Frontline That Never Was

by Catherine Shakdam
April 10, 2015 No Comments
This war in Yemen is not a religious one, but world powers are doing a really good job
at turning it into one.
In utter and complete violation of international law, Saudi Arabia, the worlds most
violent and repressive theocracy, declared war on its southern neighbor Yemen, on
March 25, 2015, calling on a broad military coalition to lend its support. Behind Saudi
Arabia stands Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Sudan, the UAE, the
U.S., the EU, and Pakistan.
As unsuspecting Yemenis slept in their homes, Saudi Arabia and Co. unleashed a
deluge of bombs onto the capital, Sanaa, caring little for the millions of civilians
below, intent on crushing their designated enemy, the Houthis.
The new object of the kingdoms disaffection, the Houthis are a Yemeni rebel group
hailing from northern Saada organized under the leadership of Abdel-Malek Al
Houthi and have been actively depicted in western and pro-KSA media as the source
of all evil, a Shia rebel faction in collusion with Iran, the new enemy to hate and,
above all, the new target to destroy.
And while such a narrative could be easily construed as politically charged, the mere
manifestation of Saudi Arabias paranoiac fear that Iran might one day ambition to
dissolve its mighty Arabian empire, labelling the Houthis as Shia and inferring they
represent Yemens entire Shia community has only served to fuel negative sectarian
sentiment while stripping all Shia in Yemen from their inalienable national civil rights.
The equation has been as follows: Houthis are Shia and therefore all Shia in Yemen
are Houthis. Since all Houthis are in alliance with Iran and therefore inherently bad,
all Shia in Yemen should be treated with suspicion and eventually neutralized.
While this rhetoric serves the kingdoms reactionary religious stance, appealing to its
radical religious leadership, it has put Yemen and of course all Yemenis in the
crossfire of a dangerous debate: freedom of religion. More importantly such a
reduction of Yemens political, social, and religious makeup is as bias as it is
profoundly erroneous.
In the words of famous Irish politician, David Trimble, The dark shadow we seem to
see in the distance is not really a mountain ahead, but the shadow of the mountain
behinda shadow from the past thrown forward into our future. It is a dark sludge
of historical sectarianism. We can leave it behind us if we wish.
So what happened in Yemen that the world has felt compelled to revert to religious
labelling and shaming in order to advance its political agenda on the ground?
The first element here that needs to be understood is that Saudi Arabia, the main
instigator of violence and promoter of hate, is itself defined within the parameters
of religious radicalism in essence, reactionary Sunni Wahhabis are prone to reject
anything that does not fall in line with their understanding of the divine. This trait
has been amply demonstrated by Riyadh in its brutal and often bloody repression
campaign against Shia rights activists in the eastern province of Qatif.

The arrest and subsequent sentencing to death of Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr stands as
testimony to Saudi Arabias intolerance towards whoever or whatever is perceived to
represent a threat to its authorityreligious, political or otherwise.
But back to Yemen.
A lesson in religion: What is Zaidism?
To better understand what is at play and truly grasp the tragedy that is unfolding in
this once joyous nation of southern Arabia, one needs to go back to the socialreligious makeup of Yemen.
Yemen is a Muslim nation. And though Islam acts as the axis upon which the
constitution has been weaved, it is important to understand that unlike its northern
neighbor Saudi Arabia, Yemen is at heart a tolerant and religiously inclusive country.
Now, Yemens Muslim population can be broken down into two main religious groups:
the Sunnis to the south and the Zaidis to the north.
Zaidism, the oldest branch of Shia Islam, carries very little difference to Sunnism
at least not in the sense many might think. Just as Sunni Islam is not Saudi Arabia,
Zaidism is not Shia Iran.
Now, about 40 percent of Yemens total population is Zaidi. Yemens Zaidi tradition
dates back to eighth century AD, when the Ummah (Muslim community) was
experiencing its first great schism.
Inspired by Imam Husseins grandson, Zayd, Zaidis are also known as Fivers and are
different in their philosophy from the Twelversmainstream Shia Islam.
With a religious tradition stretching back across the centuries, Yemeni Zaidis are
hardly an oddity or even a new religious phenomenon as some media have attempted to
portray them to be. If the world suddenly woke up to Yemens Zaidi character, it is
mainly because the religious suddenly appeared as a potent political catalyst, a weapon
of opportunity.
Came along the Houthis. As it happens, the Houthis, a tribal faction from northern
Saada organized politically under the denomination, Ansarallah, are Zaidi Muslims.
And while they never hid this factor from their identity, their affiliation to Zaidi
Islam has been of no consequence when it comes to their political demands.
Like any other political groups in Yemen, the Houthis have defined themselves
through their demands, not their faith, as the Saudis and the world would do for
them!
While all Houthi tribesmennot to be confused with the groups political arm,
Ansarallah, since the faction now includes within its ranks Sunnisare Zaidis, not all
Zaidis are Houthis. The Houthis are merely a tribal group within Yemen; they do not
speak or represent the whole of Yemens Zaidi community. And while the Houthis
carry immense weight within Ansarallah, not all Ansarallah members are Houthis.
Many of Ansarallah leadersAli Al Amad, for exampledo not belong to the Houthi
tribe.
It is this confusion that has fed the wave of abuses that has befallen Yemen Zaidis
and to a greater extent Yemens broad Shia community.

