Zaydism

{{further|Battle of Fakhkh|Alid revolt of 762–763}}

In the 7th century some early Muslims expected Ali to become the first caliph, successor to Muhammad. After the ascension of Abu Bakr, supporters of Ali (and future Shia) continued to believe only people from Muhammad's family qualify as rulers. They selected an imam from each generation of Muhammed's family. (The proto-Sunni, in contrast, recognized Abu Bakr as a legitimate first caliph).{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=285}} The Zaydis emerged in reverence of Zayd ibn Ali's failed uprising against the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ({{reign|724|743}}). While a majority of the early Shia recognized Zayd's brother, Muhammad al-Baqir, as the fifth leader, some considered Zayd as the fifth imam, and thus in the 8th century formed the Zaydi or "Fivers" offshoot of Islam.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=285}}

The Zaydis formed the states in what is now known as northern Iran (Tabaristan, 864 CE, by Hasan ibn Zayd, expanded to Daylam and Gilan) and later in Yemen (893 CE, by al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya). The Zaydis on the Caspian Sea were forcefully converted to Twelver Shi'ism in the 16th century.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|pp=285-286}}

The Zaydis in Yemen had initially lived in the highlands and the northern territories, but extent of their dominance away from their capital of 7 centuries, Saada, had been changing over time. Rassid dynasty was established after an Ottoman invasion in the 16th century. After another interaction with Ottomans, a new succession line was started in the 19th century by Muhammad bin Yahya Hamid ad-Din. With minor interruptions, these two dynasties ruled in Yemen until the creation of Yemen Arab Republic in 1962. While the rulers ostensibly conformed to Hadawi law (thus the "imamate"), the doctrines had to be modified to allow hereditary, as opposed to traditional merit-based, selection of imams.{{sfn|Salmoni|Loidolt|Wells|2010|p=286}}

The end of imam rule in 1962, with the new rulers in Yemen no longer conforming to the requirements of Zaydism, caused Zaydi scholars to call for the restoration of the imamate. This contributed to the North Yemen Civil War that lasted from 1962 to 1970.{{sfn | Obaid | 2023 | p=73}} The national reconciliation of 1970 paused the fighting with traumatized Zaydis following three main routes:{{sfn | Obaid | 2023 | p=74}}

• joining the new political system (the religious Party of Truth was created in 1990);
• restoring the spiritual and cultural heritage of Zaydism by opening religious centers and encouraging the tribes to send their youth for education there;
• preparing for the future fighting (Houthi movement founder Hussein al-Houthi was readying the militia).

In matters of Islamic jurisprudence, the Zaydis follow Zayd Ibn 'Ali's teachings which are documented in his book Majmu' Al-Fiqh ({{langx|ar|مجموع الفِقه}}). Zaydi fiqh is similar to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, as well as the Ibadi school. Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi school, was favorable and even donated towards the Zaydi cause.The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, Page 14, Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone, Mahan Mirza – 2012 Zaydis dismiss religious dissimulation (taqiyya).{{Cite book|title= Regional Surveys of the World: The Middle East and North Africa 2003|publisher= Europa Publications|year= 2003|isbn= 978-1-85743-132-2|location= London, England|page= 149}} Zaydism does not rely heavily on hadith, but uses those that are consistent with the Qur'an, and is open to hadith. Some sources argue that Zaydism is simply a philosophy of political government that justifies the overthrow of unjust rulers and prioritizes those who are Ahl al-Bayt.{{cite web |author1=MAYSAA SHUJA AL-DEEN |title=Yemen's War-torn Rivalries for Religious Education |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/07/yemen-s-war-torn-rivalries-for-religious-education-pub-84651 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607155815/https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/07/yemen-s-war-torn-rivalries-for-religious-education-pub-84651 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 June 2021 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=7 June 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Ahab |first=Bdaiwi |date=2024-05-08 |title=The Beliefs of the Zaydis: A Conspectus |url=https://www.leidenarabichumanitiesblog.nl/articles/the-beliefs-of-the-zaydis-a-conspectus-part-1 |quote=Their origins trace back to the proto-Shiʿi movement that emerged in the first century of Islam (late seventh and early eighth century CE) which coalesced around the rights of the Family of the Prophet, the Ahl al-Bayt, regarded as the legitimate temporal and spiritual successors to the mantle of the Prophet Muḥammad.|access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Islamic Thought and History at Leiden University |language=en}}

