Regimes of Piety Revisited: Zaydī Political Moralities in Republican Yemen

Abstract

e gradual decline of Zaydī-Shīʿī Islam in Yemen occurred within contexts of state transformation over the past three centuries, culminating in the revolution of 1962 that abolished the imāmate. It has since lost its institutional framework and struggled to define its location in the newly established republic. e republic's commitment to an Islam which transcends the schools of law (madhāhib) has become part of Yemen's nationalist project and of the state's political agenda. At the intersection of nation-building and Saudi Arabia's assertion of its hegemony over the Arabian Peninsula, the Salafī daʿwa-consonant with the teachings of the 18 th /19 th century scholar Muḥammad al-Shawkānī-has twinned with Ḥanbalī-'Wahhābī' doctrine. e establishment of educational institutions and mosques propagating anti-Shīʿī schools of thought have provoked a Zaydī revival movement that gained momentum after Yemen's 'unification' in 1990. e movement has led to increased polarisation between the Zaydīs and the Salafīs, and demonstrated profound tensions among Zaydīs who subscribe to diverse political moralities. e article explores how categories of legitimisation have been modulated, and what recent Zaydī political activism reveals about the conflicting meanings people attach to 'being Zaydī'.

The ṣa'da War in Yemen: between Politics and Sectarianism

“…25 25 See Gabriele vom Bruck, “Regimes of Piety Revisited: Zaydi Political Moralities in Republican Yemen”, Die Welt des Islams , 50, 2010, p. 204. …”

Sectarianism in The Yemeni Political Field. (c2020)

“…Moreover, they dedicate most of their attention to the dynamics that unfolded during and after the 2011 uprising and overlook the process that caused these very dynamics to erupt as a result of several reconfigurations that took place over the longue durée. And while other literature (Clausen, 2015;Vom Bruck, 2010;Dorlian, 2011) provide further contextual information to understand the rise of the Houthi movement, they do not explain why actors engaged in the struggle over the political field have chosen to employ sectarian discourse, inter alia. Hence, as noted by Brandt, our perception of the conflict has often overlooked the forces "pushing forward the battles on the ground" (2017, p.154).…”

“…The September revolution of 1962 banished the rule of the Zaydi Imamate and Hamid Al-Din dynasty and established the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR), which later united with its southern counterpart, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), and formed the modern Yemen Republic in 1990. After the 1962 revolution, Zaydiyyah witnessed a crisis which was brought about by several factors that will be addressed in this thesis, among which was the decline of Zaydi scholarly teaching as well as the parallel rise of Salafiyyah(Vom Bruck, 2010).By the end of the 20 th century and in the early 2000s, however, Hussein al-Houthis led the new generation of Zaydi followers and scholars and became vocal about his government's support of the United States' foreign policy. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the Yemeni government entered into an agreement with the US, supporting it in the war on terror.…”

“…More importantly, it overlooks the strategic use of sectarian discourse by the local actors who were in pursuit of their own political interests. And even though other accounts (e.g Dorlian, 2011;Clausen, 2015;Vom Bruck, 2010). provide further contextual information to understand the Houthi case, they all fail to answer the following question: why did the Yemeni regime and the Houthis resort to sectarianism, in particular, in their contest over the political field?…”