What we’re seeing in northern Yemen today, in terms of fighting between the Houthis on one side, and various armed groups on the other, definitely does have an element of the sectarianism that can be seen across the wider region. However, it’s a lot more confusing. For one, it’s wrong to simply say that Houthis = Zaydis, and, say, al-Ahmar = Shafi’is. Or even worse, Houthis = Shias, and al-Ahmar = Sunnis. For one, the al-Ahmars are traditionally Zaydi, just like the Houthis. I can’t vouch for the religious identification of each individual Ahmar, but I’d say that many of their tribal fighters will still, at least loosely, identify as Zaydi. Ali Abdullah Saleh, who fought 6 wars against the Houthis, was also Zaydi. So is this Zaydi on Zaydi fighting? A Zaydi civil war?
Well, no. To put it very simply, you can say that the religious element behind the Houthis is, for want of a better word, more ‘hardcore’ Zaydism. I was told by a Houthi that I met in Sa’dah that “the Zaydis in Sana’a have forgotten how to be Zaydi.” Many Houthis believe that they are reviving Zaydi traditions and beliefs, that have been suppressed in the years following the 1962 revolution (despite all presidents of North Yemen in that period having been Zaydi). They see people like Saleh and the al-Ahmars as Zaydi in name only.
On the other side, the al-Ahmars, and Saleh in the past, have accused the Houthis of secretly not being Zaydi anymore, and instead being Twelver Shias (a la Iran). This then easily feeds into the wider paranoia in the region of the spread of Shi’ism and Iranian power. Although there are Twelvers who are Houthis, and many of them are newly ‘converted’, the vast majority of Houthis would still self-identify as Zaydi.
To further complicate things, many of the al-Ahmars are members of the Islah Party. The al-Ahmar Godfather, Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar, was the head of the Islah Party. Now, Islah are commonly known in Yemen to be the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ party. A Muslim Brotherhood group that is led by a Shia? Absurd. But one led by a ‘Zaydi’? Or at least one who isn’t that doctrinally strict? Not so absurd. And by painting the Houthis as ‘Twelvers’, it is easy for Islah/Ahmars to paint themselves as the defenders of Yemen (and Zaydism) against foreign ideas.
http://alshamahi.com/2014/02/19/yemen-is-more-nuanced-than-sunni-shia/
No matter if they’re Houthis, Sunnis, SHIIIITES, Zaydis.. whatever you want to call them..
THEY ARE ALL ISLAMAPIGS.
yikes....do not ask me to take a test on that information.
This is why it's beyond lunacy for the US to be choosing which Muslim rebels to support.
My brain hurts like you are icepicking it.