Haider{{sfn|Haider|2021|pp=203-204}} states that mainstream Zaydism (Hadawi) is a result of interaction of two currents, Batrism and Jarudism, their followers brought together during the original Zayd's rebellion.{{sfn|Haider|2010|pp=203-204}} These names, also designated as Batri and Jarudi, do not necessarily represent cohesive groups of people, for example, Batrism ideas (proto-Sunni) were dominant among Zaydi in the 8th century, and Jarudism (Shia) took over in the 9th century.{{sfn|Haider|2021|pp=203-204}}{{sfn|Haider|2021|p=436}} The following table summarizes the differences between Batri and Jarudi beliefs per Haider:{{sfn|Haider|2021|p=209}}

Zaydis' theological literature puts an emphasis on social justice and human responsibility, and its political implications, i.e. Muslims have an ethical and legal obligation by their religion to rise up and depose unjust leaders including unrighteous sultans and caliphs.{{cite journal |title=Yemen's last Zaydi Imam: the shabab al-mu'min, the Malazim, and hizb allah in the thought of Husayn Badr al-Din al-Huthi |date= Summer 2009 |last=Abdullah |first=Lux |journal=Contemporary Arab Affairs |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=369–434 |doi=10.1080/17550910903106084}}

Zaydis believe Zayd ibn Ali was the rightful successor to the imamate because he led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate, which he believed was tyrannical and corrupt. Muhammad al-Baqir did not engage in political action and the followers of Zayd believed that a true Imām must fight against corrupt rulers.Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East: State and Civilization during the Later Medieval Times by Abdul Ali, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1996, p97 The renowned Muslim jurist Abu Hanifa, who is credited with founding the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, delivered a fatwā or legal statement in favour of Zayd in his rebellion against the Umayyad ruler. He also urged people in secret to join the uprising and delivered funds to Zayd.Ahkam al-Quran By Abu Bakr al-Jassas al-Razi, volume 1 page 100, published by Dar Al-Fikr Al-Beirutiyya

Unlike Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'ism, Zaydis do not believe in the infallibility of Imams{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Zaidiyyah |title=Zaidiyyah|work=The Free Dictionary}} and reject the notion of nass imamate.{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Francis |author-link=Francis Robinson |title=Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500 |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofislamicwo0000robi |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/atlasofislamicwo0000robi/page/47 47] |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |year=1984 |isbn=0871966298}} but believe that an Imam can be any descendant of Hasan ibn ʻAlī or Husayn ibn ʻAlī. Zaydis believe that Zayd ibn Ali in his last hour was betrayed by the people in Kufa.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Zaydis reject anthropomorphism and instead, take a rationalist approach to scriptural uses of anthropomorphic expressions, as illustrated in works such as the Kitāb al-Mustarshid by the 9th-century Zaydi imam al-Qasim al-Rassi.{{cite book |last1=Abrahamov |first1=Binyamin |author1-link=Al-Qasim al-Rassi |title=Anthropomorphism and interpretation of the Qurʼān in the theology of al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm: Kitāb al-Mustarshid |date=1996 |publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=9789004104082 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-RCcnlbzfQC }}

{{Further|Rashidun}}

There was a difference of opinion among the companions and supporters of Zayd ibn 'Ali, such as Abu al-Jarud Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad, Sulayman ibn Jarir, Kathir al-Nawa al-Abtar and Hasan ibn Salih, concerning the status of the first three Rashidun caliphs who succeeded to the political and administrative authority of Muhammad. The earliest group, called Jarudiyya (named for Abu al-Jarud Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad), was opposed to the approval of certain companions of Muhammad. They held that there was sufficient description given by Muhammad that all should have recognized Ali as the rightful caliph. They therefore consider the companions wrong in failing to recognise 'Ali as the legitimate Caliph and deny legitimacy to Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman; however, they avoid accusing them.Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Steven R Ward, p. 43

The Jarudiyya were active during the late Umayyad Caliphate and early Abbasid Caliphate. Its views, although predominant among the later Zaydis, especially in Yemen under the Hadawi sub-sect, became extinct in Iraq and Iran due to forced conversion of the present religious sects to Twelver Shi'ism by the Safavid dynasty.Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution. Nikki R Keddie, Yann Richard, pp. 13, 20

