Scott
Verified User
I thought a bit about where to put this thread. I imagine most here have heard of the Trump Administration's signalgate debacle regarding its bombing of Yemen. If you haven't, this is a good primer:
www.counterpunch.org
This article is not about Trump's actions, though, nor the 2 decades of American foreign policy towards the Yemeni people (if you're interested in that, the article above would be more your thing), but about the Yemeni people themselves and the form of Islam that they follow. After having read the article in its entirety and looking at the various forums here, I came to the conclusion that this was the best subforum for it, as religion, philosophy (in particular values) and ethics are all prominent parts of the article I'll be quoting and link to below. I quote some excerpts below which I found to be quite interesting, particular a reference to the freemen, which are the people I strongly suspect that Frank Herbert had in mind. For those who haven't heard of Frank Herbert, you may be a bit more familiar with his Dune book series, later turned into films and some tv series, the more recent ones being done after his death. Anyway, I color the sentence where the freemen are brought up below, so that the part can be easily found. Alright, with that said, I'll quote a bit from the introduction as well as the conclusion of the article:
**
There has been a focus among pundits and Western-based scholars on the rivalry between so-called Sunni and Shi’a variants of Islam. In the interview that Larry conducted with Pepe Escobar in the aftermath of his visit to Yemen, Larry at least twice alluded to this in his questioning of Pepe in the Yemeni context and Pepe seemed almost dismissive, instead showcasing the “Houthi” value of defending “brotherly peoples” as he put it. In Yemen these divisions are not so hardwired after a century of propaganda as they have become in other parts of the world – (do go find Nir Rosen’s archived Asia Times article on the fanning of sectarian divides in newly-destroyed post Desert Storm Iraq). What makes Yemen this semi-mythical place like Timbuktu, Shangra-la, an ends of the earth place and a last redoubt?
To understand this let’s take a short trip back in history to the 7th Century CE, to Arabia, to the origin of historical Islam. Let’s say you were a merchant in the bazaar in the city that became a holy place to Muslims, Medina (originally Yathrib). What did you see take place in your long life in the 600’s selling spices in the market? As a youth you would recall the hijra, the migration of the man Muhammed, a great-grandson of Hashim, a key figure in the establishment of the economic importance of the nearby city of Mecca with a group of his followers. Doing trade was less profitable with the Meccans dominating trade as they were, so you like so many others welcomed this Mohammed, a trader renowned for his honesty. Mohammed had great trade connections but interestingly he was respected and revered for teachings he was receiving from some entity. In the tribal society of 7th Century Arabia, this was remarkable because his followers were beginning to create a super-tribe with members from all various tribes and cities. To become a member you had to recite an oath, the shahada, as a declaration of belief and fealty. Soon many of the leading figures of your city, which became their new city (Medina) and their nation (Ummah) came to dominate the councils of the city and arrange its affairs. Not everyone was happy about this, particularly the existing elites, and later tribal figures. Battles were fought and influence gained and with it the fortunes of the citizens of the Medina. These Muslims were sure to care for the poor and orphaned and sick, it was a part of their teachings that as a member and believer that you must give charity when you can (zakat) and usury, the charging of interest on loans was forbidden. And so this nation developed always in conflict with prior authorities, until it swept away all such authorities; so successful was this socio-religious revolution that the people who had originally bitterly opposed it also joined. (Oh heed ye the warning of the newly believing nevertrumps?)
