Abdul Wahhab Al-humayqani

Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani (عبد الوهاب الحميقاني) (born 1972) is a Yemeni politician. He is the Secretary General of the Al-Rashad Union, the first Yemeni Salafi political party established in March 2012. He is also a founding member of Alkarama, a Swiss-based independent human rights NGO with alleged links to terrorist organizations. He was one of only two Yemeni party leaders to participate in UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva in 2015 in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the Yemeni civil war.

Education and training Humayqani attended Sana’a University, where he specialized in Islamic Studies and International Law. He is currently a university professor and a member of the Yemen's Ulama. He is also a keynote speaker at the Imam Shawkaani mosque in Sana’a and manages a number of humanitarian relief projects under the supervision of the Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs.

Political activity

Al-Rashad Union Once affiliated with the Yemeni Islamist party al-Islah, Humayqani is a founding member and the Secretary General of al-Rashad Union. In March 2012 he attended the three-day conference in Yemen as the secretary general of the preparatory committee that led to the foundation of al-Rashad Union. He further stated that al-Rashad would unite the Salafi factions in the country toward the common goal of ruling “the people using the Islamic Shari’a law and peaceful means." Interviewed in 2012, Humayqani stressed that al-Rashad intended to pursue a peaceful alternative to violence and to ground a solid democracy in a more stable Yemen. The conference inaugurated the second phase of Yemen's transition of power in the framework of the Gulf initiative signed in Riyadh in November 2011 by the deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh. stipulated a two-year transitional period and created the National Dialogue Conference as a forum to discuss outstanding issues and to draft a new constitution compatible with Yemen's new situation.

2015 peace talks in Geneva In June 2015, Humayqani participated to the UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva in his capacity as member of the Yemeni government in exile. He was one of just two party leaders who participated in the talks.

Humayqani's affiliation with Saudi Arabia was especially emphasized after the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him as an al-Qaeda supporter based in Yemen who “has frequently traveled throughout the Arabian Peninsula while conducting business for AQAP.” Moreover, according to a U.S. official interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor in 2014, Saudi Arabia is the country of origin of most of the backers of Humayqani's financial transfers.

Humayqani also has strong ties with Qatar. He appeared on the Qatari TV channel al-Jazeera to comment on the Geneva talks. Humayqani served as a “onetime adviser to Qatar on charitable giving”,

Alleged involvement in terrorist activities In December 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury listed Humayqani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The U.S. authorities argued that he was a fundraiser and key figure of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Humayqani, according to the treasury, has not only provided financial support for AQAP but has also acted on their behalf by representing them in meetings to negotiate the release of soldiers being held hostage by AQAP. In addition, Humayqani directed an armed AQAP group trying to carry out attacks on government facility attacks including a government building in al-Bayda Governorate. whom both the U.S. and the United Nations listed as an al-Qaeda loyalist and supporter. Humayqani was sent to attend the opening ceremony of the mosque funded by Qatar's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs along with al-Zindani by the Qatari authorities. Humayqani said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor that he had resigned from his charity. He has also said that he could consider legal action in the U.S.

In September 2023, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) released a report detailing the removal of Qatari individuals and organizations from its list of designated terrorist entities. Among those removed from the list was Abd al-Wahhab al-Humayqani, who had been previously included as terrorist by the blockading countries during the Gulf crisis in June 2017.

Controversies In December 2013, NGO Monitor called on Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to immediately undertake independent investigations into their procedures for performing due diligence on potential NGO partners after it was discovered that these organizations had issued joint statements with Humayqani's charity, Alkarama. “In addition,” NGO monitor writes “these organizations have an obligation to review the status of the officials responsible for such collaborations, alliances, and affiliations.” Amnesty admitted that, in the past, Alkarama helped it with information on human rights abuse cases and added that it was “unable to confirm” the accuracy of the US allegations of terror finance. Human Rights Watch declined to comment.