The second group, the Sulaymaniyya, named for Sulayman ibn Jarir, held that the Imamate should be a matter to be decided by consultation. They felt that the companions, including Abu Bakr and 'Umar, had been in error in failing to follow 'Ali but it did not amount to sin.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

The third group is known as the Batriyya, Tabiriyya, or Salihiyya for Kathir an-Nawa al-Abtar and Hasan ibn Salih. Their beliefs are virtually identical to those of the Sulaymaniyya, except they see Uthman also as in error but not in sin.Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 Referencing: Momen, pp. 50, 51. and S.S. Akhtar Rizvi, "Shi'a Sects"

The term rafida was a term used by Zayd ibn Ali on those who rejected him in his last hours for his refusal to condemn the first two Caliphs of the Muslim world, Abu Bakr and Umar.The Waning of the Umayyad Caliphate by Tabarī, Carole Hillenbrand, 1989, p. 37 Zayd bitterly scolds the "rejectors" (rafidha) who deserted him, an appellation used by Salafis to refer to Twelver Shi'a to this day.The Encyclopedia of Religion Vol.16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243. "They were called "Rafida by the followers of Zayd...the term became a pejorative nickname among Sunni Muslims, who used it, however to refer to the Imamiyah's repudiation of the first three caliphs preceding Ali..."

{{Cquote|A group of their leaders assembled in his (Zayd's presence) and said: "May God have mercy on you! What do you have to say on the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar?" Zayd said, "I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them...when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah"The waning of the Umayyad caliphate by Tabarī, Carole Hillenbrand, 1989, pp. 37, 38
The Encyclopedia of Religion Vol. 16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243.|30px|30px

}}

According to Zaydi traditions, Rāfiḍa referred to those Kufans who deserted and refused to support Zayd ibn Ali, who had a favourable view of the first two Rashidun Caliphs.{{cite book|author1=Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi|author2=Karim Douglas Crow|title=Facing One Qiblah: Legal and Doctrinal Aspects of Sunni and Shi'ah Muslims|date=2005|publisher=Pustaka Nasional Pte Ltd |isbn=9789971775520|page=186}}{{cite book|author1=Najam Haider|title=The Origins of the Shī'a: Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kūfa|date=26 September 2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139503310|pages=196–7}}{{cite book |last1=Najībābādī|first1=Akbar|title=History of Islam Volume 2|publisher=Darussalam Publishers

|isbn=978-9960892863|page=229|year=2000}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Suleiman|editor1-first=Yasir|title=Living Islamic History: Studies in Honour of Professor Carole Hillenbrand|date=21 April 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780748642199|page=11 |edition=illustrated}} The term "Rāfiḍa" became a popular pejorative term used by the Zaydi scholars against Imami Shias to criticize their rejection of Zayd ibn Ali.{{cite journal |last1=Kohlberg |first1=Etan |date=1979 |title=The Term "Rāfida" in Imāmī Shīʿī Usage |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=677–679 |doi=10.2307/601453 |jstor=601453 |issn=0003-0279 }}The Encyclopedia of Religion Vol.16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243. "They were called "Rafida by the followers of Zayd...the term became a pejorative nickname among Sunni Muslims, who used it, however to refer to the Imamiyah's repudiation of the first three caliphs preceding Ali..."

While not one of the Twelve Imams embraced by Twelver Shi'ism, Zayd ibn Ali features in historical accounts within Twelver literature in a positive and negative light.

In Twelver accounts, Imam Ali al-Ridha narrated how his grandfather, Ja'far al-Sadiq, also supported Zayd ibn Ali's struggle:

{{Cquote|he was one of the scholars from the Household of Muhammad and got angry for the sake of the Honorable the Exalted God. He fought with the enemies of God until he got killed in His path. My father Musa ibn Ja’far narrated that he had heard his father Ja’far ibn Muhammad say, "May God bless my uncle Zayd... He consulted with me about his uprising and I told him, "O my uncle! Do this if you are pleased with being killed and your corpse being hung up from the gallows in the al-Konasa neighbourhood." After Zayd left, As-Sadiq said, "Woe be to those who hear his call but do not help him!".|30px|30px|Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā,{{cite book |title=Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā |author=Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī, Muḥammad ibn ʻAlī}} p. 466

}}

Jafar al-Sadiq's love for Zayd ibn Ali was so immense that he broke down and cried upon reading the letter informing him of his death and proclaimed:

