One Problem in the Study of the Houthi Movement (Three Сliches of anti-Houthi Propaganda)

Authors

  • Timofey A Bokov Embassy of the Russian Federation to the Syrian Arab Republic, P. O. Box No. 3153, Omar Ben Al Khattab st., Adawi, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8477-6639

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2021.105

Abstract

The article identifies and analyzes three main accusations leveled in the 2000s by the Yemeni Government against Houthis: a desire to restore the Imamate, gaining support from Iran and conversion to Twelver Shiism. It is shown that these accusations are incorrect and are consequences of the Yemeni authorities’ discrimination policy against practicing Zaydis and especially sayyids — Zaydi religious “aristocracy”. It is demonstrated that reestablishment of theocratic rule was not part of the Houthi political agenda since a majority of Yemenis were against it; the goal of allegations about Houthi connections with Tehran, made by the Yemeni political establishment, was to secure additional financial aid from Washington and Riyadh; Al-Houthi was not a Twelver Shiite and was critical of the main ideas of this denomination. The author of the article suggests that many Yemenis and several Russian and Western scholars believed the accusations due to the dominance of anti-Zaydi sentiment in the Yemeni information space and the fact that these accusations complement each other in a quasi-logical way: to reestablish the Imamate, Houthis need support, which can be gained from Iran, while conversion to Twelver Shiism guarantees such support.

Keywords:

Yemen, zaydism, imamate, houthis, Husayn al-Houthi, jarudism

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Published

2021-06-11

How to Cite

Bokov, T. A. (2021). One Problem in the Study of the Houthi Movement (Three Сliches of anti-Houthi Propaganda). Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies, 13(1), 74–90. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2021.105

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Geocultural spaces and codes of the cultures of Asia and Africa

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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.