Yemeni League is the top division of the Yemen Football Association, it was created in 1990 after the unification of North and South Yemen. It was decided to set up a 4-level league system: Premier, First, Second and Third divisions.[1]
16 northern and 16 southern clubs entered the top level championship in the 1990-91 season. Previously, two separate championships were used for North Yemen and South Yemen.
Currently, 14 clubs play at the top level, with four clubs being relegated to the 2nd tier. The season is generally run from early November to late June with the league winners entering the AFC Cup and Arab Champions League..
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Weddings and marriage traditions
During a Yemenite Jewish wedding, the bride is bedecked with jewelry and wears the traditional wedding costume of Yemenite Jews. Her elaborate headdress is decorated with flowers and rue leaves, which are believed to ward off evil. Gold threads are woven into the fabric of her clothing. Songs are sung as a central part of a seven-day wedding celebration and their lyrics often tell of friendship and love in alternating verses of Hebrew and Arabic.[19]
Yemenite and other Eastern Jewish communities also perform a henna ceremony, an ancient ritual with Bronze Age origins,[20] a few weeks or days before the wedding. In the ceremony the bride and her guests hands and feet are decorated in intricate designs with a cosmetic paste derived from the henna plant.[21] After the paste has remained on the skin for up to two hours it is removed and leaves behind a deep orange stain that fades after two to three weeks.
Yemenites, like other Middle Eastern and North African Jewish communities, had a special affinity for Henna due to biblical and Talmudic references. Henna, in the Bible, is Camphire, and is mentioned in the Song of Solomon, as well as in the Talmud.
Rashi, a Jewish scholar from 11th c France, interpreted this passage that the clusters of henna flowers were a metaphor for forgiveness and absolution, showing that God forgave those who tested Him (the Beloved) in the desert. Henna was grown as a hedgerow around vineyards to hold soil against wind erosion in Israel as it was in other countries. A henna hedge with dense thorny branches protected a vulnerable, valuable crop such as a vineyard from hungry animals. The hedge, which protected and defended the vineyard, also had clusters of fragrant flowers. This would imply a metaphor for henna of a "beloved", who defends, shelters, and delights his lover. In the first millennium BCE, in Canaanite Israel, henna was closely associated with human sexuality and love, and the divine coupling of goddess and consort.[22]
Yemenite and other Eastern Jewish communities also perform a henna ceremony, an ancient ritual with Bronze Age origins,[20] a few weeks or days before the wedding. In the ceremony the bride and her guests hands and feet are decorated in intricate designs with a cosmetic paste derived from the henna plant.[21] After the paste has remained on the skin for up to two hours it is removed and leaves behind a deep orange stain that fades after two to three weeks.
Yemenites, like other Middle Eastern and North African Jewish communities, had a special affinity for Henna due to biblical and Talmudic references. Henna, in the Bible, is Camphire, and is mentioned in the Song of Solomon, as well as in the Talmud.
Rashi, a Jewish scholar from 11th c France, interpreted this passage that the clusters of henna flowers were a metaphor for forgiveness and absolution, showing that God forgave those who tested Him (the Beloved) in the desert. Henna was grown as a hedgerow around vineyards to hold soil against wind erosion in Israel as it was in other countries. A henna hedge with dense thorny branches protected a vulnerable, valuable crop such as a vineyard from hungry animals. The hedge, which protected and defended the vineyard, also had clusters of fragrant flowers. This would imply a metaphor for henna of a "beloved", who defends, shelters, and delights his lover. In the first millennium BCE, in Canaanite Israel, henna was closely associated with human sexuality and love, and the divine coupling of goddess and consort.[22]
Religious traditions
Yemenite Jews and the Aramaic speaking Kurdish Jews [15]) are the only communities who maintain the tradition of reading the Torah in the synagogue in both Hebrew and the Aramaic Targum ("translation"). Most non-Yemenite synagogues have a hired or specified person called a Baal Koreh, who reads from the Torah scroll when congregants are called to the Torah scroll for an aliyah. In the Yemenite tradition each person called to the Torah scroll for an aliyah reads for himself. Children under the age of Bar Mitzvah are often given the sixth aliyah. Each verse of the Torah read in Hebrew is followed by the Aramaic translation, usually chanted by a child. Both the sixth aliyah and the Targum have a simplified melody, distinct from the general Torah melody used for the other aliyot.
Like most other Jewish communities, Yemenite Jews chant different melodies for Torah, Prophets (Haftara), Megillat Aicha (Book of Lamentations), Kohelet (Ecclesiastes, read during Sukkot), and Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther read on Purim). Unlike in Ashkenazic communities, there are melodies for Mishle (Proverbs) and Psalms.[16]
In larger Jewish communities, such as Sana'a and Sad'a, boys were sent to the Ma'lamed at the age of three to begin their religious learning. They attended the Ma'lamed from early dawn to sunset Sunday through Thursday and until noon on Friday. Jewish women were required to have a thorough knowledge of the laws pertaining to Kashrut and Taharat Mishpachah (family purity) i.e. Niddah. Some women even mastered the laws of Shechita, thereby acting as ritual slaughterers.
People also sat on the floors of synagogues instead of chairs, similar to the way many other non-Ashkenazi Jews sit in synagogues, and the way Yemeni Muslims sit in mosques. (In fact to this day, chairs are quite rare in Yemen) This is in accordance with what Rambam (Maimonides) wrote in his Mishneh Torah:
Like Yemenite Jewish homes, the synagogues in Yemen had to be lower in height than the lowest mosque in the area. In order to accommodate this, synagogues were built into the ground to give them more space without looking large from the outside. In some parts of Yemen, minyanim would often just meet in homes of Jews instead of the community having a separate building for a synagogue. Beauty and artwork were saved for the ritual objects in the synagogue and in the home.
Like most other Jewish communities, Yemenite Jews chant different melodies for Torah, Prophets (Haftara), Megillat Aicha (Book of Lamentations), Kohelet (Ecclesiastes, read during Sukkot), and Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther read on Purim). Unlike in Ashkenazic communities, there are melodies for Mishle (Proverbs) and Psalms.[16]
In larger Jewish communities, such as Sana'a and Sad'a, boys were sent to the Ma'lamed at the age of three to begin their religious learning. They attended the Ma'lamed from early dawn to sunset Sunday through Thursday and until noon on Friday. Jewish women were required to have a thorough knowledge of the laws pertaining to Kashrut and Taharat Mishpachah (family purity) i.e. Niddah. Some women even mastered the laws of Shechita, thereby acting as ritual slaughterers.
People also sat on the floors of synagogues instead of chairs, similar to the way many other non-Ashkenazi Jews sit in synagogues, and the way Yemeni Muslims sit in mosques. (In fact to this day, chairs are quite rare in Yemen) This is in accordance with what Rambam (Maimonides) wrote in his Mishneh Torah:
- "We are to practise respect in synagogues... and all of the People of Israel in Spain, and in the West, and in the area of Iraq, and in the Land of Israel, are accustomed to light lanterns in the synagogues, and to lay out mats on the ground, in order to sit upon them. But in the cities of Edom (portions of Europe), there they sit on chairs."
- - Hilchot Tefila 11:5
- "..and because of this (prostration) all of Israel is accustomed to lay mats in their synagogues on the stone floors, or types of straw and hay, to separate between their faces and the stones."
- - Hilchot Avodah Zarah 6:7
Like Yemenite Jewish homes, the synagogues in Yemen had to be lower in height than the lowest mosque in the area. In order to accommodate this, synagogues were built into the ground to give them more space without looking large from the outside. In some parts of Yemen, minyanim would often just meet in homes of Jews instead of the community having a separate building for a synagogue. Beauty and artwork were saved for the ritual objects in the synagogue and in the home.
