Sheikh Adel Al Mouwda was the second deputy chairman of Bahrain's parliament of 2002, the Chamber of Deputies, and the former leader of salafist party, Asalah. Sheikh Al Mouwda is considered the leading spokesman for political Islam in Bahrain and is known for his forthright views, which has seen him often quoted in the international press. The position of king of Bahrain was created in February 2002 when the then emir of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah gave himself the title of king. ... Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah (born January 28, 1950 in Ar-Rifa, Bahrain) (Arabic: حمد بن عيسى آل خليفة) is the current King of Bahrain (from 2002), having previously been its Emir (since 1999). ... In Bahrain, the Prime Minister is the head of government of the country. ... ‎Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa (خليفة بن سلمان آل خليفة) (born 22 November 1936) is the Prime Minister of Bahrain. ... The National Assembly is the name of both chambers of the Bahraini parliament when sitting in joint session, as laid out in the Constitution of 2002. ... The Consultative Council (majlis al-shura) is the name given to the upper house of the National Assembly, the main legislative body 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 main legislative body of Bahrain. ... Political parties from the former Communist Left to the Islamist Right sit in parliament in Bahrain, but are known technically as Political Associations or Blocs. ... The National Assembly is bicameral with the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, having 40 members elected in single-seat constituencies for a four year term. ... Bahrain will hold parliamentary elections on 25 November 2006 for the 40-seat lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, as well as municipal elections, and is currently in the midst of an election campaign. ... The Kingdom of Bahrain, or Bahrain, is a borderless country in the Persian Gulf (Southwest Asia/Middle East, Asia). ... // The Penal Code of 1976, still active today, has been widely criticized by local and international human rights bodies for granting the regime widespread powers to suppress dissent. ... Women’s political rights have been a cornerstone of the political reforms initiated by King Hamad with for the first time women being given the right to vote and stand as candidates in national elections after the constitution was amended in 2002. ... Bahrain plays a modest, moderating role in regional politics and adheres to the views of the Arab League on Middle East peace and Palestinian rights. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Chamber of Deputies is the name given to a legislative body, which may either be the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or the name of a unicameral one. ... Asalah is the main Salafist party in Bahrain, and after 2002s general election is one of the most well represented in the Kingdoms parliament with seven MPs. ...

Sheikh Al Mouwda has been at the forefront of criticism of government plans to build a new national museum to showcase the ancient Dilmun Burial Mounds, telling MPs that the money should be used to construct housing over the extensive mounds, saying "We must have pride in our Islamic roots and not some ancient civilisation from another place and time, which has only given us a jar here and a bone there." The Dilmun Burial Mounds is a necropolis in Bahrain dating back to the Dilmun era. ...

Along with Al-Menbar Islamic Society's Sheikh Mohammed Khalid, Sheikh Al Mouwda has clashed repeatedly with government ministers in parliament over alcohol sales and claimed credit for enforcing a ban on alcohol in five star hotels over Ramadan 2006. He has vowed to "Clean Bahrain's tourism sector from its alleged dependence on this poison."[1] Al Menbar Islamic Bloc (Arabic: المنبر الوطني الإسلامي, literally Islamic National Tribune) is the political wing of the Al Islah Society in Bahrain, associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. ... One of Bahrain’s most outspoken Islamist MPs is Mohammed Khalid, the Al Menbar representative from the Northern Governorate. ...

Although he has sought to reach out to Shia leaders in Bahrain, Sheikh Al Mouwda has been critical of Iranian influence in the region, telling the New York Times: "If Iran acted like an Islamic power, just Islam without Shiism, then Arabs would accept it as a regional Islamic power. But if it came to us with the Shia agenda as a Shiite power, then it will not succeed and it will be powerful, but despised and hated."[2] The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Like other Bahraini Islamist leaders such as Ali Salman, Sheikh Al Mouwda formerly lived in London. The radicalization of his political views is said to have occurred whilst studying at the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University)^{[citation needed]}. Ali Salman is the president of the Al-Wefaq political society in Bahrain. ... The University of North London is the name of a former university in the United Kingdom, one of the former Polytechnics. ... London Metropolitan University (sometimes abbreviated LMU or London Met) is a university in London. ...

External links

• Interview with Salafi Sheikh Adel al- Moawda (English), Asharq Alawsat, 17 September 2006
• Members of the Chamber of Deputies with links