The North is drowning in ignorance and superstition, from the Houthis to the pretenders of the Mahdi
English - Tuesday 04 October 2022 الساعة 03:51 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, private:
With the Houthi group's continued grip on most of the geography of northern Yemen, indications are increasing about the effects and changes that this control brings to society in the short term and the danger of its continuation in the long term.
One form of these effects can be measured through what is witnessed in the Houthi-controlled areas, which can be called the phenomenon of "the pretenders of the Mahdi", that is, the people who claim to be the "awaited Mahdi" who will rule the world according to some accounts in religious heritage, an issue that is widely disputed in Islamic sects.
Over the past two days, video clips appeared on social media showing a number of young people in Houthi-controlled areas claiming to be "supporters of the Mahdi" and appealing to the leader of the Houthi group to release their leader, "Hassan Al-Tihami".
Hassan Al-Tihami, whose real name is Muhammad Abdo Al-Hodali, is the latest person to claim that he is the awaited Mahdi, and the Iranian arm arrested him about two years ago, despite the intellectual consensus between the two parties about the eligibility of the "Ahl al-Bait" to rule and the strong hostility to Saudi Arabia and the coalition.
It is noteworthy that the man's followers page on Facebook posted a video clip, which it said was for a number of his supporters while they were inside a prison of the Houthi group, and they confirmed their willingness to sacrifice for his release.
The Al-Hodali or Al-Tihami case brings to mind the story of one of the most prominent and oldest claimants to be the awaited Mahdi, who has been called "Muhammad Nasser Al-Yamani" for more than 10 years and has been clearly active on social media with the aim of convincing the largest number of people of the validity of his allegations.
Although the man began his activity before the Houthi group took control of the state in late 2014, his activity witnessed a transformation after that, as he moved from his activity in the virtual world to the real world by holding meetings with groups of citizens in different regions, and he claimed that the number of his followers exceeded 200,000 person.
Regardless of whether the man’s allegations are true or not, what is certain about the matter is that the Houthi group’s control has created an appropriate environment that facilitates for him and others to attract followers and convince them of what they want, even if this is absurd and nonsensical.
The group’s thought and project regarding “divine rule” that it is trying to implant by force in the minds of Yemenis is based in itself on a list of Islamic narratives of questionable authenticity, such as the Ghadir incident and the allegations that the Prophet granted the religious and political authority to Ali bin Abi Talib, and is also based on a series of myths and legends.
In addition to the policy of systematic ignorance practiced by the Houthi group by striking the educational process in its areas of control and harnessing it to brainwash children with lies and myths to ensure their loyalty and ensure that they are converted into fuel for its comprehensive war to control Yemen and threaten neighboring countries.
A frightening picture and dangerous indicators that raise the alarm about the Houthi group's continued control of the north for the coming years, which will turn it into a densely populated geographical area overshadowed by ignorance and myths, and will represent ready-made death projects that threaten Yemen and its neighbors for decades.
