سلمان أحمد سلمان) is a Bahraini Twelver Shi'a cleric and the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq political society. In January 1995, the Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to Dubai for leadi ...

, head of

Al Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الوفاق الوطني الإسلامية; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest co ...

about devolution of power and an elected government are completely flawed", the statement said.

References

External links

Party website
(Arabic) 2002 establishments in Bahrain Political parties established in 2002 Political parties in Bahrain Liberalism in Bahrain {{Bahrain-party-stub