| Submit your comments on this article |
| Arabia |
| Yemen transfers "Faithful Youth" from general prison |
| 2003-03-12 |
| Sa’ada governorate security authorities transferred prisoners calling themselves 'the Faithful Youth' from the Political and General Security prison to an area called Arozaimat and Manshour. They were arrested after they were found red-handed in distributing leaflets in the governorate by some of their supporters accusing the governor Brigadier General Yahya al-Omari of being a secret agent for the US. Sources in Sa’ada told the Yemen Times that detention of those activists was carried out when they wrote anti-US slogans in the governorate’s streets and distributed leaflets in the same context. The sources said that the detainees were not al-Qaeda supporters and it is probable that they belong to the Shiite Islamic Movement. So they're loons, but not dangerous loons... Sa’ada is one of the significant governorates in the republic where the Islamic movement is founded. In addition, it has one of the largest Salafi Islamic Movement centers in Yemen, known as Dar al-Hadeeth House Center in Dammaj. Meanwhile, the governorate of Sa’ada celebrated last week the Day of Ghadeer, the day on which Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb assumed the Caliphate of the Muslim state. Damn. And I forget to send a present... On the other hand, informed sources added that Ali bin Abdulmajeed Azzandani, the son of the Sheikh Abdulmajeed visited Dammaj religious center last week and held meetings with the religious Salafi scholars at the center. According to sources in the region, the visit’s objective is basically to support the Brothers Muslims Movement (Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon) during the upcoming parliamentary elections which are to be held on April 27, 2003. The Muslim Brotherhood functions as a funnel organization, matching young turbans with jihadi controllers. It also serves as an international organization for like-minded Muslim supremacists, with rousing intellectual discussions occasionally ending in fatwahs or gunfights... In addition to this, the visit also aims at unifying visions where the Islamic movement has undergone crisis due the current international developments. Sources said that the Salafia religious leaders will not participate in the elections, but it was not clear whether they will support religious candidates. It is to be mentioned here that the Salafi Movement has about 100 religious centers and institutions. Thousands of students from different countries in the world enroll in those centers to enhance their knowledge in Islam and Quran. ... and small arms and explosives handling. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 this brings up an interesting point re: yemen. IIRC Yemen is historically a major Shia center. While AQ seems able on occasion to make common cause with Iran and Hezbollah, generally Salafists dont get on too well with Shia (eg Pakistan) Anyone know what the situation is in Yemen, as far as rivalry between Shia and Wahabi camps there? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-12 22:23:41 |