The Houthi movement.. a threat to the survival of Zaydis in Yemen
تاريخ النشر: 19th, August 2023 GMT
After Zaydism represented the largest extension in the geography of the north of the north, and the first reference to political power within the framework of the rule of the imams, and the most prominent political presence since after the glorious September 26 revolution, today the influence of the Houthi movement represents one of the most important challenges to the political survival of Zaydism in Yemen.
Since the coup of Iran's arm against the Yemeni state on September 21, 2014, the growing influence of the Houthi movement has negatively affected the future of Zaydism, which found itself facing existential challenges, after the Houthi group exploited it to gain power, to become today in direct confrontation with a dogmatic ideology that it considers a threat to its political project.
At a time when the Houthi movement seeks to swallow the political presence of Zaydism, observers believe that the latter has lost many of its political privileges since the Houthi group took control of the geography of northern Yemen, while they believe that today it faces one of the most serious challenges to survival.
Survival challenge
As part of its efforts to seize power and centers of influence in northern Yemen, the Houthi group seeks to apply the Iranian experience at the expense of the political future of Zaydism, which excluded it from the political scene, to work on implementing a doctrinal ideology that views Zaydism as a threat to its existence.
In this context, the Yemeni writer and political analyst in strategic and military affairs, Dr. Ali al-Dahab, says: "The Houthis have a political project of their own, and they are a political ideology completely different from Zaidiism, or any form of political practice within the framework of the Zaidi sect."
Al-Dahab stressed, in the context of his interview with "Newsyemen", that "some of the leaders of the Houthi movement, and among their bases, consider Zaydism a threat to their Quranic path, and thus the features of the political project of the Houthi movement are revealed, and it is limited to the framework of the Badr al-Din al-Houthi family, and in particular, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi." Who, if the period of his domination of power is prolonged, will not even transfer his influence to his brothers, but will monopolize it within his personal extension, and will reduce it to his children. as he put it.
He pointed out that "this political ideology draws its instructions from the Iranian revolution, with a certain specificity for its application in Yemen, and the projection of the Iranian experience on the Yemeni scene, and there is an exaggerated and overt simulation."
And he added, "For example, Abdulmalik al-Houthi represents Ali Khamenei, while Mahdi al-Mashat represents Ibrahim Raisi, and they have the government army that has been involved under their command since their coup against the state in 2014 AD, and they have the popular committees, in addition to nodal armed formations, or those with central loyalties within The movement, which represents the main perpetrator of violence, embodies a living reflection of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard."
He pointed out that "in this way, the various centers of power are being rebuilt to support the Houthi movement with its ideologies independent of the political Hashemite, which people used to call Zaydism."
He said, "These transformations imposed by the Houthi movement mean that there will be no active participation of the Hashemite families in governance, and there will be no transfer of power from one person to another within the framework of the conditions set by the Zaidis for the ruler."
He added, "This Houthi ideology seeks to liberate the movement from the restrictions and obligations imposed on them by Zaydism, so that they become an authority, a political ideology, and an ideology independent of any influences of Zaydism, which they seek to completely remove from the political scene."
He continued, "Currently, there are attempts to portray Abdul-Malik al-Houthi as a religious reference, and at the same time it will be a political reference that has the greatest power over the political authority, meaning that it will nominate the president, the minister, the military and security leaders, and even the leaders of the local authority in the province."
In his opinion, "the movement is a new political formation according to a process that clones the Iranian revolution, but with a certain specificity, taking into account the Yemeni nature, and the imposed geographical and sectarian differences within the country."
He believes that "this project will face great challenges, given that Yemen is no longer what it was before 1911 AD, when the Imamis seized power through the negotiation method that followed the war with the Ottomans, or that came as a result of the First World War."
But now things are different, the internationally recognized government is still in control of the political scene, with some regional influences and variables, while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is trying to besiege the Houthi movement with negotiations to pounce on them, or curtail them after the failure of the military option, and many conflicts have entered. Regional and local that obstructed the military option.
He concluded by saying: "When we refer to what some of the movement's leaders are doing in terms of mobilization and incitement to convert Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi into a religious reference, this is because Abdul-Malik is the one who will set the political frameworks, and he is the one who will determine the religious and intellectual courses of his group in power, if the political option succeeds and there is a political partnership."
existential risk
At a time when the ambition of Iran's arm to seize power and exclude its political partners is growing, observers believe that the group's attempts to stoke conflicts between the social and political components in its areas of control will negatively affect the group's future.
In this context, journalist Yaqoub Al-Sami'i believes that "what the Houthis are doing is booby-trapping the country's future with ethnic and sectarian grudges, which will lead to major explosions over time." As he said.
