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Who Are the Houthis? And
What Are They Fighting For?
Who are the Houthis? And what are they fighting for? Here is a quick and brief introduction:
To begin with, the Houthis are a supremacist group who believe in their divine entitlement to rule the Yemeni people as matrilineal descendants of the Prophet Muhammed, known as Hashemis. Officially, Houthis are called Ansar-Allah – partisans of God. Founded in the early 1990s, they are an armed movement named after its founder, Houssain Badr Al-Deen Al-Houthi. Politically, Houthis control Northern Yemen under a de facto government imposed since September 2014. Legally, they are a non-state armed group who led a coup against a legitimate government. Historically, they are the revivalists of the dynastic, totalitarian Imamate regime that ruled Northern Yemen for a millennium (897 – 1962) under the claimed authority of God, and the power of the gun. Dynastically, they claim to be matrilineal descendants of the Prophet Muhammed, known as Hashemis or Ahl al Bayt. Demographically, they come from the Hashemi minority who settled in Northern Yemen around 896 A.D. Religiously, they stem from the Shia sect of Islam who adhere to the Zaydi-Hadawi school of thought, exclusive in its existence and practices to Northern Yemen. Ideologically, they follow the religiopolitical theory of Imam Yahya Al Hadia, founder of the Zaydi-Hadawi school of thought. This theory grants the Hashemis of Yemen a divine entitlement to rule the people which entails political, social, economic, and intellectual privileges. Yet on what basis? On the basis of matrilineal blood lineage to the Prophet. This claimed racial supremacy is the main motivation behind the Houthis’ fight for power, and the basis on which they justify their 20% racial taxation.
Who are the Houthis? And what are they fighting for? Here is a quick and brief introduction:
To begin with, the Houthis are a supremacist group who believe in their divine entitlement to rule the Yemeni people as matrilineal descendants of the Prophet Muhammed, known as Hashemis. Officially, Houthis are called Ansar-Allah – partisans of God. Founded in the early 1990s, they are an armed movement named after its founder, Houssain Badr Al-Deen Al-Houthi. Politically, Houthis control Northern Yemen under a de facto government imposed since September 2014. Legally, they are a non-state armed group who led a coup against a legitimate government. Historically, they are the revivalists of the dynastic, totalitarian Imamate regime that ruled Northern Yemen for a millennium (897 – 1962) under the claimed authority of God, and the power of the gun. Dynastically, they claim to be matrilineal descendants of the Prophet Muhammed, known as Hashemis or Ahl al Bayt. Demographically, they come from the Hashemi minority who settled in Northern Yemen around 896 A.D. Religiously, they stem from the Shia sect of Islam who adhere to the Zaydi-Hadawi school of thought, exclusive in its existence and practices to Northern Yemen. Ideologically, they follow the religiopolitical theory of Imam Yahya Al Hadia, founder of the Zaydi-Hadawi school of thought. This theory grants the Hashemis of Yemen a divine entitlement to rule the people which entails political, social, economic, and intellectual privileges. Yet on what basis? On the basis of matrilineal blood lineage to the Prophet. This claimed racial supremacy is the main motivation behind the Houthis’ fight for power, and the basis on which they justify their 20% racial taxation.