As noted by Hawra Zakery, a rights activist with Shia Rights Watch, Considering the
increasing anti-Shia movements in Middle East, it is critical that politicians and media
outlets differentiate between militant groups and majority of Shia populations in
order to present this minority in a more realistic picture.
She added, The Houthis themselves say to aim to speak for the Yemeni people and
represent the Yemeni peoples aspirations, beyond religious dogma and such
differentiation is critical.
The Shia boogeyman
Shia Islam stands now the boogeyman, the twisted religious ideology that everyone is
so very scared of. Thing is, no one really knows why. And therein lies an interesting
question indeed.
Why is it, for example, that the Houthis continue to be labelled as this Shia rebel
group when other groups do not enjoy the same flurry of adjectives? Not even Al
Qaida. Why not describe Al Qaida as this Sunni radical/Wahhabi terror group? Or
would that be upsetting for Saudi Arabia? Would that automatically entails painting
off all Wahhabis and Sunnis for that matter, under the terror brush?
Actually yes it would! And of course that would be unfair, prejudice and above all
self-defeating.
Playing religion to fuel negative sentiments and somewhat rationalize violence will only
lead to more senseless violence and bloodshed.
And while the world remains at war with Yemen, Shia Rights Watch has rung the
alarm, calling on world powers to honor their commitments to international law and
human rights and change the pervasive narrative which is tearing Yemen apart from
the inside out.
Freedom of religion is an alienable right. Yemens Shia community should not be
turned into a political target so that to fit foreign powers agenda. People should not
have to feel threatened in their religious identity and be turned into easy targets of
hate, shun by society as they are members of a minority, said SRW in a statement.
SRW actually argues that groups such as Al Qaida and ISIS have benefited from the
rise of anti-Shia sentiments, both in Yemen and the broader region, as reducing the
debate to a framework of Sunni versus Shia fits directly into its politico-religious
narrative. The rights groups have not been alone in this assessment.
Marwa Osman, a political analyst and commentator with RT stressed earlier this April
that Saudi Arabias anti-Shia campaign will carry heavy repercussions throughout the
Middle East.
The violence in Yemen began this month on March fourth when a car bomb exploded
outside a stadium in Beitha, wrote SRW in its March report, which resulted in the
death of 10 Shias and the wounding of 50 more. This was only the beginning of the
casualties as 167 Shias were murdered, and 400 were injured. 143 of the deaths and
350 of the injuries took place on March 20th when the Islamic State terrorists
performed four mosque bombings. This is the first month this year that Yemen has
had reported anti-Shia incidents, but the invasion by neighboring Gulf States may

bring more casualties. The Arab coalition forces have already begun racking up the
civilian casualties, which include a refugee camp, and the invasion cannot end well.
More troubling yet, Yemeni Zaidis have been turned away from hospitals in the
capital, refused care by doctors on account of their Zaidism over the past few
monthsyet another manifestation of this new rising hatred politicians and media
have fueled and fed.
Hossam Al Hamdi, an administrator at one of Sanaa hospitals said he personally
witnessed two incidents when Zaidi patients were told to leave the premises and seek
treatment elsewhere. Theres been a great deal of tensions within the communities
as a lot of people have transferred their political antipathy of the Houthis onto all
Yemeni Zaidis This is really a worrying development as Yemen has never
experienced such problems before.
While Yemen suffered many woes over the years, decades and centuries,
sectarianism was never part of the equation. Are we to believe that Yemen Zaidi
community, which community has been around since the eighth century suddenly
became a potent threat to national security? Or is it that politicians would much
rather exploit religion to rationalize very worldly ambitions: money and power.
This war in Yemen is not a religious one, but world powers are doing a really good job
at turning it into one.
Let us all remember why Saudi Arabia sent the heavy cavalry in Yemen: oil and control
over the world oil route.