Zaydism

Zaydism is typically considered the Shia branch that is closest to Sunni Islam, although the "classical" form of Zaydism (usually referred to as Hadawi) historically changed its stance on Sunni and Shia traditions multiple times, to the point where Zaydis' simply accepting Ali as a rightful successor to Muhammad was enough to consider them Shia.

Zaydis regard rationalism as more important than Quranic literalism and historically were quite tolerant towards Shafi'i Sunnism, the jurisprudential school of about half of the Yemenis. Most of the world's Zaydis are located in northwestern Yemen and Najran in Saudi Arabia.

History

Origins

In the 7th century some early Muslims expected Ali to become the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, 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 Muhammad's family. (The proto-Sunni, in contrast, recognized Abu Bakr as a legitimate first caliph). The Zaydis emerged in reverence of Zayd ibn Ali's failed uprising against the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 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.

Since the earliest form of Zaydism was Jaroudiah, many of the first Zaydi states were supporters of its position, such as those of the Iranian Alavids of Mazandaran province, the Buyid dynasty of Gilan province, the Arab dynasties of the Banu Ukhaidhir of al-Yamama (modern Saudi Arabia), and the Rassids of Yemen. The Idrisid dynasty in the western Maghreb were another Arab Zaydi dynasty, ruling 788–985.

Some Persian and Arab legends record that Zaydis fled to China from the Umayyads during the 8th century.

Zaydi empires in Iran

Under Hasan ibn Zayd, the Alavids established a Zaydi state in Daylam and Tabaristan (northern Iran) in 864. It also expanded into Sa'dah (Yemen) around 893, under al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, a descendant of Imam Hasan ibn Ali; Yahya thereby founded the Rassid dynasty. The Zaydi state in Tabaristan 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 Daylam and Gilan (northwest Iran) and survived until 1126. Historically, there was a small community of Zaydi Kurds between Iran and Iraq.

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. Thus the rulers of Daylam were also called the Justanids (Persian: جستانیان‎).

The Buyid dynasty was initially Zaydi as were the Banu Ukhaidhir rulers of al-Yamama in the 9th and 10th centuries. The leader of the Zaydi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph. From the 12th to the 13th century, Zaydi communities acknowledged the Imams of Yemen or rival Imams within Iran.

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.

The Zaydis on the Caspian Sea were forcefully converted to Twelver Shi'ism in the 16th century.

Outside Arabia and Iran

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

Evolution of the Zaydi Imamate in Yemen

The Zaydis in Yemen had initially lived in the highlands and the northern territories, but the extent of their dominance away from their capital of seven centuries, Sa'dah, had been changing over time. The Rassid dynasty was re-established under Al-Mansur al-Qasim after an Ottoman invasion in the 16th century. After another conflict with the 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 the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962.

The Rassid state had been founded under Jarudiyya thought; 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. 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.

This transition did not happen abruptly, but through a long-lasting process from the fifteenth century onwards (termed "Traditionism" by Bernard Haykel) that saw the gradual merging of Zaydi doctrine with elements of Shafi'i Sunnism. By the mid-eighteenth century, the rulers of the Qasimi Imamate had become dynastic, a more formal state bureaucracy was established, and the traditional Zaydi notion of khurūj (revolt against unjust rule) was deemed unacceptable.

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 Sanaa until 1948, then Taiz.

Yemeni Arab Republic era

After the fall of the Zaydi Imamate in 1962 some Zaydi Shia in northern Yemen converted to Sunni Islam.

The end of imam rule, with the new rulers in Yemen no longer conforming to the requirements of Zaydism, caused a number of Zaydi scholars to call for the restoration of the imamate. This contributed to the North Yemen Civil War that lasted from 1962 to 1970. The national reconciliation of 1970 paused the fighting with traumatized Zaydis following three main routes:

• 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).

Throughout the Republican era, the position of Saudi-backed Salafis and other Sunni groups in Yemen steadily increased, as did the position of Sheikhs who sometimes cooperated with these Salafi groups for pragmatic reasons. The Salafis reportedly pursued an aggressive "policy of provocation" towards the Zaydis who inhabited the surrounding area, often accusing them of apostasy and sometimes even destroying their cemeteries. Despite this, the Salafi school enjoyed the support of both the Saudi and North Yemeni regimes. This situation helped sow the seeds for mounting discontent among the Zaydi population and ultimately Zaydi revivalist movements such as the Houthis, an armed rebel group.

Houthi insurgency

Since 2004, the Houthis have been waging an uprising against factions belonging to the Sunni majority group in the country. The group has asserted that their actions are for the defence 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.

On 21 September 2014, an agreement was signed in Sanaa under UN patronage essentially giving the Houthis control of the government after a decade of conflict. 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. 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.

There is a wide array of domestic opponents to Houthi rule in Yemen, ranging from the conservative Sunni Islah Party to the secular post-socialist Southern Movement to the radical Islamists of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and, since 2014, the Islamic State – Yemen Province.