Kingdom of Aksum (520 - 570 CE)
Around 517/8, a Jewish king called Yusuf Asar Yathar (also known as Dhu Nuwas) usurped the kingship of Himyar from Ma`adkarib Ya`fur. Interestingly, Pseudo-Zacharias of Mytilene (fl. late 6th century) says that Yusuf became king because the previous king had died in winter, when the Aksumites could not cross the Red Sea and appoint another king. Ma`adkarib Ya`fur's long title puts its truthfulness in doubt, however.[12] Upon gaining power, Yusuf attacked the Aksumite garrison in Thifar, the Himyarite capital, killing many and destroying the church there.[13][14] The Christian King Kaleb of Axum learned of Dhu Nuwas's persecutions of Christians and Aksumites, and, according to Procopius, was further encouraged by his ally and fellow Christian Justin I of Byzantium, who requested Aksum's help to cut off silk supplies as part of his economic war against the Persians.[15]
Kaleb sent a fleet across the Red Sea and was able to defeat Dhu Nuwas, who was killed in battle according to an inscription from Husn al-Ghurab, while later Arab tradition has him riding his horse into the sea.[16] Kaleb installed a native Himyarite viceroy, Sumyafa` Ashwa`, who ruled until 525, when he was deposed by the Aksumite general (or soldier and former slave[17]) Abraha with the support of disgruntled Ethiopian soldiers.[14][18] According to the later Arabic sources, Kaleb retaliated by sending a force of 3,000 men under a relative, but the troops defected and killed their leader, and a second attempt at reigning in the rebellious Abraha also failed.[19][20] Later Ethiopian sources state that Kaleb abdicated to live out his years in a monastery and sent his crown to be hung in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. While uncertain, it seems to be supported by the die-links between his coins and those of his successor, Alla Amidas. An inscription of Sumyafa` Ashwa` also mentions two kings (nagaśt) of Aksum, indicating that the two may have co-ruled for a while before Kaleb abdicated in favor of Alla Amidas.[19]
Procopius notes that Abraha later submitted to Kaleb's successor, as supported by the former's inscription in 543 stating Aksum before the territories directly under his control. During his reign, Abraha repaired the Marib Dam in 543, and received embassies from Persia and Byzantium, including a request to free some bishops who had been imprisoned at Nisbis (according to John of Epheseus's Life of Simeon).[19][21] Abraha ruled until at least 547, sometime after which he was succeeded by his son, Aksum. Aksum (called "Yaksum" in Arabic sources) was perplexingly referred to as "of Ma'afir" (ḏū maʻāfir), the southwestern coast of Yemen, in Abraha's Marib dam inscription, and was succeeded by his brother, Masruq. Aksumite control in Yemen ended in 570 with the invasion of the elder Sassanid general Vahriz who, according to later legends, famously killed Masruq with his well-aimed arrow.[22]
Later Arabic sources also say that Abraha constructed a great Church called al-Qulays at Sana'a in order to divert pilgrimage from the Kaaba and have him die in the Year of the Elephant (570) after returning from a failed attack on Mecca (though he is thought to have died before this time).[17] The exact chronology of the early wars are uncertain, as a 525 inscription mentions the death of a King of Himyar, which could refer either to the Himyarite viceroy of Aksum, Sumyafa` Ashwa`, or to Yusuf Asar Yathar. The later Arabic histories also mention a conflict between Abraha and another Aksumite general named Aryat occurring in 525 as leading to the rebellion.[14]
Kaleb sent a fleet across the Red Sea and was able to defeat Dhu Nuwas, who was killed in battle according to an inscription from Husn al-Ghurab, while later Arab tradition has him riding his horse into the sea.[16] Kaleb installed a native Himyarite viceroy, Sumyafa` Ashwa`, who ruled until 525, when he was deposed by the Aksumite general (or soldier and former slave[17]) Abraha with the support of disgruntled Ethiopian soldiers.[14][18] According to the later Arabic sources, Kaleb retaliated by sending a force of 3,000 men under a relative, but the troops defected and killed their leader, and a second attempt at reigning in the rebellious Abraha also failed.[19][20] Later Ethiopian sources state that Kaleb abdicated to live out his years in a monastery and sent his crown to be hung in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. While uncertain, it seems to be supported by the die-links between his coins and those of his successor, Alla Amidas. An inscription of Sumyafa` Ashwa` also mentions two kings (nagaśt) of Aksum, indicating that the two may have co-ruled for a while before Kaleb abdicated in favor of Alla Amidas.[19]
Procopius notes that Abraha later submitted to Kaleb's successor, as supported by the former's inscription in 543 stating Aksum before the territories directly under his control. During his reign, Abraha repaired the Marib Dam in 543, and received embassies from Persia and Byzantium, including a request to free some bishops who had been imprisoned at Nisbis (according to John of Epheseus's Life of Simeon).[19][21] Abraha ruled until at least 547, sometime after which he was succeeded by his son, Aksum. Aksum (called "Yaksum" in Arabic sources) was perplexingly referred to as "of Ma'afir" (ḏū maʻāfir), the southwestern coast of Yemen, in Abraha's Marib dam inscription, and was succeeded by his brother, Masruq. Aksumite control in Yemen ended in 570 with the invasion of the elder Sassanid general Vahriz who, according to later legends, famously killed Masruq with his well-aimed arrow.[22]
Later Arabic sources also say that Abraha constructed a great Church called al-Qulays at Sana'a in order to divert pilgrimage from the Kaaba and have him die in the Year of the Elephant (570) after returning from a failed attack on Mecca (though he is thought to have died before this time).[17] The exact chronology of the early wars are uncertain, as a 525 inscription mentions the death of a King of Himyar, which could refer either to the Himyarite viceroy of Aksum, Sumyafa` Ashwa`, or to Yusuf Asar Yathar. The later Arabic histories also mention a conflict between Abraha and another Aksumite general named Aryat occurring in 525 as leading to the rebellion.[14]
Kingdom of Himyar (2nd Century BCE - 525 CE)
The Himyarites had united Southwestern Arabia, controlling the Red Sea as well as the coasts of the Gulf of Aden. From their capital city, the Himyarite Kings launched successful military campaigns, and had stretched its domain at times as far east to the Persian Gulf and as far north to the Arabian Desert.
During the 3rd century CE, the South Arabian kingdoms were in continuous conflict with one another. GDRT of Aksum began to interfere in South Arabian affairs, signing an alliance with Saba', and a Himyarite text notes that Hadramaut and Qataban were also all allied against the kingdom. As a result of this, the Kingdom of Aksum was able to capture the Himyarite capital of Thifar in the first quarter of the 3rd century. However, the alliances did not last, and Sha`ir Awtar of Saba' unexpectedly turned on Hadramaut, allying again with Aksum and taking its capital in 225. Himyar then allied with Saba' and invaded the newly taken Aksumite territories, retaking Thifar, which had been under the control of GDRT's son BYGT, and pushing Aksum back into the Tihama.[10][11]
They established their capital at Thifar (now just a small village in the Ibb region) and gradually absorbed the Sabaean kingdom. They traded from the port of Mawza'a on the Red Sea. Dhu Nuwas, a Himyarite king, changed the state religion to Judaism in the beginning of the 6th century and began to massacre the Christians. Outraged, Kaleb, the Christian King of Aksum with the encouragement of the Byzantine Emperor Justin I invaded and annexed Yemen. About fifty years later, Yemen fell to Persia.
During the 3rd century CE, the South Arabian kingdoms were in continuous conflict with one another. GDRT of Aksum began to interfere in South Arabian affairs, signing an alliance with Saba', and a Himyarite text notes that Hadramaut and Qataban were also all allied against the kingdom. As a result of this, the Kingdom of Aksum was able to capture the Himyarite capital of Thifar in the first quarter of the 3rd century. However, the alliances did not last, and Sha`ir Awtar of Saba' unexpectedly turned on Hadramaut, allying again with Aksum and taking its capital in 225. Himyar then allied with Saba' and invaded the newly taken Aksumite territories, retaking Thifar, which had been under the control of GDRT's son BYGT, and pushing Aksum back into the Tihama.[10][11]
They established their capital at Thifar (now just a small village in the Ibb region) and gradually absorbed the Sabaean kingdom. They traded from the port of Mawza'a on the Red Sea. Dhu Nuwas, a Himyarite king, changed the state religion to Judaism in the beginning of the 6th century and began to massacre the Christians. Outraged, Kaleb, the Christian King of Aksum with the encouragement of the Byzantine Emperor Justin I invaded and annexed Yemen. About fifty years later, Yemen fell to Persia.
Kingdom of Hadhramaut (8th century BCE - 300 CE)
The first known inscriptions of Hadramaut are known from the 8th century BCE. It was first referenced by an outside civilization in an Old Sabaic inscription of Karab'il Watar from the early 7th century BCE, in which the King of Hadramaut, Yada`'il, is mentioned as being one of his allies. When the Minaeans took control of the caravan routes in the 4th century BCE, however, Hadramaut became one of its confederates, probably because of commercial interests. It later became independent and was invaded by the growing kingdom of Himyar toward the end of the 1st century BCE, but it was able to repel the attack. Hadramaut annexed Qataban in the second half of the 2nd century AD, reaching its greatest size. During this period, Hadramaut was continuously at war with Himyar and Saba', and the Sabaean king Sha`irum Awtar was even able to take its capital, Shabwa, in 225. During this period the Kingdom of Aksum began to interfere in South Arabian affairs. King GDRT of Aksum acted by dispatching troops under his son, BYGT, sending them from the western coast to occupy Thifar, the Himyarite capital, as well as from the southern coast against Hadramaut as Sabaean allies. The kingdom of Hadramaut was eventually conquered by the Himyarite king Shammar Yuhar`ish around 300 CE, unifying all of the south Arabic kingdoms.[8]
Kingdom of Ma'in (8th century BCE - 100 BCE)
During Minaean rule the capital was at Karna (now known as Sadah). Their other important city was Yathill (now known as Baraqish). Other parts of modern Yemen include Qataban and the coastal string of watering stations known as the Hadhramaut. Though Saba' dominated in the earlier period of South Arabian history, Minaic inscriptions are of the same time period as the first Sabaic inscriptions. Note, however, that they pre-date the appearance of the Minaeans themselves, and, hence, are called now more appropriately as "Madhabic" rather than "Minaic". The Minaean Kingdom was centered in northwestern Yemen, with most of its cities laying along the Wadi Madhab. Minaic inscriptions have been found far afield of the Kingdom of Ma'in, as far away as al-`Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia and even on the island of Delos and in Egypt. It was the first of the South Arabian kingdoms to end, and the Minaic language died around 100 CE.[9]
Kingdom of Qataban (4th century BCE - 200 CE)
Qataban was one of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms which thrived in the Baihan valley. Like the other Southern Arabian kingdoms it gained great wealth from the trade of frankincense and myrrh incense which were burned at altars. The capital of Qataban was named Timna and was located on the trade route which passed through the other kingdoms of Hadramaut, Saba and Ma'in. The chief deity of the Qatabanians was Amm, or "Uncle" and the people called themselves the "children of Amm".
Sabaean language
The Sabaean (or Sabaic) language was an Old South Arabian language spoken in Yemen from c. 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE, by the Sabaeans; it was used as a written language by some other peoples (sha`bs) of Ancient Yemen, including the Hashidites, Sirwahites, Humlanites, Ghaymanites, Himyarites, Radmanites etc.[1] It was written in the South Arabian alphabet.
The South Arabic alphabet used in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Yemen beginning in the 8th century BCE (all three locations) later evolved into the Ge'ez alphabet. Ge'ez language is no longer thought, as previously assumed, to be an offshoot of Sabaean or Old South Arabian[2], and there is linguistic evidence of Semitic languages being spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia since at least 2000 BC.[3]
The South Arabic alphabet used in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Yemen beginning in the 8th century BCE (all three locations) later evolved into the Ge'ez alphabet. Ge'ez language is no longer thought, as previously assumed, to be an offshoot of Sabaean or Old South Arabian[2], and there is linguistic evidence of Semitic languages being spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia since at least 2000 BC.[3]
Ancient history of Yemen
The ancient history of Yemen (South Arabia) is especially important because Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East.[1] Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon Arabia (better known in its Latin translation, Arabia Felix) meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy Arabia. Between the 8th century BCE and the 6th century CE, it was dominated by six main states which rivaled each other, or were allied with each other and controlled the lucrative spice trade: Saba, Ma'in, Qataban, Hadhramaut, Awsan, and Himyar.[2] Islam arrived in 630 CE, and Yemen became part of the Muslim realm.
