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The IIP evolved out of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and was banned from 1961 during Iraqi nationalist rule, something which continued throughout the reign of the Pan-Arab Ba'ath Party right up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Like the Muslim Brotherhood, the IIP's religious rather than ethno-political ideology made the party systematically incompatible under the Iraqi governments between 1961 and 2003.[2]
During the 1970s, the IIP began operating in exile in Great Britain and published a newspaper called Dar al-Salam. Iyad al-Samara'i was elected to serve as secretary-general.[2]
On 9 November 2004, the IIP withdrew from the government in protest over Operation Phantom Fury, an offensive at Fallujah led by U.S. forces. Hassani chose to stay in the government and quit the party, later joining The Iraqis list.
The IIP led a large-scale public campaign urging Iraqis (especially the Sunnis) to vote against the constitutional referendum in 2005. Two days before the referendum took place, the IIP announced its support for a "yes" vote, following a compromise with the members of the Iraqi Transitional Government whereby the newly elected Iraqi National Assembly would consider amendments to the constitution in 2006.[4]
In the December 2005 election, the IIP ran as part of the Iraqi Accord Front coalition, which won 44 seats, the most for any Sunni Arab coalition. The leader of Al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi, condemned the IIP for their participation in the general election.[5]
The party has often criticized the US military presence in Iraq. In October 2008, following a US-backed raid that resulted in the death of a man the IIP said was a senior party official, the party said in a statement that it was suspending all contact with US civilian and military officials.[6] A US military drone crashed into the party's offices in Mosul in 2009. A spokesman for US forces in Iraq said the location of the crash was a pure coincidence.[7]