The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has been advocating for the release of five members of the religious community of the Bahá’í, who have been kept detained by the Huthi militia in Yemen for one year. “We are calling on you to release all Bahá’í prisoners in your sphere of influence,” the STP demanded in an appeal (in Arabic) to the Huthi militia on the occasion of the anniversary of the abduction. The Huthi militias are controlling large parts of the north of the South Arabian country.
On May 25, 2023, armed men had stormed a peaceful meeting of the Bahá’í community in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, the purpose of which was to elect the national leadership council of the community. The armed forces abducted at least 17 people, including 5 women, and made them disappear by force. “Contrary to the promise to have the remaining Bahá’í released during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, nothing has happened in this regard to date,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East expert of the STP. “We are calling on the Huthi militia to lift the restricted freedom of movement for the already released Bahá’í, and all other restrictions.”
The Shiite Huthi militia is controlled by the Shiite-Islamist regime in Iran, and – like the Iranian leaders – is trying to suppress the religious community of the Bahá’í. “On June 2, 2023, the Grand Mufti of the Huthi group, Shams al-Din Sharaf al-Din, gave a sermon at Friday prayers in the capital Sanaa, in which he also incited against the Bahá’í in Yemen. Sermons like this cause sons and daughters of the Yemeni people, who have been suffering from the war for many years, to turn against each other,” Sido criticized.
“As a Shiite-Islamist group, the Huthi militia is in conflict with Sunni-Islamist groups such as Hamas, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, or IS – up to war – in many places. However, these groups are united in their hatred against dissenters and especially against Jews and Israel. From the viewpoint of the Huthis and the Mullahs in Iran, the Bahá’í are traitors and Israeli agents. These accusations are unfounded and are merely a pretext to incite against the peaceful religious community of the Bahá’í,” Sido emphasized.
Globally, the religious community of the Bahá’í has around 7 million members, and a few thousand of them live in Yemen. In Germany, the religious community has around 6.000 members. Their monotheistic religion was founded by Baha’ullah in the 19th century. The largest Bahá’í communities can be found in India, Africa, North and South America, and in Iran. Although they try to maintain good relationships with other religious communities, they are victims of discrimination and persecution in Iran and in some other Islamic countries.