The Houthi militias converted the oldest mosque in Yemen into a hall for their sectarian events and meetings as they continue to escalate their measures against religious groups and minorities.
Yemen's permanent representative to UNESCO, Ambassador Mohamed Jumaih, complained to the organization about the al-Nahrain Mosque, which the militias are rebuilding in a way that completely contradicts its identity and archaeological character.
Houthis demolished the mosque in February 2021. It is considered a national historical asset as it was built in the first century of the Islamic calendar and is one of the archaeological landmarks.
Jumaih stated that the Houthi militants are rebuilding the Mosque in the old city of Sanaa with modern building materials that violate the standards, warning that these measures threaten and endanger Sanaa's status on the World Heritage List.
He urged UNESCO to take responsibility and intervene to stop this monument.
Social media activists shared a video from inside the Muaz Bin Jabal Mosque in al-Janad Taiz, showing dozens of Houthi militants using it as a meeting hall and covering its walls with their sectarian slogans.
Residents reported that the mosque, the first mosque in Yemen, was built in the early days of Islam.
They complained that Houthi militias took complete control, converting it to a sectarian platform and holding sessions and lessons to brainwash young people and children and push them to fight.
According to the locals, the mosque is used by militia leaders as a headquarters for the group's security and military missions and meetings to assign tasks and issue orders.
Abandoning the mosques
Residents of one of the Haziz neighborhoods, south of Sanaa, were performing Maghrib prayers in someone's house when a Houthis commander stormed the house asking them to pray at the local mosque.
Residents abandoned prayer in the mosque after Houthis appointed a new imam and preacher who took the initiative to organize lessons promoting the coup project before and after the prayer. He would recite sectarian supplications and devote the Friday sermon to incitement against various sects and religions.
According to one of the residents, the locals agreed two months ago to meet every day in one of the houses to pray, and after their number increased, they allocated an area in the yard of his house for prayers.
The residents did not hold regular prayers, and the courtyard did not turn into a mosque, but the militia members noticed more people's reluctance to pray at the local mosque.
After realizing the mosque had been abandoned, the preacher began to incite against the residents, accusing them of sympathizing with the enemies and planning a rebellion.
The locals stopped their gatherings and refused to attend prayers at the mosque, expressing their rejection of the militia's practices.
Escalation against the Baha'is
Meanwhile, incitement against the Baha'is escalated to include the media, despite all international positions condemning and denouncing the militia's practices and arbitrary measures against the followers.
Houthis' Saba news agency said the Baha'i sect was established by Crusader colonialism, accusing it of fighting Islam, distorting the image of Muslims, and sowing division among them. They also claimed that the followers aimed to destroy Muslim families and abolish religions.
The Houthi escalation against the Baha'i community comes in response to the supportive international positions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights rejected various practices against minorities and religious groups and expressed the UN organization's concern about the Houthi militia's use of its platforms for discrimination and incitement to violence.
The Commissioner expressed "serious concerns" over the detention of a group of followers of the minority Baha'i faith and a subsequent sermon by Shamseddin Sharafeddin inciting hatred against religious groups, deploring that such practices "starkly defy international laws."
Licenses for teaching
Meanwhile, in late May, the Houthi militia stormed the Tawheed Mosque and Center for Shariah, north of Ibb, expelled more than 400 students, and replaced them with their followers.
Yemeni clerics assert that the Houthi militia is bargaining with religious centers, saying they must obtain licenses to continue their activities in exchange for providing lessons from the teachings of the militia's founder, Hussein al-Houthi.
The conditions for obtaining these licenses include providing teachings compatible with the militia project.
Ibb is the governorate where religious centers suffer the most from the abuses and persecution of the Houthi militia.
