Yemen is Crumbling

Yemen has been a Zaydi strong hold for centuries. A lot of interesting Islamic ideas have been developed from here but unfortunately they didn't really become mainstream, mainly because most Muslims (in the past) seems to think and believe that Zaydis have been on the wrong side of the history. Zaydis were never able to achieve mass support from the people for a prolong period of time. Their ideology(Zaydism) was considered very militant at one time but of course that's very subjective now with the new wave of global jihad and terrorism of the 21st century using modern warfare techniques and propagation of extreme Sunni belief, even in Yemen.


I'm reading this news on why Yemen as a country was not able to progress much. Not surprising the main cause has to do with corrupt politicians.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh is alleged to have amassed assets worth between $32 billion and $60 billion, most believed to have been transferred abroad under other names, U.N. experts said in a report circulated Wednesday.

The experts, who monitor U.N. sanctions ordering all countries to freeze the assets of Saleh and two Houthi rebel leaders, said the ex-president's assets are believed to include property, cash, shares, gold and other valuable commodities in at least 20 countries.

"The origin of the funds used to generate Ali Abdullah Saleh's wealth is believed to be partly from his corrupt practices as president of Yemen, particularly relating to gas and oil contracts where he reportedly asked for money in exchange for granting companies exclusive rights to prospect for gas and oil in Yemen," the experts said.

The panel of experts said in the report to the U.N. Security Council that Saleh, his family and associates allegedly stole money from a fuel subsidy program which uses up to 10 percent of Yemen's gross domestic product, as well as other ventures involving extortion, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The report noted that Saleh had many years to hide his alleged assets — especially after the possibility of sanctions against him was raised nearly a year ago — using front companies or individuals acting on his behalf. The panel said five prominent Yemeni businessmen are believed to have helped him.

The experts said they are continuing their investigation into connections with these five people and other individuals believed to be assisting the Saleh family to remove funds from banks in Yemen and deposit them overseas. The panel said it is also conducting investigations into a number of private and publicly listed companies inside and outside Yemen where it is believed Saleh "may be the beneficial owner of investments."

Reference

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/25/un-experts-yemen-ex-president-amassed-up-to-60/

Interesting article

An article worth reading (Ismailis: From Yemen to India and back by Mira Baz).

Summary:

The Sulayhid kingdom was strategically important in the Indian Ocean trade route and, through it, the spread of Ismailism in Yemen and Asia. 

According to the London-based Institute for Ismaili Studies (IIS), the Sulayhids are credited with playing an important role in the spread of Ismailism in South Asia, establishing a new Ismaili community in Gujarat, India, in 1067. They also oversaw the selection of da’is who were dispatched from Yemen to run the new community’s affairs.

Its bleakest times under Zaydi Shia imams in the 16th century AD and later, who considered the sect to be heretical. The Tayyibi Ismailis, who consisted of the Hamdani Yam branch in Wadi Dahr and the Yaaburi in Haraz, turned to the more tolerant Ottomans for protection at the time, but this would soon backfire. The Ottomans’ failure to maintain control of upper Yemen resulted in the persecution of the Ismaili community by the vengeful imam, according to Professor Traboulsi.

“Most of the Zaydi imams oppressed and starved the Ismailis,” says a knowledgeable member of the community who wished to remain anonymous.

The majority of Sulaymanis have made Saudi Arabia’s Najran their center since 1640. They are also known as Makarima after the tribe of al-Makrami which originated in the village of Tayba in Yemen. According to a 2004 Saudi census, they number around 408,000 in Najran, and their da’i is al-Fakhri Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Makrami.

Book: Forgotten Queens Of Islam by Fatima Mernissi

In the late 90s, I read the book Forgotten Queens Of Islam by Fatima Mernissi. A chapter in this book is dedicated to the Yemenite Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi.

It contained mostly biographical information, her upbringing, her marriages and also her accomplishment. The wikipedia page (on Arwa al-Sulayhi) contains some information from the book.

She is a very important personality in the Fatimid Mustalian Tayyibi sects (Dawoodi Bohras, Sulaymani and Alevi). She’s revered as much as the other Dais (Ismaili Missionaries/Agent), if not more.

She seemed ambitious, was a capable monarch and served well in her capacity as an Ismaili/Fatimid propagandist. She didn’t really strike me as someone who was trustworthy, honest or sincere. But then again I could be wrong.

The End in Egypt and a new beginning in Yemen

After the death of al-Amir (the 20th Fatimid caliph/Imam), the Mustalian branch of Ismaili continued in Egypt with his cousin al-Hafiz (1130-1149 AD), his son al-Zafir (1149-1154 AD) and his descendants al-Fa’iz (1154-1160 AD) and al-Adid (1160-1171). The Fatimid dynasty ended in 1171 AD when it was taken over by Saladin/Salah al-deen al-Ayyubi.

The Queen of Yemen and the Fatimid Dawa

A new sect (previously known as the Fatimid Mustalian) named Tayyibi emerged in Yemen under the ruler-ship of the Sulayhid Queen (Arwa al-Sulayhi). Upon the death of al-Amir, the Fatimid in Egypt was significantly weaker with internal crises and dynastic disputes. It was then that the Yemenite Queen (Arwa al-Sulayhi), broke away from the Fatimid leadership in Egypt and asserted the independence of her people.

A story was circulated about the arrival of at-Tayyib, an infant son of al-Amir in Yemen (by none other than the Queen). The Queen also utilized the Ismaili doctrine of Satr to explain the disappearance/seclusion of at-Tayyib (the 21^st Imam of Bohras).  She also claimed herself as the deputy of the hidden Imam (naib al Imam). 

From the year 1132 AD, the Ismaili dawa in Yemen was severed from the Fatimid in Egypt. This marks a new beginning in the history of the Mustalian Tayyibi dawa.