The Iraqi Islamic Party is currently the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front

Iraqi Accord Front

The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...

 political coalition. It is currently part of the government

Government of Iraq from 2006

The current government of Iraq took office on May 20, 2006 following approval by the members of the Iraqi National Assembly. This followed the general election in December 2005...

 of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...

. Osama Tawfiq al-Tikriti

Osama Tawfiq al-Tikriti

Dr. Osama Maukhlif Tawfiq al-Tikriti is the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni Arab religious party which was the largest Sunni Arab led party in the Iraqi legislative election of December 2005...

 succeeded Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi

Tariq Al-Hashimi

Tariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician and was general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul Mahdi, he is a Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections...

 as the party's secretary-general on May 24, 2009, who was succeeded in July 2011 by Ayad al-Samarrai

Ayad al-Samarrai

Ayad al-Samarrai is a Sunni Arab Iraqi politician, who was the chairman of the Iraqi Accord Front parliamentary group, and since July 2011 is the secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party...

.

The IIP evolved out of the Muslim Brotherhood

Muslim Brotherhood

The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...

 movement, and was banned from 1961 (whilst the country was under Iraqi nationalist rule), throughout the reign of the Ba'ath Party (which embraced a Pan-Arab nationalist ideology), up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Like the Muslim Brotherhood, the IIP's religious rather than ethno-political ideology has made the party systematically incompatible under various Iraqi governments.

During the 1970s, the IIP began operating in exile in Great Britain and published a newspaper called Dar as-Salam. Iyad al-Samara'i was elected to serve as secretary-general.

Party Leaders

• Shura Council Chairman: Dr. Mohsen Abdul-Hamid
• Secretary-General: Ayad al-Samarrai
  Ayad al-Samarrai
  Ayad al-Samarrai is a Sunni Arab Iraqi politician, who was the chairman of the Iraqi Accord Front parliamentary group, and since July 2011 is the secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party...
  
  
• Deputy Secretary-General:
• Assistant Secretary-General: Dr. Ziad al-Ani

Political Bureau

• Dr. Alaa Maki
• Dr. Omar Abdul Sattar Karbouli
• Professor Abd al-Karim al-Samarrai
• Professor Naseer al-Ani

Post-Invasion

Mohsen Abdel Hamid

Mohsen Abdel Hamid

Mohsen Abdel Hamid is an Iraqi politician and Islamic scholar who was a member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council , created following the United States's 2003 invasion of Iraq.-Biography:...

 served on the Iraqi Governing Council

Iraqi Governing Council

The Iraqi Governing Council was the provisional government of Iraq from July 13, 2003 to June 1, 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority...

 that worked alongside the Coalition Provisional Authority

Coalition Provisional Authority

The Coalition Provisional Authority was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, members of the Multi-National Force – Iraq which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003...

 after the invasion of Iraq. It joined the Iraqi Interim Government

Iraqi Interim Government

The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a caretaker government to govern Iraq until the Iraqi Transitional Government was installed following the Iraqi National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005...

 where it had one minister, Hajim al-Hassani

Hajim al-Hassani

Hajim Mahdi Saleh al-Hassani to a prominent Kirkuki family is an Iraqi politician and was the speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly under the Iraqi Transitional Government...

.
On November 9, 2004 the IIP withdrew from the government in protest over Operation Phantom Fury

Operation Phantom Fury

The Second Battle of Fallujah was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S...

, an offensive at Fallujah

Fallujah

Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....

 led by U.S.

United States

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

 forces. Hassani chose to stay in the government and quit the party, later joining The Iraqis

The Iraqis

The Iraqis is an Iraqi political party led by Vice-President Ghazi al-Yawar. It was the largest Sunni party to participate in the January 2005 Iraqi election. During the election campaign, al-Yawar was President of Iraq, a then largely symbolic but still prominent position. The party consists of...

 list.

Government Participation

The party initially supported the general elections of January 30, 2005

Iraqi legislative election, January 2005

Elections for the National Assembly of Iraq were held on January 30, 2005 in Iraq. The 275-member National Assembly was a parliament created under the Transitional Law during the Occupation of Iraq...

 but pulled out of the national election one month before the vote saying violence made a fair election impossible. The party did participate in some elections for governorate level posts on the same day (see for instance Ninawa governorate council election, 2005

Ninawa governorate council election, 2005

The Governorate Council election in the Ninawa governorate of Iraq was held on January 30, 2005, simultaneously with the national legislative election. The province is largely a mix of Sunnis and Kurds, but there is also a significant Shi'ite presence...

 and Al-Anbar governorate council election, 2005

Al-Anbar governorate council election, 2005

The election for the governorate council of Iraq's al-Anbar governorate were held on January 30, 2005, the same date as the Iraqi legislative election. The largely Sunni province is one of the most violent in Iraq and turnout was very low. Of the total population of some 2.2 million only 3775...

).

The IIP led a large-scale public campaign urging Iraqis (especially the Sunnis) to vote against the constitution referendum in 2005. Two days before the referendum took place, the IIP announced its support for a "yes" vote, following a compromise with the members of the Iraqi Transitional Government

Iraqi Transitional Government

The Iraqi Transitional Government was the government of Iraq from May 3rd, 2005, when it replaced the Iraqi Interim Government, until May 20th, 2006, when it was replaced by the first permanent government....

 whereby the newly elected Iraqi National Assembly would consider amendments to the constitution

Amendment to the Constitution of Iraq

The government of Iraq has established a committee to consider a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Iraq.-Current constitution:The current Constitution of Iraq was drafted by a committee of the Iraqi Transitional Government. The agreed text was put to a referendum in October 2005...

 in 2006.

In the December 2005 election

Iraqi legislative election, December 2005

Following the ratification of the Constitution of Iraq on 15 October 2005, a general election was held on 15 December to elect a permanent 275-member Iraqi Council of Representatives....

 the IIP ran as part of the Iraqi Accord Front

Iraqi Accord Front

The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...

 coalition, which won 44 seats, the most for any Sunni Arab coalition. The leader of Al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi, condemned the IIP for their participation in the general election.

The party's platform for the elections included demanding a timetable for the withdrawal of the Multinational force in Iraq

Multinational force in Iraq

The Multi-National Force – Iraq was a military command, led by the United States, which was responsible for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multi-National Force – Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004, and was later itself reorganized into its successor, United...

, opposition to federalism in Iraq

Federalism in Iraq

The Constitution of Iraq that was adopted in 2005 defined Iraq for the first time as a federal country.-History:After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1919, Iraq became a League of Nations mandate under temporary British control. Mahmud Barzanji led a Kurdish revolt against the British and in...

, opposition to de-Baathification and promotion of Islamic values.

Following the elections the IAF joined the United Iraqi Alliance

United Iraqi Alliance

The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...

-led government

Government of Iraq from 2006

The current government of Iraq took office on May 20, 2006 following approval by the members of the Iraqi National Assembly. This followed the general election in December 2005...

 of Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...

.

Relationship with US

The party has often criticized the US military presence in Iraq. In October 2008, following a US-backed raid that resulted in the death of a man the IIP said was a senior party official, the party said in a statement that it was suspending all contact with US civilian and military officials. A US military drone

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

crashed into the party's offices in Mosul in 2009. A spokesman for US forces in Iraq said the location of the crash was a pure coincidence.