- Title: YEMEN: Shi'ite Yemenis celebrate Eid al-Ghadir in Sanaa
- Date: 4th November 2012
- Summary: POSTER WHICH READS (Arabic): "'EID AL-GHADIR', GOD IS THE GREATEST, DEATH TO AMERICA, DEATH TO ISRAEL, DAMN THE JEWS', VICTORY TO ISLAM'' POSTER OF ABDULMALIK AL-HOUTHI PEOPLE OF AL-HOUTHI GROUP CHANTING SLOGANS (Arabic): ''DEATH TO AMERICA, DEATH TO ISRAEL, VICTORY TO ISLAM'' PEOPLE WALKING AT THE EVENT CELEBRATION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HOUTHI ACTIVIST, HASSAN AL-SAADI, S
- Embargoed: 19th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Yemen
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: Religion
- Reuters ID: LVABKQWHLKSLQGMLATQF4TT3CQNJ
- Story Text: Thousands of Shi'ite Yemenis gather in the Yemeni capital Sanaa to celebrate Eid al-Ghadir.
Thousands of Shi'ite Yemenis gathered in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Saturday (November 3) to celebrate Eid al-Ghadir.
The celebration marks the day on which Shi'ites believe that Prophet Muhammad nominated his cousin, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, as his successor.
One of the event's attendees, Abdulqawi Muhib, explained why the occasion is celebrated.
"Celebrating Eid al-Ghadir is a response to an order from god for the mandate of imam Ali bin Abi Talib, may peace be upon him. Yemenis were pioneers in supporting Islam and responding to the call of the Prophet, may peace be upon him, and the call of imam Ali too," he said.
Most of the people who took part in the celebration were followers of the Shi'ite Muslim rebel al-Houthi group, and are known as Houthis.
Some at the event displayed banners professing hatred of the United States and Israel, with many heard chanting "death to America, death to Israel, victory to Islam," in chorus as they marked the occasion.
The al-Houthi group emerged after a civil war in 1994 enforced unity between north and south Yemen, evolving into a Hezbollah-style militia centred around the Houthi family in the remote and neglected Saada province bordering Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis, like most tribesmen in Yemen's northern highlands, belong to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, whose Hashemite line ruled for 1,000 years before the 1962 revolution.
Zaydis, a substantial minority of Yemen's 23 million people, have coexisted easily with majority Sunnis in the past, but Badr al-Din al-Houthi, a cleric from the northern province of Saada, promoted Zaydi revivalism in the 1970s, playing on fears that Saudi-influenced Salafis threatened Zaydi identity.
Some Sunnis fear the Houthis want to revive the Zaydi Imamate, the 1,000-year-long rule of Yemen in which power was passed through leaders claiming descent to the Prophet Mohammed.
However, some Sunnis -- who also claim descent from the Prophet Mohammad -- are sympathetic to the Houthis, while many Zaydis, including ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his Al-Ahmar clan, opposed them.
Yemen is still recovering from months of political unrest that eventually forced Saleh from power, grappling with numerous security challenges after last year's uprising, including al Qaeda-linked insurgents, southern secessionists and the Houthis.
But Hassan al-Saadi, a Houthi activist, said the revolution has opened doors for the right to free speech that may otherwise have stayed closed for some time.
"We think that nowadays we are free to express our beliefs. Celebrating with this wide and public manner is one of the good results of the revolution," he said.
Likewise, Ali Ahmed al-Aasemi, a Shi'ite lawyer, said the celebration comes after years of restrictions imposed by the former regime.
"It is a natural right that was violated during the past two decades, because the regime then kept restricting our celebrations, jailing anyone taking part in them," he said.
Under Saleh's rule, Houthis complained of marginalization and sectarian discrimination, and engaged in six wars against government forces.
Analysts say the Houthi phenomenon -- like the emergence of southern secessionism -- is a result of marginalisation and the hold that Saleh's northern-based and Saudi-backed tribal and religious ruling elite had on power and economic resources.
"This sect must be given its rights and be allowed to celebrate its feasts, and this should be understood by others, because it is not against anyone," said another Houthi activist, Abdulrahman al-Marwani.
"We practically are a figure in the Yemeni arena that should not be overlooked, and this is a well-known fact now. All, either inside the country or abroad, must realise that we are a big figure and that we are an essential part in this country", said Taha al-Mutawakil, a leading Houthi figure who attended the celebration.
Analysts and diplomats believe that the ascent of the Houthis, named after its leaders' family, has turned Yemen into a new front in a long struggle between Iran and Western powers and the Arab regimes they back, centred on a nuclear programme that Israel and the West say is aimed at making atomic weapons and altering the regional balance of power.
Iran denies those charges.
The interim government aims to include the Houthis in a national dialogue set for November which is meant to work out a new pluralistic political system.
ENDS - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None