“Always go back to the source,” my father wold say, when I’d storm into his office cursing the Imaam at the mosque across the street: ‘This is the Islam that you praise? It is oppressive and misogynist.’ He’d calmly stand up, telling me to relax my nerves, grabbing three books from the bookcase behind him and placing them on the desk between us: the Quran, the interpretations of the Quran and the Arabic dictionary.
Since then, roots have become my point of beginning.
Houthi: from Houth (root) حوث
Mustahaath (noun): Remains of an animal or plant from a previous geological age that’s been petrified in the earth. (Al-Munjid)
Haath (verb): Divided them and annihilated them (Al-Muheet, part1)
Alas, even dictionaries don’t always agree. Yet strangely, both definitions ring true to my ears.
Realising I know very little about the Houthis, I started reading up.
They emerged in the late 1980’s, named after their founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. A rebel group supposedly backed by Iran; in opposition to Saudi influence in Yemen. A continuation of the shiite - Sunni saga. They slowly gained clout, with a civil war ensuing that- between 2014 and 2021 - ended the lives of more than 377,000 people, 70% of whom were children. More than half died indirectly, from hunger, dirty water and disease. The Yemenis are still paying the price, with most of the population living in dire poverty. The world turned a blind eye and did not intervene all those years. No invested interest, until recently.
The Houthis finally made it to the news, with a big bang. They’ve been attacking ships entering the Red Sea, and have vowed to continue until the war on Gaza ends. This elicited an immediate resolution by the UN, giving the green light for a military reaction led by the US, Britain and their allies.
The Netherlands jumped up to pledge support and bring an end to the Houthi threat. No hesitation. As a trade country, having no access to the Red Sea costs too much money. More valuable than the lives of 23,000 Gazans and counting.
Human worth
How much does a human life cost? It depends. I always thought it interesting that with exchange of persons between Israel and Palestine, it’s one to a dozen - if not a hundred. You might say, it makes sense. There are more Palestinian prisoners than there ever were Israeli hostages. A percentage. As for Western media, we don’t need studies to show us that Israeli deaths are reported much more than Palestinians’ (up to 16 more times per death, a recent report shows.) But at the end of the day, no person is worth more than money. No peoples. No country. This is obvious.
Everything that is happening in our world, from war, epidemics and even the ‘environmental crisis’ is in service of the Capital. And what the hell can we do?
Save our pennies for a rainy day.
Yemen is one of poorest countries in the world; the houthis pirating is like the 99% standing up to the 1% in the most primitive form. A clash of class and civilisation. With ships obstructed, prices have sky rocketed. Hitting them where it hurts. I should commend their courage, their balls of steel.
On Dutch TV, they showed us dark men in turbans with second hand weapons raised, screaming ‘Allah Akbar’ and calling for the death of America and Israel. A terrifying sight. Ofcourse the world would panic from what it sees. I did, it even infiltrated my dreams*.
The great shadow
An easy target, the Houthis fit the role of the villain perfectly. To the western eye, they seem more diabolical than Netanyahou. Another kind of evil, or rather, wearing another garment. To the West, Israel feels familiar. After all, they’re in Eurovision, they partake in European sport competitions and share similar values. They are more European than anything else. Israelis might have an aggressive way of talking (as do Arabs), but they can be more diplomatic than the Arabs and they run a better PR campaign. They wear normal clothes, they’re light(er) skinned, shorts are ok and they go to clubs (Arabs do too by the way.) Most importantly, they are ‘the only Democracy in the Middle East.’ Much easier to identify with than the Yemenis, the Gazans, Afghaans or even the fair-skinned Syrians.
Double standards or Human Nature
Do we only accept people who look more like us, who have a similar religion, or eye colour? Look at Ukraine. Her refugees were embraced by all of Europe and into people’s homes. Not the Syrians however, for those were ‘another kind’ of people. There is no difference between the suffering of a Ukraine or Syrian. There’s no difference between the suffering of a Palestinian or Israeli. We are all people. And we are all being played. A few ships obstructed and the West reacts with an iron fist. Thousands of Palestinians are being killed, and the West is arguing about semantics.
Pirates of the Red Sea
Piracy has some charm, you have to admit. Taking away wealth from the rich in the name of the poor. Robin hoods. It could be commendable. Some piracy in exchange for the life of Human Beings, just a couple of million plus.
I’m a Bad Arab. I should be rejoicing that the Houthis are standing up for Gaza, while no one else dares. Instead, a big knot forms in my stomach. They scare me, as did Hamas. Movements born out of despair. The Houthis do not represent the people of Yemen, just like Hamas does not represent the Palestinians.
Since the rise of the the houthis, Yemen has only moved backwards. They have not built the country that’s become a dump for used weapons from other stale wars. We can’t eat kalashnikovs. The population’s serious malnutrition and high illiteracy rates are ingredients for disaster. The ignorant and starving can be told anything, and they will believe it. And what better a cause than God himself. And what better a flag than that of the Palestinian people. But who’s benefiting?
What is the seed?
Why did the Houthis (or Hamas) emerge? What caused them to form? They were not always there? Who benefits from the houthis destroying Yemen and - if you ask me - damaging the plight of Palestinians right now? Similarly, who is gaining ground from Hamas’ attack on October 7th?
