Madani advocated, on the one hand, the "stepwise" introduction of
Sharia (Islamic Law) and called
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of the dominant religious movement in Saudi Arabia, the "avant-garde of the reform-oriented Muslim world". On the other hand, he declared that his party had no intention to impose the wearing of the veil or to ban women from driving. He named the Muslim reformer
Muhammad Abduh as part of the same "avant-garde" as Abd al-Wahab. In a 1990 interview he said he wanted to suppress "usury" in banking and to substantially reduce taxes, while he avoided answering a question about the financing of development projects. In 1990, the Algerian Government pushed a new electoral law which was unanimously condemned by all Algerian opposition parties. Protesting against this law, Dr. Abbassi helped organize a general strike and massive peaceful demonstrations in Algiers. An attack by armed forces ended the protest. After the strike, Dr. Abbassi was arrested and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment following charges of threatening state security.
The UN Human Rights Committee investigated the arrest made by the military court of
Blida, during its 89th session in New York in 2007. The committee concluded that the trial and sentencing of Dr. Abbassi by the military court constituted a violation of article 14 of the Covenant. ==Retirement==