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Yemen crisis: Don't bring thewar to my homeSULEMAN AKHTAR UPDATED MAR 31, 2015 11:03PM

Last time it happened, the Saudis sided with Zaidi ImamMuhammad al-Badr.

It was the year 1962, when revolutionaries inspired byideas of Arab nationalism deposed the last king ofMutawakilite Kingdom of Yemen, Muhammad al-Badr, andput an end to the rule of Zaidi Imams who had been kingsof Yemen for the most part of past one thousand years.

Inspired by socialist ideals, Arab nationalism had emergedas a potent ideology around the Arab world and Yemen wasno exception. Jamal Abdel Nasser, the then socialistEgyptian president, backed the republicans in Yementhrough military support while Saudis, along with Britain,supported the deposed Zaidi king who spearheaded

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supported the deposed Zaidi king who spearheadedinsurgency against the new government.

Not many people outside Yemen know about the Zaidi sectof Islam that exists in the southern part of ArabianPeninsula.

The Zaidiyyah, who are also known as 'Fivers', are namedafter Zaid ibn Ali, the grandson of Hussain ibn Ali. Zaidisfollow the jurisprudence that is more similar to Hanafischool as compared to the 'Twelver' Shia school ofjurisprudence.

Houthis, mostly Zaidis, started as a theological movementin 1992 and spearheaded insurgency in 2004 against thethen president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who himself belongs tothe Zaidi sect. The Houthis, along with students and JointMeeting Parties, participated in 2011 Yemeni revolutionthat followed the Tunisian revolution.

In 1962, Zaidi Shias were friends while nationalists,socialists, and communists were pronounced as foes bythe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2015, they have beendeclared as foes and an imminent danger to Saudisovereignty and territorial integrity.

It is most convenient to paint the whole conflict with broadbrushstrokes of Shia/Sunni and Arab/Ajam binaries whileignoring the role of imperial baggage, complex socio-political realities, and all-powerful ruling Arab dynasties.

Also see: Bad Saudi vibes

These simplistic binaries serve as a smokescreen toconceal the ulterior motives of ruling dynasties and

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conceal the ulterior motives of ruling dynasties andautocratic regimes that have come down hard on voices ofdissent in the wake of Arab Spring.

This is not a war waged by Sunnis againstShias nor is it the battle between Ajam andArab it is simply an act of dynastic self-preservation.

Not unlike the rest of the world, the Muslim world is not amonolith. Muslim societies are diverse on many differentlevels, with myriad divisions on national, ethnic, linguisticand sectarian lines. The majority of Muslims living in thisworld are neither Arab nor Persian. And if history hastaught us anything, it is that identities cannot be strippedforcefully. Its a bloody path to tread.

Pakistan is a country with a diverse population. Peoplespeak so many different languages, adhere to manydifferent religious schools of thought, and come fromdifferent ethnic backgrounds. The states miscalculatedadventures inside and outside the country have onlyexacerbated the sense of alienation in many of thecommunities here.

The states obsession with colouring the populace with thesame ideological colour has gone terribly wrong.

Read: Foreign funding of militancy

Saudi Arabia and Iran are the only two Muslim majoritystates whose raison d'tre is interlinked with particularMuslim sects. Former adheres to Wahabism, while latter

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Muslim sects. Former adheres to Wahabism, while latteradheres to Twelver Shiism.

Owing to the Pakistani states obsession with doing awaywith Indian identity and ideological tilting towards Arabs,Saudi Arabia wields a way more consequential influenceover Pakistan.

According to one WikiLeaks cable, Saudi ambassador to theUS once proudly asserted that, we in Saudi Arabia are notobservers in Pakistan, we are participants.

After getting rid of British imperialism, thereis a new kind of socio-cultural imperialismthat has made inroads into Pakistani society:Arab imperialism

From the illegal funding of madrassahs and the TVevangelists to pop stars, to cricketers, to politicians, tolanguage; the imprints are unmistakable. With each shrinethat is blown up and every imambargah that is torched,there is a bit of indigenous Pakistan that dies silently.

Also read: My name is Pakistan and Im not an Arab

Instead of becoming a part of another Saudi-led war, it isprobably the time to ask all the right questions.

It is probably the time to ponder why all the Muslim citiesthat have diverse populations are burning.

It is probably the time to reflect on why Beirut is inflames, and Cairo is bleeding, and Kabul is ravaged, andAleppo is sacked, and Peshawar is crying, and Baghdad is

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Aleppo is sacked, and Peshawar is crying, and Baghdad isbruised, and Sanaa is trembling.

Why not Tehran, Riyadh, and Doha?

Instead of bringing another war home for the sake of aruling dynasty, it is probably time to clean the blood andtears brought about by 'strategic depth'.

Related:

Yemen conundrumAnxieties of a dependent stateJoyous welcome for rescued Pakistani families

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Suleman Akhtar is an Engineering student inSweden, interested in society, politics andculture.

The views expressed by this writer and commenters below do not necessarily reflect the viewsand policies of the Dawn Media Group.

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