Militias Change Names of Yemeni Schools to Glorify Houthi Ideology

A girl walks by a school damaged by fighting in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, December 18, 2018. (Reuters)
A girl walks by a school damaged by fighting in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, December 18, 2018. (Reuters)
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Militias Change Names of Yemeni Schools to Glorify Houthi Ideology

A girl walks by a school damaged by fighting in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, December 18, 2018. (Reuters)
A girl walks by a school damaged by fighting in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, December 18, 2018. (Reuters)

Ever since their coup against the legitimate Yemeni government, the Iran-backed Houthi militias have never ceased their efforts to alter the country’s national and cultural identity to shape it around their own ideology and sectarian beliefs.

The latest of these efforts was the Houthis’ issuing a new decree to change the names of several schools to reflect their sectarian beliefs. The “Khaled bin al-Walid School” is now known as the “Imam al-Hadi School”, social media posts revealed. The founder of the Houthi movement claims that Imam al-Hadi was the first Houthi to rule Yemen in the eighth and seventh centuries.

“Al-Farouk School” has been changed to “Imam Zeid bin Ali”, the Houthis’ alleged ancestral founder. The Babel School is now known as “September 21 School”, the date when the Houthis captured Sanaa in 2014. The “Othman bin Affan School” has been changed to “Malek al-Ashtar” and the “Omar al-Mokhtar School” is now known as “Ali bin Hussein School”, names that reflect the Houthis’ sectarian and ideological beliefs.

Academic sources in Sanaa accused the Houthi-appointed education minister Yehya al-Houthi of introducing the name change at the behest of his brother and Houthi leader Abulmalek al-Houthi.

The parents of students at these schools expressed to Asharq Al-Awsat their strong rejection and condemnation of the Houthi practices. They said the militias have gone too far in their constant targeting of schools and their children by brainwashing and inciting them to join their ranks.

They added that the Houthis have sought since the early days of their coup to target schools and education in order to introduce their sectarian and racist ideology into the system.

The Houthis have transformed schools in Saada into centers of extremism and child recruitment where they have imposed sectarian activities and “taught” the students the lectures of their leader.

Local accounts have revealed that the militants have made the students sit through daily Houthi lectures, projected on large screens in the classrooms, after which they are tested by the teachers about what they “learned”.

United Nations reports have revealed that in 2019 alone the Houthis have looted and shut dozens of schools and academic institutions in Sanaa. They have also altered the official curriculum to suit their sectarian ideology.



Syria's Aviation Comeback Struggles amid Regional Turmoil

An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Syria's Aviation Comeback Struggles amid Regional Turmoil

An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Poor infrastructure, regional conflict and sporadic Israeli airstrikes are holding back more airlines from returning to Syria, industry officials told Reuters, hampering efforts to rebuild a shattered economy after 14 years of civil war.

This month, at least 11 foreign airlines are scheduled to fly into Syria, up from just three a year ago, as sanctions are scaled back following the overthrow of long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

These include the world's largest international carrier, Dubai's Emirates, and the first two European Union-based airlines to fly into Syria since 2011: Romania's Dan Air and Greece's Air Mediterranean, Reuters said.

But airlines such as Royal Jordanian, FlyDubai, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways last month were forced to cancel many of their recently launched flights as airspace across the Middle East closed to civil air traffic due to air and missile attacks involving Israel, the US and Iran.

There are dangers closer to home too. Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority there.

At the same time, airlines are worried about the state of Syria's aviation infrastructure and management of the industry.

"Progress is needed in regulatory oversight, infrastructure investment, and compliance with international safety and operational standards," industry body the International Air Transport Association said.

Major carriers such as Lufthansa and Air France KLM, which used to fly to Syria pre-war, have visited Damascus airport to assess the infrastructure and former offices, officials at Damascus airport and Syria's aviation regulator told Reuters.

However, both airlines told Reuters they had no current interest in resuming flights.

Small Romanian airline Dan Air launched its Bucharest to Damascus route last month.

"What held back operators until now were the logistical and regulatory complexities," Dan Air CEO Matt Ian David told Reuters, adding that eased sanctions would now make Syria more accessible.

Emirates at the end of May resumed flying over Syria for the first time since the civil war, shaving up to an hour off a Dubai to Beirut flight.

However, several countries, including Britain and the United States, still advise their airlines to avoid flying over Syria. Europe's aviation regulator EASA says "there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft".

Syria completely reopened its airspace on June 24, its civil air authority said.

Damascus Airport's two runways were bombed during the civil war, but have been repaired. The airport was also looted during the chaos of Assad's fall.

Alaa Sallal, director of public relations at Syria's Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters a number of airlines had been to inspect security and infrastructure at the airport.

"The airport's construction was dilapidated, the equipment was worn out and some missing," Sallal said.

Radar equipment was lacking, leaving the country reliant on Lebanese or Turkish radar to monitor air traffic, he said.

The head of Syria's General Authority for Civil Aviation earlier this month said it wanted to build new airports in Damascus, Aleppo and in the country's central region. But that will take time and money that the war-ravaged country may struggle to find on its own.

NEW AIRLINES

The mostly Iranian and Iraqi carriers that served Syria through its long conflict have largely stopped flying there, reflecting a new political landscape after Iran- and Russia-backed Assad's overthrow.

The flag carriers of Qatar and Türkiye, countries that backed Syria's rebels through the war, were the first big airlines to resume flights in January under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's new leadership.

Türkiye, a close ally of the new government, has been helping improve Syria's airports, its transport ministry has said.