Now that the tribes who had formerly raided and fought one another were together in this new nation now headed by the Prophet and His Companions, to what purpose could they be put? In the end this was expansion to surrounding lands, but this was only after a huge struggle ensued regarding the Successor to Mohammed. Now as a mere spice trader in the bazaar who himself declared the oath and enjoyed this new era of his home city, this succession at first might not have been too troubling, but over time things got more complicated. Later when some figures asserted themselves as the Caliph and the rightful successor to Mohammed, there were a multitude of opinions and due to the fact that religious identity as a believer meant citizenship in this new nation, any rebellion be it political, social or economic was by default a religious statement. So when the new governor appointed by the Caliph now living far away in Baghdad or Damascus, decided to tax you to death or give his nephew the monopoly on spice trading in the market, what can you do? You can only rebel or run, or both. And if you run where might you run to? One answer was the Mountains of Yaman (Yemen) already famed for their resistance to outside powers but likewise welcoming. Knowing spices as you did why not go to the source? In fact a steady stream of freemen fled to these mountains over centuries, joining an already distinct pre-Arabic strata of culture there, and this is part of what has shaped Yemen’s stubborn resistance to unacceptable authority.
[snip]
Years ago, post-Arab Spring, I was in daily dialog with Yemenis over social media. These discussions inform what I have conveyed here along with my own studies. I quizzed as many as I could to try to determine if their religious beliefs have anything much to do with Iran and its form of Shi’ism. A few were openly anti-Iranian — those tended to be pro-Islah and strongly influenced by Salafism – or from the South (South Yemen was for many years a socialist state and their Aden-based independence council has been hijacked by the UAE), but the people of Sana and from the mountains they said they worried about any contacts with the Iranians as Iran and the Twelvers historically had this missionary movement, trying to convert Ismailis, non-Twelver Shi’as and even the entire Alawite Sect in Syria which were given a veneer of Twelver “legitimacy” via a fatwa from Khameini some years back. According to my former contacts it took many years over the 80’s and 90’s for Iranian assistance to be accepted in any way and for a relationship to evolve. The Yemeni are, and have always been, very independent and they hold an exotic, rarefied place in the Muslim world; even when nominally a part of some polity little actual control was asserted there by outsiders, particularly around Saada and Sana. They exemplify mountain warrior cultures we have seen through history in so many ways. They act only because they believe their actions are the actions they must take as a moral people still even as their ancestors were dedicated to fighting the corrupt and overturning oppression.
I think we could all learn a thing or two from them.
**
Full article:
Beyond Signalgate: Understanding the Real Scandal in Yemen
The U.S. has killed no less than 61 people since it began a new round of strikes on March 15, but its reckless attacks and disregard for civilian life go back more than two decades. The U.S. first began drone operations and airstrikes in Yemen in 2002, causing “significant civilian harm, and no...
www.counterpunch.org
This article is not about Trump's actions, though, nor the 2 decades of American foreign policy towards the Yemeni people (if you're interested in that, the article above would be more your thing), but about the Yemeni people themselves and the form of Islam that they follow. After having read the article in its entirety and looking at the various forums here, I came to the conclusion that this was the best subforum for it, as religion, philosophy (in particular values) and ethics are all prominent parts of the article I'll be quoting and link to below. I quote some excerpts below which I found to be quite interesting, particular a reference to the freemen, which are the people I strongly suspect that Frank Herbert had in mind. For those who haven't heard of Frank Herbert, you may be a bit more familiar with his Dune book series, later turned into films and some tv series, the more recent ones being done after his death. Anyway, I color the sentence where the freemen are brought up below, so that the part can be easily found. Alright, with that said, I'll quote a bit from the introduction as well as the conclusion of the article:
**
There has been a focus among pundits and Western-based scholars on the rivalry between so-called Sunni and Shi’a variants of Islam. In the interview that Larry conducted with Pepe Escobar in the aftermath of his visit to Yemen, Larry at least twice alluded to this in his questioning of Pepe in the Yemeni context and Pepe seemed almost dismissive, instead showcasing the “Houthi” value of defending “brotherly peoples” as he put it. In Yemen these divisions are not so hardwired after a century of propaganda as they have become in other parts of the world – (do go find Nir Rosen’s archived Asia Times article on the fanning of sectarian divides in newly-destroyed post Desert Storm Iraq). What makes Yemen this semi-mythical place like Timbuktu, Shangra-la, an ends of the earth place and a last redoubt?