Pre Dynastic Qahtan (3rd millennium BC - 8th century BC)
According to some hypotheses, in the 3rd millennium BC the Arabs of the southern Arabian peninsula united under the leadership of Qahtan.[3] The Qahtanis began building simple earth dams and canals in the Marib area in the Sayhad desert. This area would later become the site of the Dam of Marib. A trade route began to flourish along the Red Sea coasts of Tihama. An order of high priests appeared in South Arabian culture who are referred to as the Mukkaribs of the "Sabeans"[4] represented by local tribal leaders who came to rule South Arabia and some parts of East Africa. This period witnessed the reign of the legendary Queen Bilqis mentioned in the Bible/Quran.[5] This period ended with the arrival of the alphabet in the 9th century BC. A variant of the Phoenician script, this will lead to the recording of the South Arabian history.
Kingdom of Saba (8th century BCE - 275 CE)Kingdom of Saba (8th century BCE - 275 CE)
During Sabaean rule, trade and agriculture flourished generating much wealth and prosperity. The Sabaean kingdom is located in what is now the Aseer region in southwestern Yemen, and its capital, Ma'rib, is located near what is now Yemen's modern capital, Sana'a.[6] According to Arab tradition, the eldest son of Noah, Shem, founded the city of Ma'rib.
During Sabaean rule, Yemen was called "Arabia Felix" by the Romans who were impressed by its wealth and prosperity. The Roman emperor Augustus sent a military expedition to conquer the "Arabia Felix", under the orders of Aelius Gallus. After an unsuccessful siege of Ma'rib, the Roman general retreated to Egypt, while his fleet destroyed the port of Aden in order to guarantee the Roman merchant route to India.
The success of the Kingdom was based on the cultivation and trade of spices and aromatics including frankincense and myrrh. These were exported to the Mediterranean, India, and Abyssinia where they were greatly prized by many cultures, using camels on routes through Arabia, and to India by sea.
Agriculture in Yemen thrived during this time due to an advanced irrigation system which consisted of large water tunnels in mountains, and dams. The most impressive of these earthworks, known as the Ma'rib Dam was built ca. 700 BCE, provided irrigation for about 25,000 acres (101 km²) of land[7] and stood for over a millennium, finally collapsing in 570 CE after centuries of neglect. The final destruction of the dam is noted in the Qur'an and the consequent failure of the irrigation system provoked the migration of up to 50,000 people.
The Sabaean kingdom, with its capital at Ma'rib where the remains of a large temple can still be seen, thrived for almost 14 centuries. Some have argued that this kingdom was the Sheba described in the Old Testament.
During Sabaean rule, Yemen was called "Arabia Felix" by the Romans who were impressed by its wealth and prosperity. The Roman emperor Augustus sent a military expedition to conquer the "Arabia Felix", under the orders of Aelius Gallus. After an unsuccessful siege of Ma'rib, the Roman general retreated to Egypt, while his fleet destroyed the port of Aden in order to guarantee the Roman merchant route to India.
The success of the Kingdom was based on the cultivation and trade of spices and aromatics including frankincense and myrrh. These were exported to the Mediterranean, India, and Abyssinia where they were greatly prized by many cultures, using camels on routes through Arabia, and to India by sea.
Agriculture in Yemen thrived during this time due to an advanced irrigation system which consisted of large water tunnels in mountains, and dams. The most impressive of these earthworks, known as the Ma'rib Dam was built ca. 700 BCE, provided irrigation for about 25,000 acres (101 km²) of land[7] and stood for over a millennium, finally collapsing in 570 CE after centuries of neglect. The final destruction of the dam is noted in the Qur'an and the consequent failure of the irrigation system provoked the migration of up to 50,000 people.
The Sabaean kingdom, with its capital at Ma'rib where the remains of a large temple can still be seen, thrived for almost 14 centuries. Some have argued that this kingdom was the Sheba described in the Old Testament.
Yemen Times
The Yemen Times is unified Yemen's first and most widely-read independent English-language newspaper. The paper is published twice-weekly (on Mondays and Thursdays) and has its own printing press, advertising associates and news service.
It was founded in 1991 by Professor Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, a leading economist and human-rights activist, who was also its editor and publisher until he died in a traffic accident in 1999. In the paper's mission statement, he wrote that: "We use the Yemen Times to make Yemen a good world citizen."[1]
The Yemen Times has offices and correspondents all over the country. It supports press freedom, respect for human rights, political pluralism and democracy. It promotes non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other forms of civil-society organizations. At the economic front, it supports liberalization and open interaction with other nations. The paper and its editor were awarded the NPC's International Award for Freedom of the Press for 1995.[1]
It is worth noting that the first national English-language Yemeni newspapers were published in 1960s in Aden. These were Aden Chronicle by Mohammed Ali Luqmān and The Recorder by Muhmmad Bā-Sharāhīl. The publication of these and their sister Arabic-language newspapers Fatāt ul-Jazīrah and Al-’Ayyām (see website: http://www.al-ayyam.info/) ceased when the National Front for the Liberation of South Yemen (NLF) took power in the then People's Republic of South Yemen, (PRSY) (later known as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, PDRY) in 1967. The publication of Al-’Ayyām was resumed after the unification of the two sectors of Yemen in 1990.[2]
It was founded in 1991 by Professor Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, a leading economist and human-rights activist, who was also its editor and publisher until he died in a traffic accident in 1999. In the paper's mission statement, he wrote that: "We use the Yemen Times to make Yemen a good world citizen."[1]
The Yemen Times has offices and correspondents all over the country. It supports press freedom, respect for human rights, political pluralism and democracy. It promotes non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other forms of civil-society organizations. At the economic front, it supports liberalization and open interaction with other nations. The paper and its editor were awarded the NPC's International Award for Freedom of the Press for 1995.[1]
It is worth noting that the first national English-language Yemeni newspapers were published in 1960s in Aden. These were Aden Chronicle by Mohammed Ali Luqmān and The Recorder by Muhmmad Bā-Sharāhīl. The publication of these and their sister Arabic-language newspapers Fatāt ul-Jazīrah and Al-’Ayyām (see website: http://www.al-ayyam.info/) ceased when the National Front for the Liberation of South Yemen (NLF) took power in the then People's Republic of South Yemen, (PRSY) (later known as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, PDRY) in 1967. The publication of Al-’Ayyām was resumed after the unification of the two sectors of Yemen in 1990.[2]
Military service
In 2001 Yemen’s National Defense Council abolished the existing two-year compulsory military service, relying instead on volunteers to fill posts in the military and security forces. In 2007 the government announced it would reinstate the draft to counter unemployment; approximately 70,000 new recruits are expected to join the military.[2]
Military manpower - military age:[3] 18 year of age
Military manpower - availability:[3] males age 18-49: 4,058,223 (2008 est.) females age 18-49: 3,868,112 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:[3] males age 18-49: 2,790,705 (2008 est.) females age 18-49: 2,792,406 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:[3] males: 236,517 (2008 est.) females: 230,641 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - military age:[3] 18 year of age
Military manpower - availability:[3] males age 18-49: 4,058,223 (2008 est.) females age 18-49: 3,868,112 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:[3] males age 18-49: 2,790,705 (2008 est.) females age 18-49: 2,792,406 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:[3] males: 236,517 (2008 est.) females: 230,641 (2005 est.)
Branches
Yemen’s military is divided into an army, navy, and air force. The army is organized into eight armored brigades, 16 infantry brigades, six mechanized brigades, two airborne commando brigades, one surface-to-surface missile brigade, three artillery brigades, one central guard force, one Special Forces brigade, and six air defense brigades, which consist of four antiaircraft artillery battalions and one surface-to-air missile battalion. The navy’s major bases are located in Aden and Al Hudaydah; there are also bases in Al Mukalla, Perim Island, and Socotra that maintain naval support equipment. The air force includes an air defense force.[2]
The supreme commander of the armed forces is Field Marshal, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the President of the Republic of Yemen. Yemen recently placed an order for TOR air defence systems, which will be far more advanced than the current air defense systems in place. The TOR order has been completed. The Yemeni army has a strength of 70,000 troops.[1]
Yemen's navy uses +2,000 officers and seamen to support their main bases at Aden and Hodeida. A naval fortress is in construction at Hodeida.
The supreme commander of the armed forces is Field Marshal, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the President of the Republic of Yemen. Yemen recently placed an order for TOR air defence systems, which will be far more advanced than the current air defense systems in place. The TOR order has been completed. The Yemeni army has a strength of 70,000 troops.[1]
Yemen's navy uses +2,000 officers and seamen to support their main bases at Aden and Hodeida. A naval fortress is in construction at Hodeida.
1994 Civil War
During the 1994 civil war in Yemen almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and financial assistance, mostly from Saudi Arabia, which felt threatened by a united Yemen. The United States repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful to effect a cease-fire.
Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on 21 May 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on 7 July 1994.[1] Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.[1]
Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on 21 May 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on 7 July 1994.[1] Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.[1]
Chemical Warfare during North Yemen Civil War
The first attack took place on June 8, 1963 against Kawma, a village of about 100 inhabitants in northern Yemen, killing about seven people and damaging the eyes and lungs of twenty-five others. This incident is considered to have been experimental, and the bombs were described as "home-made, amateurish and relatively ineffective". The Egyptian authorities suggested that the reported incidents were probably caused by napalm, not gas. The Israeli Foreign Minister, Golda Meir, suggested in an interview that Nasser would not hesitate to use gas against Israel as well.
There were no reports of gas during 1964, and only a few were reported in 1965. The reports grew more frequent in late 1966. On December 11, 1966, fifteen gas bombs killed two people and injured thirty-five. On January 5, 1967, the biggest gas attack came against the village of Kitaf, causing 270 casualties, including 140 fatalities. The target may have been Prince Hassan bin Yahya, who had installed his headquarters nearby. The Egyptian government denied using poison gas, and alleged that Britain and the US were using the reports as psychological warfare against Egypt. On February 12, 1967, it said it would welcome a UN investigation. On March 1, U Thant said he was "powerless" to deal with the matter.
On May 10, the twin villages of Gahar and Gadafa in Wadi Hirran, where Prince Mohamed bin Mohsin was in command, were gas bombed, killing at least seventy-five. The Red Cross was alerted and on June 2, it issued a statement in Geneva expressing concern. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Berne made a statement, based on a Red Cross report, that the gas was likely to have been halogenous derivatives - phosgene, mustard gas, lewisite, chloride or cyanogen bromide.
The gas attacks stopped for three weeks after the Six-Day War of June, but resumed on July, against all parts of royalist Yemen. Casualty estimates vary, and an assumption, considered conservative, is that the mustard and phosgene-filled aerial bombs caused approximately 1,500 fatalities and 1,500 injuries.
