Salafis declare Jihad on Yemeni Shiites

In Yemen highlands, the Houthis — Shiite group whose stronghold is based in the northern Province of Sa’ada and which is led by Sheikh Abdel Malek al-Houthi — have come face to face with their sworn enemies, the Salafis, as the latter have launched an open war on Shiite Islam to destroy the vestige of Yemen’s oldest Islamic tradition and claim Yemen’s rich highlands for their own.

For the past couple of weeks, the clouds of war have darkened the skies of Dammaj, the epicenter of a religious reckoning. The repercussions of such a conflict could tear apart the Arabian Peninsula and to an extent the Islamic world, due to its very pernicious sectarian nature.

Following decades of latent religious hatred, the Salafis have laid bare their plans, claiming religious supremacy over those they have labeled “infidels.” Interestingly, the Salafis have often been slammed by Sunni Islam, branded a sect rather than a religious school of thought or even a movement. Born in the 1980s, the Salafis are essentially an extension, an appendix of Wahhabism, itself an artificial religious creation which was promoted and shaped by Imperial Britain in the 18th century as a tool to destroy the Ottoman and Iranian Empires from within, through the eroding and perversion of Islamic values, teachings and traditions.

In his book, “Black Terror, White Soldiers” David Livingstone clearly articulates how Wahhabism came to be; he wrote, “It was not legal in Islam for a Muslim to fight another Muslim. Therefore, in order to rile the Arabs against their Turkish brethren, it was necessary to first create a new interpretation of Islam that would sanction such murder, but under the guise of Jihad. This new interpretation came to be known as Wahhabism, and was founded by British agent, Muhammad Abdul Wahhab.”

Although the princes of Saudi Arabia have often claimed otherwise, their entire belief system was created and founded with one purpose in mind – destroy Islam and sow discord in between its two ancestral houses, Sunni and Shia Islam – Hempher, the British agent who nurtured and encouraged Muhammad Wahhab to spring forth a new religious dogma, an antithesis of Islam, clearly understood that Islam had to be destroyed for the West to claim victory over Islam’s empires.

By his own admission, Hempher exposed in his memoir what he and his protégé, Wahhab set out to do in the name of greed and power. Hempher wrote, “We, the English people, have to make mischief and arouse schism in all our colonies in order that we may live in welfare and luxury. Only by means of such instigations will we be able to demolish the Ottoman Empire. Otherwise, how could a nation with a small population bring another nation with a greater population under its sway? Look for the mouth of the chasm with all your might, and get in as soon as you find it. You should know that the Ottoman and Iranian Empires have reached the nadir of their lives.

Therefore, your first duty is to instigate the people against the administration! History has shown that the source of all sorts of revolutions is public rebellions. When the unity of Muslims is broken and the common sympathy among them is impaired, their forces will be dissolved and thus we shall easily destroy them.”

Moreover, “Encourage oppressiveness among emperors. Encourage secularism, or the need to separate religion from state affairs. Aggravate economic decline through sabotage. Accustom statesmen to such indulgences as sex, sports, alcohol, gambling, and interest banking. Then, in order to make the new generation hostile towards their rulers and scholars, expose them for their corruption.”

Such plans have been in motion in Yemen and the world’s over, one needs only to have eyes.

Just as the Wahhabis subdued Hijaz – now known as Saudi Arabia – before al-Saud declared himself the guardian of the two holy mosques as to rule over Sunni Islam, the Salafis wanted to bring under their yoke the ancestral land of Sheba and assert their insidious claim over Islam.

The Houthis have since 1962 kept Yemen’s Imamate tradition alive in spirit by remaining true to their religious roots. Much more than a ruling system, the Imamate of Yemen based their legitimacy on descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

It is important to understand that this profound desire to honor and remember their past, has never clashed with the Houthis’ hope to see establish democratic institutions. Very much in the same way Britain managed to embrace democracy while in the same breath celebrating its monarchical past, the Houthis, too, wish to embrace their past and all it stood for as to better move forward as one social and political unit.

Unlike the Salafis who have spilled their poisonous hatred onto Yemen, claiming their dogma to be the reflection of God’s Truth, the Houthis have never sought to convert, oppress or dictate, only to protect.

While the Salafis have built armies behind the walls of their religious centers, the Houthis have only worked to better their communities and attend to their people’s needs and aspirations.

Today it is such a way of life the Salafis have declared war on, shamelessly calling for “Jihad” against Shiite Muslims.

As noted by Daniel Greenfield from Frontpage Mag, “With the Middle East exploding in a Muslim civil war, Jihadi Triage is becoming a serious issue.”

In Yemen, Sheikh Abdalazim al-Huthi has declared that Jihad against the “Houthis infidels is better than the jihad against the Jews;” declaring that all Shiites “are the enemies of Allah and His Messenger.”

The fact that Sheikh al-Huthi felt comfortable enough, secure enough in its alliance with the Salafis to utter such atrocious words and make them public, should be enough proof of the true evil nature of the Salafis movement.

Such calls for religious hatred, the clear negation of Islam’s most sacred and inner truths — compassion, peace, tolerance and submission to God’s will – one can only hope will finally tear the veil of falsehood which such so-called religious entities have pulled over the masses’ eyes.

All Muslims, Shiite and Sunni alike need to understand that through their attack of Shiite Islam in Sa’ada, the Salafis really seek to destroy Islam and all it stands for. Just as the Wahhabis declared war on Hijaz in the 1930s, pillaging and murdering all those who dared oppose their nefarious dogma, the Salafis have set out to do the same in Yemen, under the leader of Sheikh Hussain al-Ahmar – one of Yemen’s most prominent tribal leader.

The Salafis continue to sow discord amid brothers, following the old Roman adage, “divide and conquer”, to secure their own hegemony. Through fanaticism they seek to enslave Muslims and tear them away from their true religious roots.