As revolutionaries in Yemen are celebrating their victory in eventually obtaining some worldwide attention, and relishing in the fact that western nations have taken up the matter of Saleh's presidency to the UN Security Council, the main opposition party, al-Islah is slowly but surely high jacking the revolution, rallying to its cause more and more protesters.

Interestingly enough, the very revolutionaries who are standing up against the regime, decrying its oppressive methods and its brutal use of force are turning towards political figures which throughout the years have been accused of similar if not worse crimes.

Al-Islah which only a few years ago was calling for a more traditionalist Yemen is now holding the banner of Democracy and Freedom, hoping that this new "image" will help it topple Saleh's presidency, putting an end to decades' long rivalry.

Who is al-Islah
Al-Islah is Yemen's main opposition party with an estimated 5 Million followers nationwide. Back in the late 70's when Ali Abdullah Saleh became president of Yemen, the Saudis encouraged the creation of an opposition faction which would act as a counterweight to Saleh's power. At the time, Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar was keen to assert his family's hold over the country, making no secret of his presidency's ambitions, as he saw himself as the natural successor of Ali Abdullah Saleh, his tribal vassal.

Little did the powerful Sheikh of the Hasheed confederation of tribes expect Saleh to hang on to power in the way he did, slowly building a family network, which to this day has proven impenetrable.

Al-Islah is essentially the gathering of 3 Islamist groups, the Muslim Brotherhood under the leadership of Mohamed Qahtan, the now spokesperson for the Opposition, the Hasheed tribe under the leadership of sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar and the Salafist, a more radical branch of the Muslim Brotherhood which advocates Jihad against unbelievers, headed by Sheikh Abdel-Mageed al-Zindani, Yemen's well-known and controversial cleric.
Many of al-Islah members have been at one point in time or another either associated to terrorism, or accused of campaigning against women human rights.

Sheikh al-Zindani has been for example on the US most wanted terrorist list for quite some time now. And if the cleric benefited from Saleh's clemency so far, he's direct verbal attack of the regime and his call for Jihad against president Saleh has led to the issuance of an arrest warrant against his person some months ago, making him a fugitive in his own land.

Remarkably, it is the same Sheikh who several years ago advocated for more restrictions against women in schools and the workplace who he's now accusing the regime of violating people's basic human rights.
Hameed al-Ahmar's Ambitions
Hameed al-Ahmar, one of Yemen most prominent businessmen and younger brother to Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar has always admitted his political ambitions, even revealing his "toppling plan of the regime" some years ago to some American diplomats. At the time Sheikh Hameed announced that he was planning to use a popular uprising to oust Saleh from the presidency and assert himself as Yemen's new ruler.
If many smiled at the time, they are certainly paying attention now…

But if in theory anyone in Yemen could claim to want to be the country's next leader, one might want to pay closer attention to who is applying for the job.

As Sheikh Hameed decries the so-called crimes of the regime, accusing Saleh's family members of embezzlement, theft, bribery, torture, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, political manipulation, and oppression, one has to remember that he, himself was found guilty of such behaviors. Hameed al-Ahmar built his fortune through the weight of his influence and that of his powerful family.

He made Millions upon Millions of dollars, banking on his name and his ability to blackmail the regime into giving in to his demands. At one point he managed to impose himself as the sole broker of the price of crude Oil, receiving a $1 per barrel of petrol sold to foreign nations. It is when president Saleh ended his monopoly that Sheikh Hameed turned against the regime.

Tawakkul Karman

Tawakkul Karman, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner, self-declared defender of women rights in Yemen and newly dubbed "mother of the Yemeni Revolution" by the Youth Movement is herself a member of al-Islah.
One can certainly wonder how a woman who claims to be a reformist, a feminist and all around right activist could be part of Yemen's most radical and misogynist political faction.

And whether or not one condone Saleh's regime, the president never in his political career acted against women's emancipation, quite the contrary.
For all his detractors, Saleh was never once accused of sexism.
Al-Islah on the other hand was only last week singled out by a woman activist who took refuge in London after having been put on al-Islah's hit list for promoting women rights in Yemen.

Several analysts, amongst whom the chief Editor of al-Quds have warned that al-Islah could very well be using Karman's positive outlook to rally more support within the more liberal sections of the Yemeni population hoping to outrun any potential contender to the presidency in the next elections.

Other independent Youth leaders are saying they are not fooled by al-Islah's game.
"They are using positive figures such as Karman to better trick Yemenis into forgetting that they were until 9 months ago viewed as Islamists radicals. They are using the revolution to their benefit even though they do not represent any of the revolutionaries 'values…they are worse than the regime, said Mohamed from Taiz.

Al-Islah, an Alternative to Saleh?

Many Yemenis who only a few weeks ago were quite happily siding with the Opposition came to the realization that al-Islah is slowly putting its mark on everything revolutionary, tightening its grip over the country.

And in truth, many times did protesters in "Change Square" complained of al-Islah's dictatorial ways, accusing them of bullying the Youth into complying with their policies. As a result many protesters decided to break away, creating their own encampment, and own faction.
The Independent Youth was actually created as a reaction against al-Islah.

And since the National Council for the Yemeni Revolution seems to be a carbon copy of al-Islah's member's party list, the JMP is being drawn, merely a pawn in Yemen's political arena.
So if indeed Yemenis do not wish to remain under president Saleh's rule, they might want even less to wake up under that of al-Islah. For, if one is autocratic, the other is theocratic.

And unless Yemen wishes to revert to a tribal ruling system led by al-Ahmar' clan, Saleh might just be the only person standing in between.