- Mauritian Solidarity Front
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Mauritian Solidarity Front (in French Front Solidarité Mauricien also known by its acronym FSM & ex-Hizbullah) is a predominantly Muslim political party in Mauritius trying to represent the island nation's sizable Muslim minority. In the 2010 general elections in Mauritius, FSM's won one historical parliamentary seat through its leader Cehl Fakeermeeah.
Until 2004, the party was known as Hizbullah (Party of God) (no relation to the Lebanese party Hezbollah).
The fortunes of the party are closely related to its leader Cehl Fakeermeeah. In 1992 Cehl Fakeermeeah announced the formation of Hizbullah. He was born in Mauritius in 1958. He began to teach the Qur'an to groups of children in the local mosque when he was 15. At 21, he won a scholarship to Umm Ul Qura University in Makkah where he studied Islamic jurisprudence and returned to Mauritius in 1991.
Here he entered political life, working with Hizbullah. He inaugurated a primary school and over 50 Islamic centers around the island where Arabic and Qur'anic studies are taught. He also initiated free drug-detoxification programs in response to increase in trafficking of street drugs in the Muslim areas. Because of his popularity he alongside another party member became counselers in the municipal elections of 1996.
He ran for the elections in 1992. He had a sizable percentage of the votes, but failed to be elected. In 1995 however, Hizbullah won one seat in the Parliament through Imam Beeharry, a preacher at the Noor-e-Islam mosque in Port Louis. However at the legislative elections of 11 September 2000, the party lost the seat. In the general elections of 2010, one seat was won through Cehl Fakeermeeah.
In December 2000, Hizbullah leader Cehl Fakeermeeah was arrested and accused of involvement in the murders of three Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) members just before the island's 1996 parliamentary elections. The UK based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) adopted his case declaring him a "Prisoner of Faith" and considering his arrest a direct result of his political opposition [1] It also expressed concerns about his treatment in detention.[2]
Cehl Muhammed Fakeemeeah was then pronounced innocent after 3 years of alleged tortures in detention. Thousands of people were gathered on the day of his liberation at Plaine-Verte. A rally was organised in his support.
In April 2010, He was accused of sexual relationship with a minor.
References
External links
Political parties in Mauritius 
Alliance Ptr-MSM-PMSD (45 seats in the National Assembly of Mauritius) MMM (20 seats in the National Assembly of Mauritius) Representative from Rodrigues (4 seats in the National Assembly of Mauritius) Parties outside of the National Assembly of Mauritius Mauritian Solidarity Front - Rodrigues Movement - Independent Forward BlocPortal:Politics - List of political parties - Politics of Mauritius 
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