Abd al-Wahhab al-Humayqani

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 took part to the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) held in Yemen in March 2013 as a representative of al-Rashad party, along with 564 other representatives of Yemeni political parties. 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. The initiative, brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council and sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia, 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.

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).

The U.S. Treasury did not single out Alkarama in its designation; nonetheless, there are strong elements suggesting that Alkarama is the charity concerned. Humayqani said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor that he had resigned from his charity. Alkarama's implication is suggested by Humayqani's association with the other subject designated as SDGT by the U.S. Department of the Treasury at the same time, Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi. Nuaimi is a Qatari history professor and founding member of Alkarama, who resigned as president of Alkarama's board shortly after the U.S. allegations were formalized. Even before 2013, Nuaimi was banned from entering Saudi Arabia due to allegations of terrorist activity.

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.

The United States Department of the Treasury has designated Humayqani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, accusing him of having served as a recruiter and financier for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and having orchestrated a car bombing in March 2012.

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. After the conference, he said in an interview that behind the Salafis’ entry into the political arena was the party members’ willingness to “contribute to the nation's awakening in line with developments being witnessed by Yemen and Arab region in light of the Arab Spring.” 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."

As reiterated by many party members on several occasions, al-Rashad attempts to provide an authentic, conservative Islamic voice in the country. The party is also committed to defend the rights of Yemen's citizens, and especially to create new opportunities for Yemeni youth. 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.

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.