Houthis working to control Yemen’s mosques

Noura Bendari

The Houthis have been working to control Yemen’s mosques since the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The militiamen break into a new mosque every day to kick the imam out and put an associate of theirs in his stead.

The Houthi militia wants to control the mosques with the aim of brainwashing Yemenis and controlling them.

Muslim Brotherhood’s way

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islah Party in the southwestern province of Taizz broke into a mosque and stopped the prayer. He also attacked the mosque imam who is known to be an ultraorthodox Salafi. Islah Party then appointed a new imam in the mosque by force of arms. It also deprived people from performing the weekly Friday prayer inside the same mosque.

Meanwhile, the Endowments Ministry office in Taizz suspended Mohamed Nagui al-Ahdal for appointing a party associate as the imam of one of the mosques of the province.

Some sources said Islah Party has been working to removing imams unaffiliated to it from the mosques and appointing others loyal to it in their stead. The party appoints its affiliates in the mosques with the aim of spreading its ideology throughout Yemen.

Houthi-Iranian way

The Houthi militia, which is backed by Iran, also works to spread the Shiite ideology across Yemen.

The militia uses multiple ways to do this, including by organizing lectures and forcing ordinary Yemenis to attend them. Those who refuse to attend the lectures are either fined or put in jail.