Haq Movement

{{Infobox political party

| country = Bahrain

| native_name_lang = ar

| colorcode = #9D0000

| name = Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy

| native_name = حركة حق حركة الحريات والديمقراطية

| logo = File:Haq movement.png

| leader = Hasan Mushaima

| chairman =

| spokesperson =

| foundation = November 2005

| religion =

| ideology = Constitutionalism

| blank1_title = Nationality

| blank1 =

| website =

}}

The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy ({{langx|ar|حركة حق حركة الحريات والديمقراطية|Ḥarakat Ḥaqq Ḥarakat al-Ḥurrīyāt wa-al-Dīmuqrāṭīyah}}) is an opposition political organization in Bahrain founded in November 2005 with Hasan Mushaima as its secretary general.{{cite web|title=Bahrain. Political parties|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/bahrain-politics-parties.htm|publisher=Global Security|access-date=21 September 2014}} Several of its leaders were previously in the leadership of the Al Wefaq society, but it also contains others such as Ali Rabea, a secular nationalist and former member of parliament previously associated with the National Democratic Action Society, and Shaikh Isa Al Jowder, a Sunni cleric.[http://chanad.weblogs.us/?p=487 Shaikh Isa Al Jowder and the Haq movement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204232650/http://chanad.weblogs.us/?p=487 |date=4 February 2007 }} Chan'ad Bahraini.

Background

Haq opposed participation in the parliamentary elections because it considers the 2002 Constitution of Bahrain to be illegal and unilaterally imposed by King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, replacing the 1973 Constitution.[http://www.haaq.org/en-US/15/ViewArticle/44/4/Default.aspx Haaq] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721143138/http://www.haaq.org/en-US/15/ViewArticle/44/4/Default.aspx |date=2011-07-21 }}

Haq called on the United Nations on 15 November 2006 to investigate allegations that a secret government grouping has been conspiring to fuel sectarian tensions and rig the results of upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections. In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and delivered to Sayed Aqa, the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Bahrain coordinator, Haq called for the forming of an international fact- finding committee to scrutinize the claims made in an August report by the Gulf Centre for Democratic Development (GCDD).

The 240-page report, dubbed Bandar Gate after its co-author Salah Al Bandar — a Briton of Sudanese origin who was deported in September to Britain after its publication — alleged that a ring masterminded by a government minister was secretly planning to manipulate the demographic makeup of the country, through the selective granting of citizenship.[http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Bahrain_opposition_calls_on_UN_to_i_11152006.html Bahrain opposition calls on UN to investigate "Bandargate" scandal] The Raw Story. German Press Agency. 15 November 2006.

Prominent figures of Haq Movement

Hasan Mushaima (Secretary General)
Abdul Wahhab Hussain
Abdul Jalil al-Singace
Shaikh Isa al-Jowder (Sunni cleric)
Ali Rabea
Sayed Hadi Jawad al-Aali
Abbas Abdul Aziz Nasser
Layla Khalil Dishti
Abduljalil Al-Singace, professor of engineering at the University of Bahrain,[http://www.newschool.edu/cps/subpage.aspx?id=56447 Dr. ‘Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace] The New School for Social Research. director of the movement’s Human Rights Bureau, was trialed on 27 September 2011 and received a life sentence.[http://en.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport-internet2012_ang.pdf Internet Enemies report 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417075059/http://en.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport-internet2012_ang.pdf |date=2012-04-17 }}