society. Basic salary for MPs is 2000 BHD per month thus annual MPs contribution to society amount is $230,000 which forms the biggest portion of society's budget. Subsidiaries Bahrain Youth Center Being the youth wing of the society, the center is concerned with the issues of youth generation related to politics, social & student affairs. When it was established, the first president was Matar Matar who lately became MP for Al Wefaq. Presence in the country Hamad Town Al Zinj Al Qufool Political ideology As with any religious party in the world, Al Wefaq has had to address the relationship between spiritual and secular authority. On the contentious issue of reform of Bahrain's family laws, Al Wefaq stated in October 2005 that neither elected MPs nor the government has the authority to change the law because these institutions could 'misinterpret the word of God'. Instead, Al Wefaq insisted that the right to legislate on issues relating to women and families is solely that of religious leaders. Further, the society's legislators argued that the political landscape in the country, where electoral districts are drawn to reflect wishes of the authorities, could not guarantee future non-interference by the authorities for modify the law to meet their agenda. There have been some differences among western analysts as to the role played by ideology in Al Wefaq's agenda: according to Dr Toby Jones of Swarthmore College, "Al Wefaq does not espouse a specific ideological vision"; while Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations has described Al Wefaq's policies towards women as "outrageous". In a show of strength against a demonstration by women's rights activists, on 9 November 2005 Al Wefaq jointly organised with clerics a much larger counter demonstration against the Supreme Council for Women's (secular women organization) campaign for the introduction of a personal status law. MPs from the society (and the main opposition group) walked out of the Bahrain parliament on 8 May 2007 in protest after their request for a corruption investigation of State Minister of Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, a member of the royal family, was denied. The forty-member lower chamber dismissed the motion as only nineteen lawmakers voted in favor of the investigation, two votes short of the majority needed. Ever since entering into the 2006 parliament, Al Wefaq had undertaken steps to go after individuals widely accused wrongdoing activities such as financial and