There were no reports of gas during 1964, and only a few were reported in 1965. The reports grew more frequent in late 1966. On December 11, 1966, fifteen gas bombs killed two people and injured thirty-five. On January 5, 1967, the biggest gas attack came against the village of Kitaf, causing 270 casualties, including 140 fatalities. The target may have been Prince Hassan bin Yahya, who had installed his headquarters nearby. The Egyptian government denied using poison gas, and alleged that Britain and the US were using the reports as psychological warfare against Egypt. On February 12, 1967, it said it would welcome a UN investigation. On March 1, U Thant said he was "powerless" to deal with the matter.
On May 10, the twin villages of Gahar and Gadafa in Wadi Hirran, where Prince Mohamed bin Mohsin was in command, were gas bombed, killing at least seventy-five. The Red Cross was alerted and on June 2, it issued a statement in Geneva expressing concern. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Berne made a statement, based on a Red Cross report, that the gas was likely to have been halogenous derivatives - phosgene, mustard gas, lewisite, chloride or cyanogen bromide.
The gas attacks stopped for three weeks after the Six-Day War of June, but resumed on July, against all parts of royalist Yemen. Casualty estimates vary, and an assumption, considered conservative, is that the mustard and phosgene-filled aerial bombs caused approximately 1,500 fatalities and 1,500 injuries.
North Yemen Civil War
The North Yemen Civil War begun in 1962 and ended in 1970. It took place between the North Yemen republican forces and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. The Royalists received support from Saudi Arabia and Jordan while the Republicans received support from Egypt and the Soviet Union. Saudi Arabia helped to hire hundreds of European mercenaries and at times the Royalists used local tribesmen. The Republicans also used about 55,000 Egyptian troops.
The Royalists were commanded by Imam Al-Badr of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, Faisal ibn Abdelaziz from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Hussein bin Talal from the Kingdom of Jordan.
The Republican commanders were Gamal Abdel Nasser and Abdel Hakim Amer from Egypt and Abdullah as-Sallal from the North Yemen republic. During the conflict over 50,000 of Egypt's troops were tied down in Yemen, which proved to be a disadvantage to Egypt during the Six-day war in 1967. The war concluded when the Republican forces won, and this resulted in transformation of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen into North Yemen. Over 100,000 died on both sides during the conflict.
The Royalists were commanded by Imam Al-Badr of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, Faisal ibn Abdelaziz from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Hussein bin Talal from the Kingdom of Jordan.
The Republican commanders were Gamal Abdel Nasser and Abdel Hakim Amer from Egypt and Abdullah as-Sallal from the North Yemen republic. During the conflict over 50,000 of Egypt's troops were tied down in Yemen, which proved to be a disadvantage to Egypt during the Six-day war in 1967. The war concluded when the Republican forces won, and this resulted in transformation of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen into North Yemen. Over 100,000 died on both sides during the conflict.
Military of Yemen
he number of military personnel in Yemen is relatively high; in sum, Yemen has the second largest military force on the Arabian Peninsula after Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s military consists of an army, navy, air force, and reserves. In 2007 total active troops were estimated as follows: army, 66,000; navy, 7000; and air force, 5,000. In September 2007, the government announced the reinstatement of compulsory military service. Yemen’s defense budget, which in 2006 represented approximately 40 percent of the total government budget, is expected to remain high for the near term, as the military draft takes effect and internal security threats continue to escalate.
The military of Yemen includes the Yemen Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Yemen Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Jamahiriya al Yemeniya; includes Air Defense Force) (2008). About 40% of the country's GDP accounts for defense spending. A major reorganization of the armed forces continues. The unified air forces and air defenses are now under one command. The navy has concentrated in Aden. Total armed forces manning numbers about 89,500, including conscripts. The Yemen Arab Republic and The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen joined to form the Republic of Yemen on 22 May 1990.[1]
The military of Yemen includes the Yemen Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Yemen Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Jamahiriya al Yemeniya; includes Air Defense Force) (2008). About 40% of the country's GDP accounts for defense spending. A major reorganization of the armed forces continues. The unified air forces and air defenses are now under one command. The navy has concentrated in Aden. Total armed forces manning numbers about 89,500, including conscripts. The Yemen Arab Republic and The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen joined to form the Republic of Yemen on 22 May 1990.[1]
The Jews of Yemen
1948 Jewish population: 55,000 (in Aden: another 8,000)
2003: 2001
In 1947, after the partition vote, Muslim rioters, joined by the local police force, engaged in a bloody pogrom in Aden that killed 82 Jews and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes. Aden's Jewish community was economically paralyzed, as most of the Jewish stores and businesses were destroyed. Early in 1948, the false accusation of the ritual murder of two girls led to looting.2
For a short time, Jewish organizations were allowed to travel openly within Yemen, distributing Hebrew books and materials to the Jewish community.3
Today, Jews are the only indigenous religious minority besides a small number of Christians, Hindus and Baha'is. The small community that remains in the northern area of Yemen is tolerated and allowed to practice Judaism. However, its members are still treated as second-class citizens and cannot serve in the army or be elected to political positions. Jews are traditionally restricted to living in one section of a city or village and are often confined to a limited choice of employment, usually farming or handicrafts. Jews may, and do, own property.4
|
During the past few years, about 400 Jews have immigrated to Israel, despite the official ban on emigration.5
The State Department reported that in mid-2000 "the Government suspended its policy of allowing Yemeni-origin Israeli passport holders to travel to Yemen on laissez-passer documents. However, Yemeni, Israeli, and other Jews may travel freely to and within Yemen on non-Israeli passports."6
In January 2001, the ruling "General People's Party" placed a Yemeni Jewish citizen on the slate for parliamentary elections for the first time. The candidate, Ibrahim Ezer, was reportedly recommended by President Ali Abdallah Salah as a gesture to the incoming Bush administration in a bid to receive economic aid for Yemen. The General Election Committee, subsequently rejected Ezer's application on grounds that a candidate must be the child of two Muslim parents. Political analysts speculated that the true reason was a desire not to establish a precedent of allowing a Jew to run for office.7
In 2008, in response to multiple violent attacks on Jewish citizens, including the murder of Rabbi Moshe Yaish Nahara'i by an Islamist radical, President Ali Abdallah Salah planned to relocate the Jewish community members from the Amran district and the city of Raidah to the capital, Sana. Once there, each Jewish family would receive a plot of land and join the community of around 50 Jews already transferred to the capital city in 2007. In Sana, the Jews faced less danger of attack from their Muslim neighbors as the government maintains law and order.8
In 2009, also in response to the heightened threat to the Jewish community from Islamist radicals, the United Jewish Communities, the US State Department, local federations, and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society began working together to implement the evacuation of close to half of the remaining Jewish population in Yemen. 110 Yemenite Jews were scheduled to be evacuated over the course of two weeks in March 2009 . The expense of absorbing the immigrants would be $800,000 that would go towards resettlement costs including food, housing, and social-service programs.9
Notes
1. David Singer and Lawrence Grossman, Eds. American Jewish Year Book 2003. NY: American Jewish Committee, 2003.
2. Howard Sachar, A History of Israel, (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), pp. 397-98; Maurice Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, (Tel Aviv: World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries, 1977), pp. 32-33; Norman Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times, (NY: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), p. 498.
4. Jewish Communities of the World; U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997.
YEMEN: Government planning to curb population growth
Mujahed al-Shaab, head of the NPC's Population Information Department, said the NPC had prepared the plan, which will run until 2010, with the help of 22 governmental and non-governmental bodies.
"The strategy needs US$8 million to be implemented. Half of this amount would be contributed by donors and the other half by the government," he told IRIN.
He said the plan involved raising awareness about population issues by training religious and community leaders (as well participants in awareness-raising campaigns), preparing TV and radio programmes, and adding population studies to curriculums at schools, universities and other academic institutions.
Al-Shaab said the NPC aimed to reduce the current fertility rate from 6.1 to 4.0 percent by 2015. "But this depends on whether we get funds for the strategy," he said.
He pointed out that Yemen's population is increasing by 700,000 every year.
Free family planning services
Al-Shaab said efforts would be made to offer free family planning services. "Family planning efforts should run in parallel with raising awareness. Over 80 percent of the population know about family planning methods, but the problem lies in practice," he said.
He said some thought family planning would lead to health problems and that it was not allowed in Islam.
According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) office in Sanaa, Yemen's population may reach 60 million (three times the current figure) in 2050 if the high annual growth rate continues at 3.01 percent. Under this scenario 2.2 million new jobs would be needed, and there would be 14.7 million children in primary school, requiring 490,000 teachers.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked 153 out of 177 countries in the UN Development Programmes’ Human Development Index) and specialists warn that population growth poses developmental challenges in a country which, despite booming oil revenues, imports 75 percent of its food and already suffers acute water shortages.
Freedom in the World - Yemen (2007)
Yemen held presidential and local council elections in September 2006. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was reelected with 77 percent of the vote, and his party, the General People’s Congress, overwhelmingly won the municipal elections. The balloting was marred by some violence and opposition accusations of fraud. Serious press freedom violations, including the closure of newspapers and detention of journalists, also accompanied the election season.
As the site of the ancient Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, Yemen has a history stretching back nearly 3,000 years. For centuries after the advent of Islam, a series of dynastic imams controlled most of northern Yemen and parts of southern Yemen. The Ottoman Empire ruled many of the cities from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century, and the British controlled areas in the southern part of the country, including the port of Aden, beginning in the nineteenth century.
After the imam was ousted in a 1960s civil war and the British left the south in 1967, Yemen remained divided into two countries, the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). The two states ultimately unified in 1990 after decades of conflict and tension. In the face of widespread poverty and illiteracy, tribal influences that limit the central government’s authority in certain parts of the country, a heavily armed citizenry, and the threat of Islamist terrorism, Yemen has managed to take limited steps to improve the status of political rights and civil liberties in the years since unification.
Yemen’s April 2003 parliamentary election, its third in a decade, took place despite concerns that popular unrest resulting from the war in Iraq might lead to a postponement. International election observers noted that Yemen had made substantial improvements in electoral management and administration.
