Anwar Haddam was a leader of the Islamic Salvation Front

Islamic Salvation Front

The Islamic Salvation Front is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria.-Goals:...

 (FIS), a Islamist party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

, and was elected to parliament on a FIS ticket in 1991 - Algeria's first multiparty elections. The dissolution of the FIS by military decree

Decree

A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...

 after its electoral victories in 1991-92 triggered the Algerian Civil War

Algerian Civil War

The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1991. It is estimated to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives, in a population of about 25,010,000 in 1990 and 31,193,917 in 2000.More than 70 journalists were...

, in which the FIS-affiliated Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) and other militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

s fought the military-dominated government. Haddam spent most of the war years in exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

 in the United States of America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, acting as a main figure in the party's political leadership. Algerian authorities unsuccessfully sought his extradition

Extradition

Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...

.http://www.firstamend.org/HaddamPage.html

In 1995, Haddam and Rabeh Kebir

Rabeh Kebir

Rabah Kebir is an Algerian islamic leader, and a former leader of the Islamic Salvation Front , an islamic Algerian party which won the elections in the nineties...

 both signed the Sant'Egidio Platform

Sant'Egidio platform

The Sant'Egidio Platform of January 13, 1995 was an attempt by most of the major Algerian opposition parties to put an end to the Algerian Civil War, which had begun in 1992 as a military coup d'état overturned election results that would have brought the Islamic Salvation Front , an Islamic party,...

 - a joint document by opposition

Opposition (politics)

In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...

 parties demanding a reinstatement of democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

in Algeria - as representatives of FIS.

External links

• "An Islamist Vision for Algeria" - Interview with Anwar Haddam