{{Cquote|From God we are and to Him is our return. I ask God for my reward in this calamity. He was a really good uncle. My uncle was a man for our world and for our Hereafter. I swear by God that my uncle is a martyr just like the martyrs who fought along with God’s Prophet or Ali or Al-Hassan or Al-Hussein|30px|30px|Uyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, p. 472

}}

However, in other hadiths, narrated in Al-Kafi, the main Shia book of hadith, Zayd ibn Ali is criticized by his half-brother, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, for his revolt against the Umayyad Dynasty. According to Alexander Shepard, an Islamic Studies specialist, much of Twelver ahadith and theology was written to counter Zaydism.'"Al-Kulayni’s Sectarian Polemics: Anti-Zaydi and Anti-Ghulat Hadiths in Twelver Literature". Center for the Study of Middle East, Global and International Studies Building, 5 November 2019. 'https://www.academia.edu/video/lvaQP1

The Justanids (Persian: جستانیان{{lrm}}) were the rulers of a part of Daylam (the mountainous district of Gilan) from 791 to the late 11th century. After Marzuban ibn Justan converted to Islam in 805, the ancient family of Justan's became connected to the Zaydi Alids of the Daylam region. The Justanids adopted the Zaydi form of Shi'ism.

The Karkiya dynasty, or Kia dynasty, was a Zaydi Shia dynasty which ruled over Bia pish (eastern Gilan) from the 1370s to 1592. They claimed Sasanian ancestry as well.{{cite encyclopedia | article = GĪLĀN v. History under the Safavids | last = Kasheff | first = Manouchehr | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gilan-v | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 6 | pages = 635–642 | year = 2001 }}

Alid dynasty of Tabaristan. See Alid dynasties of northern Iran.

File:Idrisids-eng.PNG

The Idrisid dynasty was a Zaydi dynasty centered around modern-day Morocco which ruled from 788 to 974. It was named after its first leader Idris I.

The Banu Ukhaidhir was a dynasty that ruled in al-Yamamah (central Arabia) from 867 to at least the mid-eleventh century.

The Hammudid dynasty was a Zaydi dynasty in the 11th century in southern Spain.

File:North yemen religion map.png interior, excludes Tihamah on the coast.]]

The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, also known as North Yemen, existed between 1918 and 1962 in the northern part of what is now Yemen. Its capital was Sana'a until 1948, then Ta'izz.

Since the earliest form of Zaydism was Jaroudiah, many of the first Zaidi states were supporters of its position, such as those of the Iranian Alavids of Mazandaran province and the Buyid dynasty of Gilan province and the Arab dynasties of the Banu Ukhaidhir{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} of al-Yamama (modern Saudi Arabia) and the Rassids of Yemen. The Idrisid dynasty in the western Maghreb were another Arab

{{Citation |last=Hodgson |first=Marshall |year=1961 |title=Venture of Islam |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=262}} Zaydi{{Citation |last=Ibn Abī Zarʻ al-Fāsī |first=ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh |publication-date=1972 |year=1340 |title=Rawḍ al-Qirṭās: Anīs al-Muṭrib bi-Rawd al-Qirṭās fī Akhbār Mulūk al-Maghrib wa-Tārīkh Madīnat Fās |location=ar-Rabāṭ |publisher=Dār al-Manṣūr|page=38|title-link=Rawd al-Qirtas }}{{cite web|url=http://hespress.com/?browser=view&EgyxpID=5116 |title=حين يكتشف المغاربة أنهم كانوا شيعة وخوارج قبل أن يصبحوا مالكيين ! |publisher=Hespress.com |access-date=30 November 2013}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zeStDQZOSgC&q=Idrisid+dynasty+zaydi&pg=PA218 |title=Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law |access-date=30 November 2013|isbn=978-0691100999 |last1=Goldziher |first1=Ignác |last2=Hamori |first2=Andras |last3=Jūldtsīhar |first3=Ijnās |year=1981 |publisher=Princeton University Press }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBwOF6jXBdIC&q=Idrisid+dynasty+zaidi&pg=PA844 |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics |date= 2003|access-date=30 November 2013|isbn=9780766137042 |last1=Hastings |first1=James |publisher=Kessinger }}{{cite web|url=http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101310 |title=The Institute of Ismaili Studies – The Initial Destination of the Fatimid caliphate: The Yemen or The Maghrib? |publisher=Iis.ac.uk |access-date=30 November 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/Chapter3/Ch_3_25.htm |title=25. Shi'ah tenets concerning the question of the imamate |publisher=Muslimphilosophy.com |access-date=30 November 2013}} dynasty, ruling 788–985.