In September 2006, Yemen held its second presidential election since unification. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was reelected, receiving 77 percent of the vote. That year marked his 29th as president, since he had served as North Yemen’s leader before unification. He had become Yemen’s first directly elected president in 1999, winning more than 96 percent of the vote. The 2006 election was the first in which a serious opposition candidate challenged the incumbent. Saleh’s main opponent, Faisal Ben Shamlan, was supported by a coalition of Islamist and opposition parties and received 22 percent of the vote. Final results for the concurrent local elections indicated that the ruling Grand People’s Congress (GPC) party won more than 80 percent of the vote for the provincial councils and 70 percent for the district councils.
The election period was marred by a number of deaths. In September, 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a stampede broke out at a stadium packed with thousands of Saleh supporters. Days before the balloting, eight voters were killed in election-related violence.
The European Union’s Election Observation Mission, which monitored the elections, characterized them as “free and fair” even though the opposition rejected the initial count and threatened to call for large street demonstrations to protest alleged voter manipulation and fraud. The election secured Saleh’s rule for another seven years, and opened the door for the possible political candidacy of his son.
Yemen has faced security challenges from terrorist and secessionist movements over the past decade. There were minor clashes in 2006 in the northern region of Saada as part of an uprising by some members of Yemen’s large community of Zaidi Shiite Muslims. Hundreds have been killed since fighting broke out in 2004. The clashes temporarily declined after the September 2004 death of Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthi, a Zaidi cleric who had led the movement, but a second round of violence broke out in the spring of 2005. Separately, in September 2006, five days before the presidential election, Yemeni security forces foiled two simultaneous suicide attacks on oil facilities. The authorities blamed the attempts on militants linked to the Sunni Muslim terrorist group al-Qaeda. Oil exports accounted for 70 percent of the national budget, and the loss of that revenue would have been catastrophic.
Yemen continues to be plagued by serious economic problems, including widespread poverty. Economic growth has been slow, and according to the World Bank, 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. In March 2005, Yemen experienced two days of demonstrations over the introduction of a sales tax. During that period, dozens of Yemenis were killed in riots when the price of fuel increased by nearly 150 percent. Fuel subsidies had been lifted as part of an International Monetary Fund reform program.
After the imam was ousted in a 1960s civil war and the British left the south in 1967, Yemen remained divided into two countries, the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). The two states ultimately unified in 1990 after decades of conflict and tension. In the face of widespread poverty and illiteracy, tribal influences that limit the central government’s authority in certain parts of the country, a heavily armed citizenry, and the threat of Islamist terrorism, Yemen has managed to take limited steps to improve the status of political rights and civil liberties in the years since unification.
Yemen’s April 2003 parliamentary election, its third in a decade, took place despite concerns that popular unrest resulting from the war in Iraq might lead to a postponement. International election observers noted that Yemen had made substantial improvements in electoral management and administration.
In September 2006, Yemen held its second presidential election since unification. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was reelected, receiving 77 percent of the vote. That year marked his 29th as president, since he had served as North Yemen’s leader before unification. He had become Yemen’s first directly elected president in 1999, winning more than 96 percent of the vote. The 2006 election was the first in which a serious opposition candidate challenged the incumbent. Saleh’s main opponent, Faisal Ben Shamlan, was supported by a coalition of Islamist and opposition parties and received 22 percent of the vote. Final results for the concurrent local elections indicated that the ruling Grand People’s Congress (GPC) party won more than 80 percent of the vote for the provincial councils and 70 percent for the district councils.
The election period was marred by a number of deaths. In September, 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a stampede broke out at a stadium packed with thousands of Saleh supporters. Days before the balloting, eight voters were killed in election-related violence.
The European Union’s Election Observation Mission, which monitored the elections, characterized them as “free and fair” even though the opposition rejected the initial count and threatened to call for large street demonstrations to protest alleged voter manipulation and fraud. The election secured Saleh’s rule for another seven years, and opened the door for the possible political candidacy of his son.
Yemen has faced security challenges from terrorist and secessionist movements over the past decade. There were minor clashes in 2006 in the northern region of Saada as part of an uprising by some members of Yemen’s large community of Zaidi Shiite Muslims. Hundreds have been killed since fighting broke out in 2004. The clashes temporarily declined after the September 2004 death of Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthi, a Zaidi cleric who had led the movement, but a second round of violence broke out in the spring of 2005. Separately, in September 2006, five days before the presidential election, Yemeni security forces foiled two simultaneous suicide attacks on oil facilities. The authorities blamed the attempts on militants linked to the Sunni Muslim terrorist group al-Qaeda. Oil exports accounted for 70 percent of the national budget, and the loss of that revenue would have been catastrophic.
Yemen continues to be plagued by serious economic problems, including widespread poverty. Economic growth has been slow, and according to the World Bank, 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. In March 2005, Yemen experienced two days of demonstrations over the introduction of a sales tax. During that period, dozens of Yemenis were killed in riots when the price of fuel increased by nearly 150 percent. Fuel subsidies had been lifted as part of an International Monetary Fund reform program.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Yemen is not an electoral democracy. The country appears to have a relatively open democratic system, with citizens voting for president and members of Parliament. However, Yemen’s politics are dominated by the ruling GPC party, which has increased the number of elected Parliament seats it holds from 145 in 1993 to 237 in the current Parliament. The government structure suffers from the absence of any significant limits on the executive’s authority.
Yemen is headed by a popularly elected president serving seven-year terms, with a bicameral Parliament composed of a 301-seat, popularly elected House of Representatives and a Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative Council, whose 111 members are appointed by the president. The House of Representatives, elected for six-year terms, has legislative authority, and the Majlis al-Shura serves in an advisory capacity. Local council members are popularly elected, with recent elections having coincided with the presidential vote. Yemen is one of the few countries in the Arab world to organize regular elections on national and local levels. There is limited competition among the ruling GPC party, two main opposition parties (Islah and the Yemeni Socialist Party), and a handful of other parties.
Corruption is an endemic problem at all levels of government and society. Despite recent efforts by the government to fight corruption and institute a civil service reform program, Yemen lacks most legal safeguards to protect against conflicts of interest. Auditing and investigative bodies charged with fighting corruption are not sufficiently independent of the executive authorities. In November 2005, the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation suspended Yemen’s eligibility for assistance under its Threshold Program, concluding that after the country was named a potential aid candidate in fiscal year 2004, corruption had increased. Yemen was ranked 111 out of 163 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The state maintains a monopoly over the media that reach the most people—television and radio. Access to the internet is not widespread, and the authorities reportedly block websites they deem offensive. The government has pursued a concerted campaign to restrict press freedom in recent years. Journalists continue to face threats of violence, kidnapping, death, and arbitrary arrest, and often encounter unclear judicial processes. These violations increased amid 2006 election disputes and due to the February 2006 publication of Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. The latter controversy led to the temporary closure of three publications—the Yemen Observer , Al-Hurriya , and Al-Rai al-Aam —and the detention of three journalists. Also in February, three journalists were sentenced to prison and banned from writing for six months for offending the president with articles about government corruption. In the weeks after the September 2006 elections, over 50 rights violations against independent journalists were recorded.
Article 103 of the Press and Publications Law outlaws direct personal criticism of the head of state and publication of material that “might spread a spirit of dissent and division among the people” or “leads to the spread of ideas contrary to the principles of the Yemeni Revolution, [is] prejudicial to national unity or [distorts] the image of the Yemeni, Arab, or Islamic heritage.” Although President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for an end to prison sentences for press offenses in June 2004, government authorities continued to use the Press and Publications Law to restrict press freedom. By the end of 2005, the Ministry of Information had presented a new draft press law to the Majlis al-Shura that would end the jailing of journalists for press offenses. However, restrictions concerning criticism of the president or offense to the national interest would remain, and the requirements for practicing journalism would be stiffened. The Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate objected to the draft law, saying it aimed to further restrict press freedom in Yemen. The government in May 2006 suspended the initiative until such objections could be resolved.
Article 2 of the constitution states that Islam is the official religion, and Article 3 declares Sharia (Islamic law) to be the source of all legislation. Yemen has few non-Muslim religious minorities, and their rights are generally respected in practice. The government has imposed some restrictions on religious activity in the context of the rebellion in the northern region of Saada. Mosques’ hours of operation have been limited in the area, and imams suspected of extremism have been removed. Strong politicization of campus life, including tensions between supporters of the ruling GPC and opposition Islah parties, places limits on academic freedom.
Yemenis have the right to form associations, according to Article 58 of the constitution. Yemen has several thousand nongovernmental organizations, although some observers question their viability and independence. Yemenis also enjoy some freedom of assembly, with periodic restrictions by the government. The authorities were accused of using excessive force against protesters and rioters demonstrating against fuel-price increases in 2005; more than 40 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the violence. However, opposition political rallies were permitted across the country during the 2006 election season.
The government respects the right to form and join trade unions, but some critics claim that the government and ruling party elements have stepped up efforts to control the affairs of these organizations.
The judiciary is nominally independent, but in practice it is weak and susceptible to interference from the executive branch. Government authorities have a spotty record of enforcing judicial rulings, particularly those issued against prominent tribal or political leaders. Lacking an effective court system, citizens often resort to tribal forms of justice or direct appeals to the executive branch of government. In 2006, Yemen restructured its judicial system to remove the president as head of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which oversees the judiciary. It would instead be led by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and the judiciary would have an independent budget under the new arrangement. Also that year, some three dozen judges were retired, suspended for possible disciplinary action, or referred for prosecution. In September 2006, a female judge was appointed to the Supreme Court, and another woman was appointed as the head of the civil court of appeals for Aden governorate. Meanwhile, five women were admitted to the Higher Judicial Institute. The various changes in 2006 were part of a larger judicial reform program begun with support from the World Bank in 1997.
Arbitrary detention occurs, partly because law enforcement officials lack proper training and partly because senior government officials lack the political will to root out the problem. Security forces affiliated with the Political Security Office (PSO) and the Ministry of the Interior torture and abuse detainees, and torture remains a problem in PSO prisons, which are not closely monitored.
Yemen is relatively homogenous ethnically and racially. The Akhdam, a small minority group, live in poverty and face social discrimination.
Women are afforded most legal protections against discrimination and provided with guarantees of equality. In practice, however, they continue to face pervasive discrimination in several aspects of life. A woman must obtain permission from her husband or father to receive a passport and travel abroad. Unlike men, women do not have the right to confer citizenship on a foreign-born spouse, and the process of obtaining Yemeni citizenship for a child of a Yemeni mother and a foreign-born father is more difficult than that for a child born of a Yemeni father and a foreign-born mother. Yemen’s penal code allows lenient sentences for persons guilty of “honor crimes”—assaults or killings committed against women for alleged immodest or immoral behavior. Laws requiring that a wife obey her husband were abolished by presidential decree in 2004.
