Islamic Dawa Party – Iraq Organisation

The Islamic Dawa Party – Iraq Organisation (Arabic: Ḥizb al Daʿwa al-Islāmiyya - Tanzim al-Iraq) is the Iraqi branch of the Islamic Dawa movement and a political party in Iraq which was a component of the United Iraqi Alliance. It was allocated 12 seats by the Alliance after the elections in December 2005. It was led by Hashim Al-Mosawy, who was its Secretary-General. The head of the parliamentary bloc of the party was Kasim Muhammad Taqi al-Sahlani. The current Secretary-General is Nouri al-Maliki.

The Islamic Dawa Party was formed in 1957 in the Iraqi holy City of Najaf. Their aim was to create a movement which would promote Islamic values and ethics, and which would become an instrument for political activeness. This came at a time when there was widespread ignorance about religion and politics in Iraq. Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr laid out the foundations for the party and its political ideology, based on Wilayat Al-Umma (Governance of the people).