The Alavids established a Zaydi state in Deylaman and Tabaristan (northern Iran) in 864;Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 Referencing: Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature it lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of the Sunni Samanids in 928. Roughly forty years later, the state was revived in Gilan (northwest Iran) and survived until 1126. Historically, there was a small community of Zaydi Kurds between Iran and Iraq.كتاب دائرة المعارف: من سليكون الى صلاح الدينية. ١٠, Volume 10, Buṭrus al- Bustānī, 1898, pp. 614

From the 12th–13th centuries, Zaydi communities acknowledged the Imams of Yemen or rival Imams within Iran.Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 Referencing: Encyclopedia Iranica

The Buyid dynasty was initially Zaidi{{Citation|last=Walker|first=Paul Ernest|year=1999|title=Hamid Al-Din Al-Kirmani: Ismaili Thought in the Age of Al-Hakim |series=Ismaili Heritage Series|volume=3|place=London; New York|publisher=I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies |page=13|isbn=978-1-86064-321-7}} as were the Banu Ukhaidhir rulers of al-Yamama in the 9th and 10th centuries.Madelung, W. "al-Uk̲h̲ayḍir." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-7693]

The leader of the Zaidi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph. Al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, a descendant of Imam Hasan ibn Ali, founded this Rassid state at Sa'da, al-Yaman, in c. 893–897. The Rassid Imamate continued until the middle of the 20th century, when a 1962 revolution deposed the Imam. After the fall of the Zaydi Imamate in 1962 many{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Zaydi Shia in northern Yemen had converted to Sunni Islam.{{cite book|last1=Ardic |first1=Nurullah|title=Islam and the Politics of Secularism: The Caliphate and Middle Eastern}}{{Dubious|date=May 2016}}

The Rassid state was founded under Jarudiyya thought;Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, At-tarikh aṣ-ṣaghir 'an ash-shia al-yamaniyeen (Arabic: التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites), 2005 however, increasing interactions with Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of Sunni Islam led to a shift to Sulaimaniyyah thought, especially among the Hadawi sub-sect.

In the 21st century, the most prominent Zaidi movement is the Shabab Al Mu'mineen, commonly known as Houthis, who have been engaged in an uprising against the Yemeni Government, causing a grave humanitarian crisis in north Yemen.{{cite web|url=http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/MidEastReligionCore_lg.jpg |title=Map : Islam |publisher=Gulf2000.columbia.edu |access-date=30 November 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps.shtml |title=The Gulf/2000 Project – SIPA – Columbia University |publisher=Gulf2000.columbia.edu |access-date=30 November 2013}}

Some Persian and Arab legends record that Zaidis fled to China from the Umayyads during the 8th century.{{cite web |url=http://www.islamicpopulation.com/asia/China/China_integration%20of%20religious%20minority.pdf|title=The Integration of Religious Minorities in China: The Case of Chinese Muslims|author=Donald Daniel Leslie|year=1998|page=6|publisher=The Fifty-ninth George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology|access-date=30 November 2010}}

{{Main|Houthis}}

File:Ansar Allah Flag.svg, associated with the Zaydit doctrine]]Since 2004 in Yemen, Zaidi fighters have been waging an uprising against factions belonging to the Sunni majority group in the country. The Houthis, as they are often called, have asserted that their actions are for the defense of their community from the government and discrimination, though the Yemeni government in turn accused them of wishing to bring it down and institute religious law.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7379929.stm |publisher=BBC News|title=Deadly blast strikes Yemen mosque |date=2 May 2008 |access-date=11 November 2009}}

