45 In the 1993 parliamentary elections, Islah came second in the elections, ahead of the YSP, winning 66 out of the 301 seats. In the 1997 elec­tions, Islah won 54 seats, but the number rose to 64 as ten independents affiliated with the Islah Parliamentary Caucus. Thus, the party has never held elected national power. But during the period of upheaval in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood and their fight­ing units and groups temporary controlled certain regions of what is popularly known as the Mid Lands- in an attempt to decrease the influ­ence of the National Front; a northern Yemeni movement which was supported by the socialist regime of the south. Despite international criticism the Islah Party is to be viewed as a reli­gious social movement that does not support armed political struggle. The party platform does not allow for any militant components. Fur­thermore, the party’s leadership rejects and denounces all acts of terror­ism. B. Definition and Guiding Principles Islah states in its political program that its main purpose is to“work for social reform in all fields of life on the basis of Islam and(to) resort to all legitimate means to attain its goals.” Islah is a socially conservative party that affirms the application of Islamic practices in reforming the Yemeni society. Therefore, nowadays the party is striving to play the role of a credible opposition party in Yemen’s politics. On the other hand, the relation­ship between Islah and the ruling party(GPC) is not an unfriendly or combative one. Islah, for various reasons, supported the GPC candidate, President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the two Presidential Elections. Fur­thermore, Islah did participate in a coalition government with the GPC from 1993 until 1997. From 1994 to 1997, Islah participated in a power-sharing arrangement with the GPC in which it was the junior partner. However, as a result of the YSP boycott of the 1997 elections, allowing GPC to gain more influence and strength(a process that started with the defeat of the 1994