Navigation
In other projects
Navigation
Learn more
Core topics
Bahá’í Faith
Central Figures
Teachings
Practices

Yemen

From Bahaipedia
 Yemen
Location of Yemen
National AssemblyN/A
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 32,981,641
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source 250 
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 1,646
History:
Firsts
 -  National Assembly 1984
Disbanded 2018 
Official Website http://www.bahaiye.org/
Related media
Categories: Yemen • People

The Republic of Yemen is a country in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Its official language is Arabic and Islam is the state religion.

Yemen has been inhabited since ancient times with the Sabaens being an early major group in the area. Islam was established in the area in the time of Muhammad and it was a stable part of the Rashidun Caliphate and was subsequently ruled by several Muslim dynasties until becoming part of the Ottoman Empire. In the early 20th Century a Kingdom of Yemen was established in the North and a British colony was established in the south, and in 1962 the Kingdom became the Yemen Arab Republic, and after British rule collapsed South Yemen was established in 1967. In 1990 the two merged to form the current Republic of Yemen with its capital in Sana'a, however a revolution began in 2011 leading to instability with Houthi rebels controlling the capital since 2015.

There was a small Bahá'í community present in Yemen by the early 1960's, in 1984 a National Spiritual Assembly was formed, and by 2008 there were an estimated 250 Bahá'ís in the country. The Bahá'í community has faced increasing persecution in the 2010's from Houthi authorities.

History[edit]

As early as 1941 Persian Baháʼís were aiming to move to Yemen to establish a Baháʼí community,[2] and establishing the Baháʼí Faith in Yemen was officially made a goal of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran by 1947.[3] The National Assembly of Iran had achieved the goal of establishing a community by 1948 and was set the goal of establishing Bahá’í administrative structure in Yemen.[4] By 1952 a Bahá’í community was becoming established,[5] and consolidating it was set as a goal for the National Assembly of Iran for the Ten Year Crusade.[6] Another goal of the Crusade was settling a pioneer in the region of Hadhramaut within Yemen and this goal was accomplished in early 1955 when Adíb Baghdádí and Husayn Halabí pioneered to the area.[7]

In 1957 a National Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula was established which was responsible for administrating the Yemen Bahá’ís,[8] and by the early 1960's there was a formal Bahá’í group (meaning an organized body with less than nine adult members) in San'aa.[9] In 1964 the Bahá’í community of Iran was tasked with assisting the Arabian National Assembly in consolidating the Yemen community, which as of that year had one group and one locality open to the Faith,[10] however in 1969 the Yemen government expelled foreigners resulting in Persian Bahá’ís returning to Iran.[11]

In 1984 a National Spiritual Assembly of Yemen was established in North Yemen.[12] In 1986 the Promise of World Peace, a peace statement from the Universal House of Justice, was indirectly delivered to the Heads of State of both Northern and Southern Yemen.[13] In 1990 a dignitary from North Yemen visited the New Delhi House of Worship.[14]

In June 2008 three Persian Bahá’ís who had lived in Yemen for twenty-five years were arrested on suspicion of proselytizing and held without charges, facing deportation to Iran, prompting the Bahá’í International Community to comment on the persecution faced by Bahá’ís in Iran and request their release. At the time it was estimated there were 250 Bahá’ís living in Yemen.[15]

In 2016 over sixty Bahá’ís were arrested at an educational gathering, and in 2017 at least twenty-five were arrested and accused of showing kindness and rectitude of conduct to attract others to the religion.[16] In May 2017 many Yemeni tribal leaders and human rights activists gathered to denounce the arrests and call for the prisoners to be released.[17] In 2018 over twenty Bahá’ís were arrested by Houthi authorities and the Bahá’í International Community expressed concern at escalating oppression of the community, noting similarities to persecution in Iran.[18]

In January 2018 Hamed bin Haydara, a Bahá’í imprisoned since 2013, was sentenced to public execution for his beliefs by a Sana'a court which also ruled all Bahá’í Assemblies in the country were to be dissolved and in March the same year the leader of the Houthis in the country publicly denounced the Bahá’í Faith as satanic, and a prominent strategist for the Houthis reportedly wrote "we will butcher every Baha'i" on social media.[19] In March 2020 the President of the Supreme Political Council in Sana'a called for Hamed bin Haydara to be pardoned and for Bahá’í prisoners to be released, and by July six Bahá’ís, including Hamed bin Haydara, were released from prison. The Bahá’í International Community called for charges against them to be dropped and for their assets and properties to be returned with a representative stating

As Yemen’s search for durable, societal peace continues, Baha’is must be able—like all Yemenis—to practice their faith safely and freely, in keeping with the universal principles of freedom of religion or belief. This is not possible until the charges are lifted.[20]

On May 25, 2023, armed Houthi officials raided a Bahá’í gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, arresting seventeen Bahá’ís,[21] with their freedom later being secured with all being released from imprisonment by August, 2024.[22]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Reddit has related posts about Yemen:

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1945). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 9 (1940-1944), Pg(s) 324. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980 third printing, p 3
  4. ↑ Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980 third printing, p 48
  5. ↑ Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í World: 1950–1957, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1971 edition, p 27
  6. ↑ Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í World: 1950–1957, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1971 edition, p 167
  7. ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 62
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 955. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 955. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 119. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 183. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 524. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 683, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Baha'i News (1990). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 709, Pg(s) 18. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/651/
  16. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1163/
  17. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1169/
  18. ↑ https://www.bic.org/news/houthis-intensify-suppression-bahai-community-through-court-sanaa
  19. ↑ http://www.thetower.org/6186-bahai-warn-of-genocidal-intent-iran-backed-rebels-have-toward-their-adherents-in-yemen/
  20. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1443/
  21. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1671/
  22. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1746/
Retrieved from "https://bahaipedia.org/index.php?title=Yemen&oldid=138471"
Powered by MediaWiki