Women are vastly underrepresented in elected office. Despite the best efforts of women’s rights groups to increase the number of women in Parliament, only one woman won a seat in the 2003 parliamentary elections. The number of women registered to vote had increased nearly sevenfold in a decade, from half a million in the 1993 parliamentary elections to more than three million in the 2003 elections. A study produced by the Women’s National Committee in 2004 found that women represented less than 3 percent of all government employees. According to the UN Development Program in 2005, Yemen has one of the largest gaps in the world between boys’ and girls’ primary school attendance rates.
Yemen is headed by a popularly elected president serving seven-year terms, with a bicameral Parliament composed of a 301-seat, popularly elected House of Representatives and a Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative Council, whose 111 members are appointed by the president. The House of Representatives, elected for six-year terms, has legislative authority, and the Majlis al-Shura serves in an advisory capacity. Local council members are popularly elected, with recent elections having coincided with the presidential vote. Yemen is one of the few countries in the Arab world to organize regular elections on national and local levels. There is limited competition among the ruling GPC party, two main opposition parties (Islah and the Yemeni Socialist Party), and a handful of other parties.
Corruption is an endemic problem at all levels of government and society. Despite recent efforts by the government to fight corruption and institute a civil service reform program, Yemen lacks most legal safeguards to protect against conflicts of interest. Auditing and investigative bodies charged with fighting corruption are not sufficiently independent of the executive authorities. In November 2005, the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation suspended Yemen’s eligibility for assistance under its Threshold Program, concluding that after the country was named a potential aid candidate in fiscal year 2004, corruption had increased. Yemen was ranked 111 out of 163 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The state maintains a monopoly over the media that reach the most people—television and radio. Access to the internet is not widespread, and the authorities reportedly block websites they deem offensive. The government has pursued a concerted campaign to restrict press freedom in recent years. Journalists continue to face threats of violence, kidnapping, death, and arbitrary arrest, and often encounter unclear judicial processes. These violations increased amid 2006 election disputes and due to the February 2006 publication of Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. The latter controversy led to the temporary closure of three publications—the Yemen Observer , Al-Hurriya , and Al-Rai al-Aam —and the detention of three journalists. Also in February, three journalists were sentenced to prison and banned from writing for six months for offending the president with articles about government corruption. In the weeks after the September 2006 elections, over 50 rights violations against independent journalists were recorded.
Article 103 of the Press and Publications Law outlaws direct personal criticism of the head of state and publication of material that “might spread a spirit of dissent and division among the people” or “leads to the spread of ideas contrary to the principles of the Yemeni Revolution, [is] prejudicial to national unity or [distorts] the image of the Yemeni, Arab, or Islamic heritage.” Although President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for an end to prison sentences for press offenses in June 2004, government authorities continued to use the Press and Publications Law to restrict press freedom. By the end of 2005, the Ministry of Information had presented a new draft press law to the Majlis al-Shura that would end the jailing of journalists for press offenses. However, restrictions concerning criticism of the president or offense to the national interest would remain, and the requirements for practicing journalism would be stiffened. The Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate objected to the draft law, saying it aimed to further restrict press freedom in Yemen. The government in May 2006 suspended the initiative until such objections could be resolved.
Article 2 of the constitution states that Islam is the official religion, and Article 3 declares Sharia (Islamic law) to be the source of all legislation. Yemen has few non-Muslim religious minorities, and their rights are generally respected in practice. The government has imposed some restrictions on religious activity in the context of the rebellion in the northern region of Saada. Mosques’ hours of operation have been limited in the area, and imams suspected of extremism have been removed. Strong politicization of campus life, including tensions between supporters of the ruling GPC and opposition Islah parties, places limits on academic freedom.
Yemenis have the right to form associations, according to Article 58 of the constitution. Yemen has several thousand nongovernmental organizations, although some observers question their viability and independence. Yemenis also enjoy some freedom of assembly, with periodic restrictions by the government. The authorities were accused of using excessive force against protesters and rioters demonstrating against fuel-price increases in 2005; more than 40 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the violence. However, opposition political rallies were permitted across the country during the 2006 election season.
The government respects the right to form and join trade unions, but some critics claim that the government and ruling party elements have stepped up efforts to control the affairs of these organizations.
The judiciary is nominally independent, but in practice it is weak and susceptible to interference from the executive branch. Government authorities have a spotty record of enforcing judicial rulings, particularly those issued against prominent tribal or political leaders. Lacking an effective court system, citizens often resort to tribal forms of justice or direct appeals to the executive branch of government. In 2006, Yemen restructured its judicial system to remove the president as head of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which oversees the judiciary. It would instead be led by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and the judiciary would have an independent budget under the new arrangement. Also that year, some three dozen judges were retired, suspended for possible disciplinary action, or referred for prosecution. In September 2006, a female judge was appointed to the Supreme Court, and another woman was appointed as the head of the civil court of appeals for Aden governorate. Meanwhile, five women were admitted to the Higher Judicial Institute. The various changes in 2006 were part of a larger judicial reform program begun with support from the World Bank in 1997.
Arbitrary detention occurs, partly because law enforcement officials lack proper training and partly because senior government officials lack the political will to root out the problem. Security forces affiliated with the Political Security Office (PSO) and the Ministry of the Interior torture and abuse detainees, and torture remains a problem in PSO prisons, which are not closely monitored.
Yemen is relatively homogenous ethnically and racially. The Akhdam, a small minority group, live in poverty and face social discrimination.
Women are afforded most legal protections against discrimination and provided with guarantees of equality. In practice, however, they continue to face pervasive discrimination in several aspects of life. A woman must obtain permission from her husband or father to receive a passport and travel abroad. Unlike men, women do not have the right to confer citizenship on a foreign-born spouse, and the process of obtaining Yemeni citizenship for a child of a Yemeni mother and a foreign-born father is more difficult than that for a child born of a Yemeni father and a foreign-born mother. Yemen’s penal code allows lenient sentences for persons guilty of “honor crimes”—assaults or killings committed against women for alleged immodest or immoral behavior. Laws requiring that a wife obey her husband were abolished by presidential decree in 2004.
Women are vastly underrepresented in elected office. Despite the best efforts of women’s rights groups to increase the number of women in Parliament, only one woman won a seat in the 2003 parliamentary elections. The number of women registered to vote had increased nearly sevenfold in a decade, from half a million in the 1993 parliamentary elections to more than three million in the 2003 elections. A study produced by the Women’s National Committee in 2004 found that women represented less than 3 percent of all government employees. According to the UN Development Program in 2005, Yemen has one of the largest gaps in the world between boys’ and girls’ primary school attendance rates.
Yemen-History
Yemen
International Religious Freedom Report 2005
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice; however, there were some restrictions. The Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion, and that Shari'a (Islamic law) is the source of all legislation.
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the reporting period, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. Muslims and followers of religions other than Islam are free to worship according to their beliefs; however, the Government prohibits conversion from Islam and proselytization of Muslims.
Although relations among religions remained generally amicable and continued to contribute to religious freedom, there were some attacks on Jews. Government action against armed insurrections by the "Shabab al-Moumineen," or "Believing Youth" movement, which the Government believes is linked to Twelver Shi'ism of Iran, caused some political, tribal, and religious tension in the country.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of approximately 328,080 square miles, and its population is approximately 20 million. Virtually all citizens are Muslims, belonging either to the Zaydi order of Shi'a Islam or to the Shafa'i order of Sunni Islam, representing approximately 30 percent and 70 percent of the total population, respectively. There are also a few thousand Ismaili Muslims, mostly in the north.
Nearly all of the country's once-sizable Jewish population has emigrated. Less than 500 Jews are scattered in the northern part of the country, primarily in the vicinity of Raida and Saada.
There are approximately 3000 Christians throughout the country, most of whom are refugees or temporary foreign residents. There are approximately 40 Hindus, who trace their origins to India, living in Aden. There are four churches in Aden, three Roman Catholic and one Anglican. Aden also has one Hindu temple. There are three known functioning synagogues in the north of the country.
Although there were some non-Muslim public places of worship known to exist in the area of the former North Yemen, they were discreetly located so as not to draw attention. No officially recognized non-Muslim public place of worship exists in areas of the former North Yemen. This is largely because it has no history of a large, resident foreign community such as existed in the south.
Christian missionaries and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) affiliated with missionary groups operated in the country, and most restricted their activitiesto the provision of medical services; others are employed in teaching and social services. Invited by the Government, the Sisters of Charity run homes for the poor and persons with disabilities in Sana'a, Taiz, Hodeida, and Aden. The Government issues residence visas to priests so that they may provide for the community's religious needs. The Swedish Free Mission (SFM), financed by the government of Sweden and churches in Sweden, runs a technical school for the disabled and poor in Taiz. There is also a Dutch Christian medical mission in Saada. An American Baptist congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention maintains an affiliation with a hospital in Jibla, which it ran for more than 30 years before transferring management to the Government in 2003. The Anglican Church runs a charitable clinic in Aden.
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom, however there was some religious tension among Shi�a in the country as well as between the Government and some members of the Zaydi-Shi�a establishment. This tension was a result of Government action against the "Shabab al‑Moumineen" armed insurrection that erupted in the summer of 2004 and again in April 2005. The Government maintains that the Shabab are adherents of Twelver Shi'ism, a variant of Shi'ism which differs from that of the country's predominant Zaydi-Shi'as. The Shabab follow the teachings of rebel cleric Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthi, killed during a 10 week rebellion that he led against the Government in Saada beginning in June 2004. The Government�s actions against the group were politically, not religiously, motivated.