On 21 September 2014, an agreement was signed in Sana'a under UN patronage essentially giving the Houthis control of the government after a decade of conflict.{{cite news|title=Houthis secure six ministerial portfolios in new Yemeni cabinet|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2014/10/article55337905|date=26 October 2014|access-date=24 April 2021|newspaper=Asharq Al-Awsat|author=Hamdan Al-Rahbi|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029134357/http://www.aawsat.net/2014/10/article55337905|archive-date=29 October 2014}} Tribal militias then moved swiftly to consolidate their position in the capital, with the group officially declaring direct control over the state on 6 February 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/yemens-shia-rebels-finalize-coup-vow-to-dissolve-parliament/article22829401/|agency=The Globe and Mail|title=Yemen's Shia rebels finalize coup, vow to dissolve parliament|date=6 February 2015|access-date=6 February 2015}} This outcome followed the removal of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012 in the wake of protracted Arab Spring protests. Saudi Arabia has exercised the predominant external influence in Yemen since the withdrawal of Nasser's Egyptian expeditionary force marking the end of the bitter North Yemen Civil War.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/sanaa-violence-end-yemen-shia-houthi-agreement|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922193208/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/sanaa-violence-end-yemen-shia-houthi-agreement|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 September 2014|title=Yemeni government reaches agreement with Shia Houthi rebels|work=The Guardian |date=21 September 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/21636|agency=Al-Akhbar|title=Yemen: Saudi Arabia recognizes new balance of power in Sanaa as Houthis topple Muslim Brothers|first=Ahmed|last=al-Zarqa|date=22 September 2014|access-date=8 February 2015}}

There is a wide array of domestic opponents to Houthi rule in Yemen, ranging from the conservative Sunni Islah Party to the secular socialist Southern Movement to the radical Islamists of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and, since 2014, the Islamic State – Yemen Province.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/politics/isis-gaining-ground-in-yemen/|publisher=CNN|title=ISIS gaining ground in Yemen|date=21 January 2015|access-date= 14 January 2016}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-goes-off-in-center-of-yemen-capital/2015/02/07/8ffcf9fa-aec1-11e4-8876-460b1144cbc1_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209040955/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-goes-off-in-center-of-yemen-capital/2015/02/07/8ffcf9fa-aec1-11e4-8876-460b1144cbc1_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 February 2015|work=The Washington Post|title=After takeover, Yemen's Shiite rebels criticized over 'coup'|date=7 February 2015|access-date=8 February 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-shiite-leader-defends-yemen-takeover-2015-2|work=Business Insider|title=Shiite leader in Yemen says coup protects from al Qaeda|date=7 February 2015|access-date=8 February 2015}}

• Imams of Yemen#List of imams
• Dukayniyya Shia
• Khalafiyya Shia
• Khashabiyya Shia
• Islamic history of Yemen
• Zaidi (surname)

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book | first = Cornelis | last = van Arendonk | title = Les débuts de l'imamat zaidite au Yemen | location = Leiden | publisher = Brill | year = 1960 | language = fr}}
• {{cite journal | last=Haider | first=Najam | title=Zaydism: A Theological and Political Survey | journal=Religion Compass | volume=4 | issue=7 | url=https://www.academia.edu/download/40553879/Zaydiyya_Published_-_Haider.pdf | date=2010 | doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2010.00214.x | pages=436–442}}
• {{cite book | last=Haider | first=Najam | title=Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements | publisher=Brill Publishing | chapter = Zaydism | date=2021 | chapter-url=https://scholar.archive.org/work/uxwgoclpevbsha4afgv2gd4ilu/access/wayback/https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789004435544/BP000020.pdf | isbn=978-90-04-43554-4 | doi=10.1163/9789004435544_013 | pages = 204–234}}
• {{EI2 | last = Madelung | first = W. | authorlink = Wilferd Madelung | title = Zaydiyya | pages = 477–481 | volume = 11 | url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1385|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1385 }}
• {{cite book | last1=Salmoni | first1=Barak A. | last2=Loidolt | first2=Bryce | last3=Wells | first3=Madeleine | title=Regime and Periphery in Northern Yemen |chapter=Appendix B: Zaydism: Overview and Comparison to Other Versions of Shi‘ism | publisher=Rand Corporation | publication-place=Santa Monica, Calif. | date=2010 | isbn=978-0-8330-4933-9 | url = https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2010/RAND_MG962.pdf | pages = 285–296}}
• {{cite book | last=Obaid | first=S.A. | title=Yemen's Road to War: Yemeni Struggle in the Middle East | publisher=Austin Macauley Publishers | year=2023 | isbn=978-1-64979-942-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BlzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT73 | access-date=2024-01-14}}

• [https://zaidiportal.com Zaidi Portal]
• [http://www.al-majalis.com Majalis Aal Mohammed]
• [http://salvationark.com/ Salvation Ark]
• [https://www.academia.edu/4394924/Zaidiyyah Zaidiyyah]

{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Islamic Theology|state=expanded|schools}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Islamic history of Yemen

Category:Shia Islamic branches