Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein

From Free net encyclopedia

This article concerns the claimaint to the throne of Iraq. For other persons of the same name, see Ali bin Hussein (disambiguation).

Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein (Arabic: الشريف علي بن الحسين) was born in 1956, in Baghdad, Iraq as a member of the Hashemite House. He is currently a Pretender to the Iraqi throne and the leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy political party.

Contents

[edit]

Iraqi claim

Prince Hussein claims to be the legitimate heir to the position of King of Iraq, based on his relationship to the last monarch, the late King Faisal II.

The former Iraqi Constitution (from when the country was a monarchy, as amended in November 1943) sets rules of succession that stipulate:

  1. succession to the Iraqi Throne is only for males of Iraqi nationality, and
  2. takes place according to primogeniture, male dynasts lawfully begotten, from the family of King Faisal I of Iraq by his Queen. Failing male heirs of King Faisal (which occurred in 1958 when Faisal II died), succession is next to lawfully begotten descendants in male line of his brothers, the sons of King Hussein of Hejaz (Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, the Emir of Mecca and King of Hejaz), according to primogeniture, provided they are also Iraqi nationals.

Those who descend in male line only from Hussein's ancestors, are not successors as to Iraq (the constitution mentions only Husseins descent). Female descent is excluded from succession.

Some critics assert that Sharif Ali is not even in line to the throne according to the constitution of the old Iraqi monarchy. According to this constitution, the heir to the monarchy would be Prince Ra'ad (born 1936), who is currently serving as Lord Chamberlain of Jordan.

Of all the kings of Iraq, there are living descendants only of the first king, Faisal I, through his daughters. Such as Faisal I's granddaughter, Sharifa Husaima (Huzeima) who is married with another Hashemite, Sharif Ghazi bin Rakan Nasser (b 1939), and the coule have children and grandchildren.

Ali Bin al-Hussein's family are indeed descendants of Faisal I's father, king Hussein of Hejaz, but not an agnatic branch as they descend through a female line (his mother was a daughter of the Hussein ibn Ali's oldest son).

Moreover, Ali Bin al-Hussein has two older brothers, so his claim would only be valid if they and their children agreed to abdicate their claims. Other claims to the throne of Iraq via the male line could be made by Prince Ra'ad or by King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Contrary to these provisions, and despite the fact that there exist eligible heirs in male line from Hussein of Hejaz that also are Iraqi, this Sharif Ali (only the third son of his own father) has proclaimed himself as the "rightful heir".

Ali Bin al-Hussein is a cousin to the late King Faisal II: his father was Sharif Al-Hussein bin Ali, whose father Ali bin Abdullah Kamil was the brother-in-law and agnatic cousin of Hussein of Hejaz. Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein's mother is Princess Badia, daughter of King Ali of Hejaz, aunt of the late King Faisal II, and a granddaughter of King Hussein of Hejaz.

Sharif Ali's grandfather, Ali bin Abdullah Kamil, was a maternal uncle to Iraq's first king, Faisal I, and was himself Prince (Emir) of Mecca from 1905 to 1908. [1]

[edit]

Biographical details

After the loss of Mecca, Sharif Ali's parents settled in Iraq where Badia's sister was queen consort. Ali was born there and is Iraqi.

His maternal first cousin was King Faisal II, the last king of Iraq, who was killed and deposed in a bloody coup d'etat in 1958. Following the regicide, the family (including the then two-year old Ali) fled to the United Kingdom. Ali bin Al-Hussein remained an opponent of the rule of dictator Saddam Hussein (no relation) and returned to Iraq after his downfall.

A couple of years ago Sharif Ali set up a political party (the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy or ICM) in Iraq and leads it. He has succeeded in establishing himself as claimant in the international press, however his party obtained only 0.16% of the popular vote in the 2005 election.

[edit]

Quotes

  • "The majority of the people welcome the return of the monarchy because they believe that the monarchy is the system that will guarantee the reunification of Iraqi society"
  • "We should not open chapters of revenge, but we should open a chapter of justice"
[edit]

External links

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Sharif_Ali_bin_al-Hussein"