Among religious minorities, approximately 1000 Christians and most Jews actively participate in some form of formal religious service or ritual, although not always in a public place of worship.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice; however, there were some restrictions. The Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion and that Shari'a is the source of all legislation. Followers of religions other than Islam are free to worship according to their beliefs and to wear religiously distinctive ornaments or dress; however, the Government prohibits the conversion and proselytization of Muslims, requires permission for the construction of new places of worship, and prohibits non-Muslims from holding elected office. The Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha, Muharram and Eid al-Fitr are public holidays. Other religious groups in the country are not negatively impacted by their celebration. The Government does not keep track of an individual's religious identity and there is no law that requires religious groups to register with the State. Jews, Christians and Hindus, the non-Muslim indigenous minorities, may vote but according to a 2001 Election Committee decision, they cannot hold elected office. Chapter 2, Article 106 of the Yemeni Constitution further notes that the President of the Republic must, "practice his Islamic duties."
Public schools provide instruction in Islam but not in other religions; however, Muslim citizens can attend private schools that do not teach Islam. Almost all non-Muslim students in the country are foreigners and attend private schools.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion; however, there were some restrictions.
In June 2004, the Government used military force to put down an armed insurgency by the "Shabab al‑Moumineen" (The Believing Youth) in the northern governorate of Saada. Shi'a cleric Hussein Badr Eddine al‑Houthi led the rebellion and was killed in the conflict. In April 2005, the Shabab re-ignited their rebellion in the Saada region, and supporters also conducted violent attacks against Government officials in Sana'a, the capital.
Government actions to counter the increase in political violence restricted some practice of religion. For example, in January 2005 the Government banned the celebration of Ghadeer Day in the Saada Governorate, a holiday celebrated by some Shi'a. The Government also reportedly limited the hours that mosques were permitted to be open to the public, reassigned Imams who were thought to espouse radical doctrine, and increased surveillance and detention of members of the Shabab.
The Government prohibits the proselytization of Muslims. During the year there were reports of persons being temporarily detained for possession of religious materials with the intent to proselytize.
The Government did not allow the building of new public places of worship without previous authorization. At the end of the reporting period, Roman Catholic officials were still waiting for a decision from the Government on whether it would allow an officially recognized Roman Catholic establishment to be built in Sana'a. Church officials did not attribute Government action to discrimination. In February 2004, a previously established church in Aden was allowed to reopen. In June 2004, despite local opposition, the Government permitted a church to raise a cross on top of its building.
Weekly services for Catholic, Protestant, and Ethiopian Christians are held throughout Sana'a, Aden and other cities without government interference. Throughout the country, Christian church and Jewish synagogue services are held regularly in private homes or facilities, such as schools, without harassment, and such facilities appear adequate to accommodate the small numbers involved.
Yemen maintains regular diplomatic relations with the Vatican. In November 2004 President Ali Abdullah Saleh paid an official visit to the Pope. During the reporting period, The Papal Nuncio, the Vatican's nonresident Ambassador to the Yemeni Government, and the Apostolic Vicar to the Arabian Peninsula, Bernard Vicar, also visited Yemen. Public schools provide instruction in Islam but not in other religions; however, Muslim citizens can attend private schools that do not teach Islam. Almost all non-Muslim students in the country are foreigners, and attend private schools.
The ruling General People's Congress (GPC) and the Islah Opposition Party both draw on Islam as a basis for law in their platforms. The ruling GPC does not exclude members of any religion from its membership. Islah requires that a member must be "committed" to Islamic teachings. There are other minor political parties that are Islamic in nature, although it is not clear if they restrict their membership to Muslims.
Non-Muslim citizens may vote but may not hold elected office.
Throughout the reporting period, the Government increased efforts to prevent the politicization of mosques in an attempt to curb extremism and increase tolerance. Efforts concentrated on monitoring mosques for sermons that incite violence or other political statements that it considers harmful to public security. Private Islamic organizations may maintain ties to international Islamic organizations; however, the Government sporadically monitored their activities through the police and intelligence authorities.
During the reporting period, the Government increased its efforts to close unlicensed schools and religious centers. In March, the Government announced that it closed over 1400 unlicensed religious schools. The government expressed concern that these schools deviated from formal education and promoted militant ideology. In 2003, the government ordered the closing of all unlicensed private schools. Private and national schools are prohibited from teaching courses outside of the officially approved curriculum. The purpose of these actions was to curb ideological and religious extremism in schools.
Following the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990, owners of property previously expropriated by the communist government of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen were invited to seek restitution of their property. However, implementation has been extremely limited, and very few properties have been returned to previous owners. The Roman Catholic Church was unable during this reporting period to recover restitution for its confiscated property.
The Constitution declares that Islamic Shari'a is the source of all legislation. Some local customs, believed to be part of Shari�a as practiced in Yemen, are codified in various laws and policies. Some of these laws discriminate against women and persons of other faiths.
According to the Government's interpretation of Shari'a, Muslim women are not permitted to marry outside of Islam. Under 1992 Personal Status Law No. 20, men are permitted to marry as many as four wives, although very few do so. The law also forbids men from marrying non-Muslims (except for Jews and Christians) or apostates, those who have renounced Islam. The law requires that the wife must obey the husband, consummate the marriage, and not leave the home without his consent.
Women who seek to travel abroad must obtain permission from their husbands or fathers to receive a passport and to travel. Male relatives are expected to accompany women when traveling; however, enforcement of this requirement was not consistent. Some women reported being able to travel freely without male accompaniment. The Penal Code allows leniency for persons guilty of committing a "crime against honor," a violent assault or killing, committed against females for perceived immodest or defiant behavior. Legal provisions regarding violence against women state that an accused man should be put to death for killing a woman. However, a husband who kills his wife and her lover may be fined or imprisoned for a term of 1 year or less.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
In June 2004 the Government issued a press release accusing Jews who live in the north of backing the al-Houthi rebellion in Saada. The Government retracted the statement, carried by the local media, the next day.
Official government policy does not prohibit or provide punishment for the possession of non-Islamic religious literature; however, on occasion there were credible reports that persons were harassed by members of the Political Security Organization (PSO) and by police for possessing such literature (see Section II). There were reports that some members of the PSO monitored, harassed, and occasionally censored the mail of missionary groups and those associated with them, ostensibly to prevent proselytizing.
Under Islamic law as applied in the country, the conversion of a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death. Around November 2004, authorities in the southern region of Ibb reportedly arrested approximately 20 citizens who were Muslim converts to Christianity or were seeking information about Christianity. Each of the detainees was reportedly beaten, forced to identify other converts and inquirers, and to pay a bribe. All of the converts were released in January 2005. There were no reported cases in which persons were charged with apostasy or prosecuted for it by government authorities.
Police and security forces continued to detain suspected members of the Shabab as well as radical Islamist groups throughout the period covered by this report. Since 2001, the Government has detained several hundred Islamists who returned to Yemen from Afghanistan and/or Iraq "for questioning." Although many such persons were released within days, some reportedly continue to be detained beyond the maximum detention period as terrorist or security suspects.
Throughout the year, the Government continued to sponsor a dialogue with the Shabab and Islamist detainees. The dialogues are led by Islamic scholars in an attempt to arrive at an understanding by which detainees are released in exchange for repentance of past extremism, denunciation of terrorism, and commitments to obey the laws and government, respect non‑Muslims, and refrain from attacking foreign interests. The program has had limited success.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
There were no reported abuses targeted at specific religions by terrorist organizations during the reporting period.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom.
The country is predominantly Muslim. Apart from a small but undetermined number of Christians and Hindus of South Asian origin in Aden, Jews are the only indigenous religious minority. Religious minorities generally live in harmony with their Muslim neighbors. However, during the reporting period, Jews faced some incidents of popular anti-Semitism. Jewish visitors to Sana'a reported being attacked by a number of students chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans. The students caused damage to their car and kicked them. Jewish children rode to school in a covered truck to protect them from stones. Jewish residents reported being unable to construct official schools or synagogues for fear that they would be destroyed by Muslim neighbors.
Isolated attacks in recent years by anti-Jewish extremists have convinced most of the country's Jews to relocate to the town of Raida for safety and to sustain their community. The Jewish population has diminished significantly over the last 50 years due to voluntary emigration, from tens of thousands to a few hundred.
There were no reported incidents of violence or discrimination between the adherents of Zaydi and Shafa'i Islam, the two main orders of Islam practiced in the country. However, there were reports of slightly increased tension as a result of the political fallout of the Saada insurgency. Religiously motivated violence is neither incited nor tolerated by the Islamic clergy, except for a small, politically motivated clerical minority, often with ties to foreign extremist elements.
As part of its campaign against religious extremism, the Government also took action to improve conditions that affected societal attitudes on religious freedom. In May 2004, the Ministry of Endowment and Guidance conducted a ten-day training course for 700 Imams to promote principles of moderation and religious tolerance.
Christian clergy, who minister to the foreign community, are employed in teaching, social services, and health care.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. The U.S. Embassy maintained an active dialogue on human rights issues with the Government, NGOs, and others. Embassy officers, including the Ambassador, met periodically with representatives of the Jewish and Christian communities during the reporting period.
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the reporting period, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. Muslims and followers of religions other than Islam are free to worship according to their beliefs; however, the Government prohibits conversion from Islam and proselytization of Muslims.
Although relations among religions remained generally amicable and continued to contribute to religious freedom, there were some attacks on Jews. Government action against armed insurrections by the "Shabab al-Moumineen," or "Believing Youth" movement, which the Government believes is linked to Twelver Shi'ism of Iran, caused some political, tribal, and religious tension in the country.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of approximately 328,080 square miles, and its population is approximately 20 million. Virtually all citizens are Muslims, belonging either to the Zaydi order of Shi'a Islam or to the Shafa'i order of Sunni Islam, representing approximately 30 percent and 70 percent of the total population, respectively. There are also a few thousand Ismaili Muslims, mostly in the north.
Nearly all of the country's once-sizable Jewish population has emigrated. Less than 500 Jews are scattered in the northern part of the country, primarily in the vicinity of Raida and Saada.
There are approximately 3000 Christians throughout the country, most of whom are refugees or temporary foreign residents. There are approximately 40 Hindus, who trace their origins to India, living in Aden. There are four churches in Aden, three Roman Catholic and one Anglican. Aden also has one Hindu temple. There are three known functioning synagogues in the north of the country.
Although there were some non-Muslim public places of worship known to exist in the area of the former North Yemen, they were discreetly located so as not to draw attention. No officially recognized non-Muslim public place of worship exists in areas of the former North Yemen. This is largely because it has no history of a large, resident foreign community such as existed in the south.