Al-Sami'i added, in the context of his speech to "Newsyemen", that "the deprivation of the vast majority of Yemenis of their political rights in favor of an ethnic minority is a risk to the future of this minority at the same time, and the growing resentment against the group can be observed in the public space."
He concluded by saying, "This resentment will not remain forever trapped in rhetoric and slogans, especially in light of the grave grievances that the Houthis inflict on people on a daily basis on a racial basis."
المصدر: نيوزيمن
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A mysterious airstrip built on a Yemeni island comes as Houthi rebels are increasingly squeezed
A new airstrip is being built on a volcanic island in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, satellite images show, likely the latest project by forces allied to those opposed to the country’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The airstrip on Zuqar Island provides yet another link in a network of offshore bases in a region key to international shipping, where the Houthis already have attacked over 100 ships, sank four vessels and killed at least nine mariners during the Israel-Hamas war.
It could give a military force the ability to conduct aerial surveillance over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the strategic, narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the two waterways off East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Still, it remains unclear what would trigger the airstrip to be used for a military campaign. The United Arab Emirates, which has built other runways in the region, did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces, divided by warring interests and unable to launch a coordinated assault against the rebels even after intense American and Israeli bombing campaigns that targeted them.
In recent months, the anti-Houthi forces have been able to interdict more cargo bound for the Houthis, something that having a presence on Zuqar could aid.
“The possibility of a new Yemeni offensive against the Houthis, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, can’t be ruled out, although I don’t see it as approaching,” said Eleonora Ardemagni, an analyst at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies who long has studied Yemen.
“There’s a more important point in my view regarding the build up in Zuqar: the countering of Houthis’ smuggling activities, with particular regard to weapons,” she said.
A runway on a strategic island
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show the construction of a nearly 2,000-meter (6,560-foot) runway on Zuqar Island, which is some 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida, a key shipping hub.
The images show work began in April to build out a dock on the island, then land clearing along the site of the runway. By late August, what appears to be asphalt was being laid across the runway. Images from October show the work continuing, with runway markings painted on in the middle of the month.
No one has claimed the construction. However, ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP show the Batsa, a Togolese-flagged bulk carrier registered to a Dubai-based maritime firm, spent nearly a week alongside the new dock at Zuqar Island after coming from Berbera in Somaliland, the site of a DP World port. DP World declined to comment.
A Dubai-based maritime company, Saif Shipping and Marine Services, acknowledged receiving an order to deliver the asphalt to the island likely used in the airstrip’s construction on behalf of other UAE-based firms. Other Emirates-based maritime firms have been associated with other airstrip construction projects in Yemen later tied back to the UAE.
The UAE is believed to be behind multiple runway projects in recent years in Yemen. In Mocha on the Red Sea, a project to extend that city’s airport now allows it to land far larger aircraft. Local officials attributed that project to the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There is also now a runway in nearby Dhubab.
Another runway is on Abd al-Kuri Island, in the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. And in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait itself, another runway built by the UAE is on Mayun Island. An anti-Houthi secessionist force in Yemen known as the Southern Transitional Council, which has long been backed by the UAE, controls the island and has acknowledged the UAE’s role in building the airport.
Targeting of Houthi shipments
Zuqar Island is a strategic location in the Red Sea. Eritrea captured the island in 1995 after battling Yemeni forces. An international court in 1998 placed the island formally into Yemen’s custody.
The island again found itself engulfed by war after the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and began a march south, when the rebels took Zuqar.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE entered the war in 2015 on behalf of the country’s exiled government, stopping the Houthi advance. They also beat back the Houthis from Zuqar, retaking the island, which has become a staging ground for naval forces loyal to Tariq Saleh, a nephew of Yemen’s late strongman leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The younger Saleh, once allied to the Houthis before his uncle switched sides and the rebels killed him, has been backed by the UAE.
Since then, the front lines of the war have been static for years.
What changed was the Houthis’ taking their campaign globally with attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. That continued even after a weekslong campaign of intense airstrikes known as Operation Rough Rider launched by the United States and continued strikes by Israel, which appear to be getting closer to the Houthis’ top leadership despite the rebels’ penchant for secrecy.
“The Houthis, like any insurgent group, win by not losing,” wrote Gregory D. Johnsen, a Yemen expert, in June. “It is how the group has survived and grown from each of its wars.”
While a loose confederation of anti-Houthi groups exists, it remains fragmented and did not launch any attacks during the U.S. airstrikes. But the growing network of air bases around Yemen comes as anti-Houthi forces have made several significant seizures of weapons, likely bound for the rebels — including one large haul that was praised by the U.S. military’s Central Command.
“A likely Emirati airstrip in Zuqar could serve to improve surveillance and monitoring off the Hodeida coast to better support Yemeni forces in tackling smuggling,” Ardemagni said.
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