On the outside, it seems as if the Houthis are supporting the people of Gaza: We’ll stop pirating if your stop bombing. But is that true? Did they really think it would work? Is it an act of resistance? Arab solidarity? Or simply an attempt to become new big-players in the great monopoly, while the bigger players are playing us all (intensifying their military presence in the Middle East and providing another justification for a future attack on Iran.)
Or is it just another diversion? The timing of the US missile attack on the Houthis is conspicuous, coinciding with the first day of public hearings in the International Court against Israel’s Genocide in Gaza.
‘There’s nothing wrong with Yemen getting some attention,’ a friend tells me, and he’s right. We’ve ignored Yemen for far too long. Turning a bling eye to the behind-the-scenes parties responsible for destroying the country for the last twenty some years - if not longer, for they are too precious of an ally to the United States and Europe, too large an economy. Yemen is yet another casualty of hidden agendas and the greedy war machine.
Burning roots
The Arabs trace their origins to the Arab Peninsula and particularly to Yemen, to a man named ya’rob bin Qahtaan to be exact [Ya’rob from Arab.]
Witness the destruction of our birth place.
In the past, many Jews lived in Yemen (Yemenites: Arab-Jews.) I read that in 2010, only 300 Yemenites still lived in Yemen, and in 2022 only one. Darn. That’s guts! I’d like to hear his story - or hers.
The architectural wonders of Yemen I’ve only seen in pictures, blowing me away. The archaeological treasures, the colour of the sea, the underwater life… And the best honey, from the sidr tree [which I did taste and can attest is yummy -and medicinal.] In Yemen are animal and plant species that exist no where else. A paradise turned into hell. A population drugged with Qaat, and let’s not even start about the women.
The women … this is what terrifies me the most about the Houthis and other groups like them that wear a religious garb. In 2019, Amnesty international declared Yemen as One of the Worst Places in the World to be a Woman. I can’t image how it is today. And the Houthis go about calling themselves, Ansaar al-laah: Supporters of God. That is not my god.
Faith
‘This is not Islam,’ my father would tell me, quoting verses from the Quran that elevate women. ‘Differentiate between Muslims and Islam,’ he’d advise. ‘Religion is correct conduct. Mercy is its pillar.’ Indeed, the religion has been hijacked. All religions have been hijacked. Judaism is being hijacked by Zionism too.
No, religion is not the problem. But faith might be a solution.
On the one hand, there is a need to return to the ‘essence’ of our faiths. On the other hand, there is the need to reform. Because at the end of the day - and no matter what whoever claims - the books have been edited and re-edited to justify injustices, fed to illiterates by corrupt leaders, severing the feminine face1. Throwing us heads on into a patriarchal paradigm, built on conquest and war. Where are the women?
The feminine: al-aneeth
Unth (root) soft, malleable … like water.
I wonder … how would my reaction have been, or yours, if instead of an angry bearded brute screaming, we saw a woman calmly telling us that the ships will continue to be obstructed until there is cease fire. There’s nothing wrong with resistance. Pirating a few ships sucks, but how much human life could it save? I think of the 1969 hijacking of the TWA flight, dubbed as terrorism by the west, but for the Palestinians, a call for help. No one was hurt. Was it so bad? What did it achieve? I can’t say the same about the olympic assassinations however, how stupid and heartless could one get! If not out of respect for innocent human life, then at least for realising it would immediately discredit the Palestinian cause (which raises the question - who benefited and thus who was actually behind it?)
I am against armed resistance, against killing, nothing can convince me of otherwise. Call me a woos, call me an idealist, call me mad. But there must be another way. How can we resist peacefully? Has peaceful resistance ever achieved anything (apparently a handful, yes? Does the fact that it never succeeded in the holy land in the past make it impossible?
[Audio: Whisper- a poem EN/AR]
A decade ago, I dreamt of women dancing on either side of the apartheid wall in the holy land, singing and beating drums, breaking down the cement and opening doors. I believed that peace is possible without having to resort to fighting. In fact, it can only be achieved without. How can we harvest peace when we’re planting bombs?
I’d rather die singing than shouting.
But it’s easy for me to say, I’m not there, where the war has passed the 100-day mark, with Netanyahu declaring, "nobody will stop us."
Meanwhile, a mother in Gaza is singing her children to sleep, trying to dull the sound of bombings. What will her children dream of tonight?
Pray for the children. Act for the love of humanity.
*Dream (11.1.2023)
I am followed by a dark skinned man in a turban. I’m on a road, a car is now behind me. I half turn and sign with my hand to stop. I start chanting to myself ‘Allah Akbar’ and begin to rise. I continue my chant but softer: W-al-Laat, w-al-uzza, wa Manat, wa kul al-anbiyaa’ wal-mursalaat.2 I lift up, whirling and chanting. I remain unharmed.
The Hebrew Goddess, by Rapahel Patai is forever a favourite in my library.
Al-Laat, Al-Uzza and Manat are the three (triple) goddess of Arabia. Al-Anbiyaa’ means the prophets; Mursalaat: the sent/messengers/letters. I believe in the One-ness of the creator, but within this oneness is multiplicity.
An unorthodox look at the situation in the Middle East, I like it.