Christian missionaries and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) affiliated with missionary groups operated in the country, and most restricted their activitiesto the provision of medical services; others are employed in teaching and social services. Invited by the Government, the Sisters of Charity run homes for the poor and persons with disabilities in Sana'a, Taiz, Hodeida, and Aden. The Government issues residence visas to priests so that they may provide for the community's religious needs. The Swedish Free Mission (SFM), financed by the government of Sweden and churches in Sweden, runs a technical school for the disabled and poor in Taiz. There is also a Dutch Christian medical mission in Saada. An American Baptist congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention maintains an affiliation with a hospital in Jibla, which it ran for more than 30 years before transferring management to the Government in 2003. The Anglican Church runs a charitable clinic in Aden.
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom, however there was some religious tension among Shi�a in the country as well as between the Government and some members of the Zaydi-Shi�a establishment. This tension was a result of Government action against the "Shabab al‑Moumineen" armed insurrection that erupted in the summer of 2004 and again in April 2005. The Government maintains that the Shabab are adherents of Twelver Shi'ism, a variant of Shi'ism which differs from that of the country's predominant Zaydi-Shi'as. The Shabab follow the teachings of rebel cleric Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthi, killed during a 10 week rebellion that he led against the Government in Saada beginning in June 2004. The Government�s actions against the group were politically, not religiously, motivated.
Among religious minorities, approximately 1000 Christians and most Jews actively participate in some form of formal religious service or ritual, although not always in a public place of worship.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice; however, there were some restrictions. The Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion and that Shari'a is the source of all legislation. Followers of religions other than Islam are free to worship according to their beliefs and to wear religiously distinctive ornaments or dress; however, the Government prohibits the conversion and proselytization of Muslims, requires permission for the construction of new places of worship, and prohibits non-Muslims from holding elected office. The Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha, Muharram and Eid al-Fitr are public holidays. Other religious groups in the country are not negatively impacted by their celebration. The Government does not keep track of an individual's religious identity and there is no law that requires religious groups to register with the State. Jews, Christians and Hindus, the non-Muslim indigenous minorities, may vote but according to a 2001 Election Committee decision, they cannot hold elected office. Chapter 2, Article 106 of the Yemeni Constitution further notes that the President of the Republic must, "practice his Islamic duties."
Public schools provide instruction in Islam but not in other religions; however, Muslim citizens can attend private schools that do not teach Islam. Almost all non-Muslim students in the country are foreigners and attend private schools.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion; however, there were some restrictions.
In June 2004, the Government used military force to put down an armed insurgency by the "Shabab al‑Moumineen" (The Believing Youth) in the northern governorate of Saada. Shi'a cleric Hussein Badr Eddine al‑Houthi led the rebellion and was killed in the conflict. In April 2005, the Shabab re-ignited their rebellion in the Saada region, and supporters also conducted violent attacks against Government officials in Sana'a, the capital.
Government actions to counter the increase in political violence restricted some practice of religion. For example, in January 2005 the Government banned the celebration of Ghadeer Day in the Saada Governorate, a holiday celebrated by some Shi'a. The Government also reportedly limited the hours that mosques were permitted to be open to the public, reassigned Imams who were thought to espouse radical doctrine, and increased surveillance and detention of members of the Shabab.
The Government prohibits the proselytization of Muslims. During the year there were reports of persons being temporarily detained for possession of religious materials with the intent to proselytize.
The Government did not allow the building of new public places of worship without previous authorization. At the end of the reporting period, Roman Catholic officials were still waiting for a decision from the Government on whether it would allow an officially recognized Roman Catholic establishment to be built in Sana'a. Church officials did not attribute Government action to discrimination. In February 2004, a previously established church in Aden was allowed to reopen. In June 2004, despite local opposition, the Government permitted a church to raise a cross on top of its building.
Weekly services for Catholic, Protestant, and Ethiopian Christians are held throughout Sana'a, Aden and other cities without government interference. Throughout the country, Christian church and Jewish synagogue services are held regularly in private homes or facilities, such as schools, without harassment, and such facilities appear adequate to accommodate the small numbers involved.
Yemen maintains regular diplomatic relations with the Vatican. In November 2004 President Ali Abdullah Saleh paid an official visit to the Pope. During the reporting period, The Papal Nuncio, the Vatican's nonresident Ambassador to the Yemeni Government, and the Apostolic Vicar to the Arabian Peninsula, Bernard Vicar, also visited Yemen. Public schools provide instruction in Islam but not in other religions; however, Muslim citizens can attend private schools that do not teach Islam. Almost all non-Muslim students in the country are foreigners, and attend private schools.
The ruling General People's Congress (GPC) and the Islah Opposition Party both draw on Islam as a basis for law in their platforms. The ruling GPC does not exclude members of any religion from its membership. Islah requires that a member must be "committed" to Islamic teachings. There are other minor political parties that are Islamic in nature, although it is not clear if they restrict their membership to Muslims.
Non-Muslim citizens may vote but may not hold elected office.
Throughout the reporting period, the Government increased efforts to prevent the politicization of mosques in an attempt to curb extremism and increase tolerance. Efforts concentrated on monitoring mosques for sermons that incite violence or other political statements that it considers harmful to public security. Private Islamic organizations may maintain ties to international Islamic organizations; however, the Government sporadically monitored their activities through the police and intelligence authorities.
During the reporting period, the Government increased its efforts to close unlicensed schools and religious centers. In March, the Government announced that it closed over 1400 unlicensed religious schools. The government expressed concern that these schools deviated from formal education and promoted militant ideology. In 2003, the government ordered the closing of all unlicensed private schools. Private and national schools are prohibited from teaching courses outside of the officially approved curriculum. The purpose of these actions was to curb ideological and religious extremism in schools.
Following the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990, owners of property previously expropriated by the communist government of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen were invited to seek restitution of their property. However, implementation has been extremely limited, and very few properties have been returned to previous owners. The Roman Catholic Church was unable during this reporting period to recover restitution for its confiscated property.
The Constitution declares that Islamic Shari'a is the source of all legislation. Some local customs, believed to be part of Shari�a as practiced in Yemen, are codified in various laws and policies. Some of these laws discriminate against women and persons of other faiths.
According to the Government's interpretation of Shari'a, Muslim women are not permitted to marry outside of Islam. Under 1992 Personal Status Law No. 20, men are permitted to marry as many as four wives, although very few do so. The law also forbids men from marrying non-Muslims (except for Jews and Christians) or apostates, those who have renounced Islam. The law requires that the wife must obey the husband, consummate the marriage, and not leave the home without his consent.
Women who seek to travel abroad must obtain permission from their husbands or fathers to receive a passport and to travel. Male relatives are expected to accompany women when traveling; however, enforcement of this requirement was not consistent. Some women reported being able to travel freely without male accompaniment. The Penal Code allows leniency for persons guilty of committing a "crime against honor," a violent assault or killing, committed against females for perceived immodest or defiant behavior. Legal provisions regarding violence against women state that an accused man should be put to death for killing a woman. However, a husband who kills his wife and her lover may be fined or imprisoned for a term of 1 year or less.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
In June 2004 the Government issued a press release accusing Jews who live in the north of backing the al-Houthi rebellion in Saada. The Government retracted the statement, carried by the local media, the next day.
Official government policy does not prohibit or provide punishment for the possession of non-Islamic religious literature; however, on occasion there were credible reports that persons were harassed by members of the Political Security Organization (PSO) and by police for possessing such literature (see Section II). There were reports that some members of the PSO monitored, harassed, and occasionally censored the mail of missionary groups and those associated with them, ostensibly to prevent proselytizing.
Under Islamic law as applied in the country, the conversion of a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death. Around November 2004, authorities in the southern region of Ibb reportedly arrested approximately 20 citizens who were Muslim converts to Christianity or were seeking information about Christianity. Each of the detainees was reportedly beaten, forced to identify other converts and inquirers, and to pay a bribe. All of the converts were released in January 2005. There were no reported cases in which persons were charged with apostasy or prosecuted for it by government authorities.
Police and security forces continued to detain suspected members of the Shabab as well as radical Islamist groups throughout the period covered by this report. Since 2001, the Government has detained several hundred Islamists who returned to Yemen from Afghanistan and/or Iraq "for questioning." Although many such persons were released within days, some reportedly continue to be detained beyond the maximum detention period as terrorist or security suspects.
Throughout the year, the Government continued to sponsor a dialogue with the Shabab and Islamist detainees. The dialogues are led by Islamic scholars in an attempt to arrive at an understanding by which detainees are released in exchange for repentance of past extremism, denunciation of terrorism, and commitments to obey the laws and government, respect non‑Muslims, and refrain from attacking foreign interests. The program has had limited success.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
There were no reported abuses targeted at specific religions by terrorist organizations during the reporting period.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom.
The country is predominantly Muslim. Apart from a small but undetermined number of Christians and Hindus of South Asian origin in Aden, Jews are the only indigenous religious minority. Religious minorities generally live in harmony with their Muslim neighbors. However, during the reporting period, Jews faced some incidents of popular anti-Semitism. Jewish visitors to Sana'a reported being attacked by a number of students chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans. The students caused damage to their car and kicked them. Jewish children rode to school in a covered truck to protect them from stones. Jewish residents reported being unable to construct official schools or synagogues for fear that they would be destroyed by Muslim neighbors.
Isolated attacks in recent years by anti-Jewish extremists have convinced most of the country's Jews to relocate to the town of Raida for safety and to sustain their community. The Jewish population has diminished significantly over the last 50 years due to voluntary emigration, from tens of thousands to a few hundred.
There were no reported incidents of violence or discrimination between the adherents of Zaydi and Shafa'i Islam, the two main orders of Islam practiced in the country. However, there were reports of slightly increased tension as a result of the political fallout of the Saada insurgency. Religiously motivated violence is neither incited nor tolerated by the Islamic clergy, except for a small, politically motivated clerical minority, often with ties to foreign extremist elements.
As part of its campaign against religious extremism, the Government also took action to improve conditions that affected societal attitudes on religious freedom. In May 2004, the Ministry of Endowment and Guidance conducted a ten-day training course for 700 Imams to promote principles of moderation and religious tolerance.
Christian clergy, who minister to the foreign community, are employed in teaching, social services, and health care.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. The U.S. Embassy maintained an active dialogue on human rights issues with the Government, NGOs, and others. Embassy officers, including the Ambassador, met periodically with representatives of the Jewish and Christian communities during the reporting period.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)