To understand this let’s take a short trip back in history to the 7th Century CE, to Arabia, to the origin of historical Islam. Let’s say you were a merchant in the bazaar in the city that became a holy place to Muslims, Medina (originally Yathrib). What did you see take place in your long life in the 600’s selling spices in the market? As a youth you would recall the hijra, the migration of the man Muhammed, a great-grandson of Hashim, a key figure in the establishment of the economic importance of the nearby city of Mecca with a group of his followers. Doing trade was less profitable with the Meccans dominating trade as they were, so you like so many others welcomed this Mohammed, a trader renowned for his honesty. Mohammed had great trade connections but interestingly he was respected and revered for teachings he was receiving from some entity. In the tribal society of 7th Century Arabia, this was remarkable because his followers were beginning to create a super-tribe with members from all various tribes and cities. To become a member you had to recite an oath, the shahada, as a declaration of belief and fealty. Soon many of the leading figures of your city, which became their new city (Medina) and their nation (Ummah) came to dominate the councils of the city and arrange its affairs. Not everyone was happy about this, particularly the existing elites, and later tribal figures. Battles were fought and influence gained and with it the fortunes of the citizens of the Medina. These Muslims were sure to care for the poor and orphaned and sick, it was a part of their teachings that as a member and believer that you must give charity when you can (zakat) and usury, the charging of interest on loans was forbidden. And so this nation developed always in conflict with prior authorities, until it swept away all such authorities; so successful was this socio-religious revolution that the people who had originally bitterly opposed it also joined. (Oh heed ye the warning of the newly believing nevertrumps?)
Now that the tribes who had formerly raided and fought one another were together in this new nation now headed by the Prophet and His Companions, to what purpose could they be put? In the end this was expansion to surrounding lands, but this was only after a huge struggle ensued regarding the Successor to Mohammed. Now as a mere spice trader in the bazaar who himself declared the oath and enjoyed this new era of his home city, this succession at first might not have been too troubling, but over time things got more complicated. Later when some figures asserted themselves as the Caliph and the rightful successor to Mohammed, there were a multitude of opinions and due to the fact that religious identity as a believer meant citizenship in this new nation, any rebellion be it political, social or economic was by default a religious statement. So when the new governor appointed by the Caliph now living far away in Baghdad or Damascus, decided to tax you to death or give his nephew the monopoly on spice trading in the market, what can you do? You can only rebel or run, or both. And if you run where might you run to? One answer was the Mountains of Yaman (Yemen) already famed for their resistance to outside powers but likewise welcoming. Knowing spices as you did why not go to the source? In fact a steady stream of freemen fled to these mountains over centuries, joining an already distinct pre-Arabic strata of culture there, and this is part of what has shaped Yemen’s stubborn resistance to unacceptable authority.
[snip]
Years ago, post-Arab Spring, I was in daily dialog with Yemenis over social media. These discussions inform what I have conveyed here along with my own studies. I quizzed as many as I could to try to determine if their religious beliefs have anything much to do with Iran and its form of Shi’ism. A few were openly anti-Iranian — those tended to be pro-Islah and strongly influenced by Salafism – or from the South (South Yemen was for many years a socialist state and their Aden-based independence council has been hijacked by the UAE), but the people of Sana and from the mountains they said they worried about any contacts with the Iranians as Iran and the Twelvers historically had this missionary movement, trying to convert Ismailis, non-Twelver Shi’as and even the entire Alawite Sect in Syria which were given a veneer of Twelver “legitimacy” via a fatwa from Khameini some years back. According to my former contacts it took many years over the 80’s and 90’s for Iranian assistance to be accepted in any way and for a relationship to evolve. The Yemeni are, and have always been, very independent and they hold an exotic, rarefied place in the Muslim world; even when nominally a part of some polity little actual control was asserted there by outsiders, particularly around Saada and Sana. They exemplify mountain warrior cultures we have seen through history in so many ways. They act only because they believe their actions are the actions they must take as a moral people still even as their ancestors were dedicated to fighting the corrupt and overturning oppression.
I think we could all learn a thing or two from them.
**
Full article: