Turkey Latest Country To Leave Yemen

Yemen is getting wilder, and it seems Turkey is the latest country to get the heck out of dodge.

Britain, France, German, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, along with Saudi Arabia, have already evacuated embassy personnel (and others) and shut down operations as Shiites and Sunnis battle it out in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. Spain is "temporarily" shutting down and telling it's citizens they should leave, for the time being.

The rebel Shiite Houthis, who are now in control of Sanaa, claim there is nothing to worry about, and the West should not be clearing out. Iran concurs with  the fellow Shiites saying the Houthis are just fighting "corruption and terrorism," be that as it may, they are also anti-American. Yes, they are against Al-Qaeda in The Arab Peninsula (AQAP), but that's no consolation.  In fact, the Houthi logo says:

"God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam"

by Takahara Osaka 

Yemen's gulf Arab nation neighbours are prepared to take action if the world does nothing, as they deem the Houthi take-over as a coup.

I say- go for it.  It's about time they start dealing with their own problems and not expect the West to do it for them.

A little background on the Houthi rebellion.

Sources: Hurryiet Daily, 

Saudi Woman Who Elopes To Yemen Granted Asylum By UNHCR

It's not often you hear good news from the Middle East regarding star-crossed lovers. Usually one or the other- or both- wind up getting killed by family members. In this case, at least for now, it turned out happily for a Saudi woman and her Yemeni fiance'. Huda Abdullah Al Niran was betrothed to someone else as part of an arranged marriage, so she escaped to Yemen so she could marry her boyfriend Arafat. In fact two tribal leaders in Yemen helped them get married, including providing a house, and furniture for a bedroom for the couple.

However, things still could turn out badly since Huda is being charged with illegal entry into Yemen. Activists have protested, and she has now been granted asylum (at her request) by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which means that she can't be deported Not sure why UNHCR has anything to do with Yemen's granting asylum to the young woman, but according to an official the reason they did so was that she "could face torture or even death if she returned as tribal norms dictate in such cases."

Arafat is also being charged with helping Huda enter the country illegally, however his lawyer  claims that since he arrived at the border nine hours after Huda, technically he did not commit a crime.

She'll find out her fate on Tuesday.

Source: Gulf News

Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Admits She Supports The Muslim Brotherhood

Yemeni journalist, activist and politician, Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Karman, is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. The 'face' of the Yemen Arab Spring uprisings, she also happens to support the violence-prone Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Probably because she belongs to the Al-Islah party, an Islamic political party whose members are mostly Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists.

In an interview (courtesy of MEMRI), a reporter questions her support of the Muslim Brotherhood, and why she's so bothered about what's happening in Egypt.

As we all know, not everyone deserves those Peace Prizes.

She has come a long way, though.  She used to wear the niqab (veil that covers all but the eyes), now she wears colorful hijabs.

Yemeni Jihadists Are Slaughtering Alawites In Aleppo, Syria

Yemeni jihadists fighting in Syria are beheading what they consider to be apostate Alawites, all in the name of Allah, "the most beneficent and the most merciful..." 

In this video, allegedly filmed in Aleppo, they are proud of their accomplishments.

Animals!

UPDATE: 8-Year-Old Yemeni Child Bride Bleeds To Death On Wedding Night

9/14/13:  UPDATE:  According to some in Yemen, the 8-year-old girl was never married let alone died.  But who to believe?

While perusing some of my Facebook pages of interest I saw a link to an article about a Yemeni child bride who died after sexual intercourse. It sounded familiar so I assumed it was an old story from several years ago, but no, it's recent, and just another case of a young girl bleeding to death because her reproductive organs were mangled by her much older pedophile husband. The story I remembered was actually 12-year-old Elham Mahdi Shuee who bled to death three days after her wedding night. She had been forced to marry a 20-year-old. This latest case involved 8-year-old Rawan, who was married off to a 40-year-old and bled to death on her wedding night.

Activists are calling for punishment for both the girls parents and the "beastly groom", and an end to child marriage, although that won't come easy. Yemen child rights activists have been desperately trying, for  several years now, to change the marriage laws to adequately reflect the emotional and physical age that a girl might be ready to marry. They believe the age limit should be 18. But they're butting heads with the Islamic extremists who believe a girl should marry at any age, after all their prophet Mohammad married one of his many wives when she was 10 years younger than the proposed age limit.

Sources: Gulf News, and  Israel National News

Yemeni Girl Who Refused Forced Marriage and Uncle Threatened By Islamists

Both the uncle of a Yemeni 11-year-old girl Nada al-Ahdal who said she would kill herself if she was forced to marry a Yemeni man living in Saudi Arabia, and the girl herself, have been threatened by Islamists linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The girl had been living with her uncle Abdel Salam al-Ahdal since she was three, but had returned home after her parents insisted she was to move back home.  She she ran away again after she was to be married off again.

The parents apparently have been marrying off their daughters for profit.

Kidnapped Finns And Austrian Hostages Freed From Yemen

Remember that Austrian and Finnish couple that were kidnapped from an electronics store in Sanaa,Yemen late last year?   And the al-Qaeda-linked captors even had the Austrian, Dominik Neubauer, plead for his life on video in February, 2013 in exchange for particular ransom demands? Lucky for them, they have finally been freed  on the border of Oman.

No details other than residents in Hawf, the village on the Oman border where they wound up, helped free them.

“The three hostages were released overnight Wednesday and they are now with Omani authorities,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

“They were kidnapped by al-Qaeda militants,” the official added.

[snip]

There was no immediate confirmation from Oman about their whereabouts.

At the end of March, the foreign minister of Finland held talks in Sanaa with President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi about the fate of the hostages.

[snip]

Most kidnappings of foreigners in Yemen are carried out by members of its powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government.

Hundreds of people have been abducted over the past 15 years. Almost all have been freed unharmed.

I'm thinking they will think twice about traveling to the hell holes of the world.

Honor Violence In Florida- Mom Burns Daughter With Hot Knife Over Arranged Marriage

The Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that 35-year-old Sahar Thabit- a Yemeni woman living in Hollywood, Florida who speaks no English- has been arrested for burning her daughters arms with a hot knife as punishment for wanting to marry a boy in Yemen that she had met online, rather than her cousin who also lives in Yemen.  The parents were livid since the marriage was arranged.

Although the branding occurred in January, it is only being reported now.

The 17-year-old showed detectives three burn marks on her arms, saying they were placed there in act of ''honor violence'' by her mother for betraying the family's culture and religion, according to a police report.

[snip]

School officials were alerted to the burns by the teenager's classmate, who told them the parents became enraged because the girl, who the Sun Sentinel is not naming, was supposed to have been in an arranged marriage with a cousin.

Hollywood Police said the girl was burned in the first or second week of January. A school vice principal contacted police on Jan. 13. The school's name was redacted from the police report.

The teen told detectives that her mother put a knife on a stove and heated the metal. She then placed the knife on the girl's arms, police said. She was burned twice on her left forearm and once on her upper right arm, police said. The girl told authorities both her parents knew of the incident.

The girl's father, who was not identified, initially told police that the girl accidentally burned herself on the stove, according to the report. When a detective noted there were three similar burns, the father reportedly asked to speak to a lawyer.

Police did not interview the mother because she speaks only Arabic, Detective Chris Christianson wrote in his report. A man who answered the phone at the family's West Hollywood house Monday said only that "everything is fine" and declined to comment further without a lawyer.

According to Somy Ali (a woman who runs an organization No More Tears which helps immigrants who have been subjected to honor or domestic violence, and who met with the young girl last month), the teen was so frightened she did not initially want to divulge what really happened.

"When I spoke to her, she was terrified and tried to insist her parents didn't do it." "She opened up a little, but then became reluctant because she thought I was working with the detectives."

There was only one meeting between the two of them.

If it had not been for a friend of the girl taking action, who knows what might have happened. The young friend reported the abuse to school authorities and they, in turn, reported the incident to the police. According to the friend, the girl also tried to take her own life. The teen had also been subjected to verbal and mental abuse. As a result, she has been placed with family friends.

Although the police report failed to mention what Thabit's religion is, I think we can ascertain that since Yemen is 99% Islamic, there is a 99% probability that the family is Muslim.

For now, the mum is out of jail on $22,500 bail, and has been told not to contact her daughter.

Other sources: NBC Miami

Austrian Hostage In Yemen Pleads For His Life In Video

Remember the three fools who were kidnapped in Yemen last December: two males, an Austrian and a guy from Finland, were in Sanaa studying Arabic, the woman (also a Finn) was traveling with the Finnish guy? It appears that Dominik Neubauer, the Austrian, has surfaced in the video below, pleading for his life. He claims his captors have told him he has a week for a ransom to be paid or he'll be executed. With a gun pointed at his neck, he tearfully speaks in both English and German, telling his mum, dad and siblings (I assume) how much he loves them.

“My name is Dominik Neubauer. I’m an Austrian citizen. I’ve been taken hostage on the 21st of December 2012 by a Yemeni tribe. I appeal to the Yemeni government, to the Austrian government and to all the governments concerned and to the European Union to give them what they want. Otherwise, they will kill me seven days after this video is published,” the 26-year-old Arabic studies student said in the video posted on Feb. 21, 2013.

I find it odd, though, that he says he is being held by a Yemeni tribe, and yet the Yemeni goverment has stated that the tribesmen who initially abducted the three foreigners sold them to al-Qaeda. And what's with the pretty floral background? That doesn't seem very militant to me.

The Austrian government believes the video is for real, but has said they will not be blackmailed when they are not sure who exactly is holding him captive.

Both the Finnish and Austrian governments are dealing with the issue.

Perhaps this will convince people that they should not be traveling to dangerous places like Yemen.

Abused Wives In Yemen Killing Their Husbands

Domestic violence is very prevalent in the Muslim world. This is not so surprising considering the beating of wives is actually sanctioned in the Quran.

QURAN Surah 4:34 - "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme."

Some women have been lucky enough to escape the abuse, like this Algerian ex-Muslimah, Samia Sharif, who fled with her five kids to Quebec, Canada, and now lives under an assumed name, for obvious reasons. But many aren't as lucky, though they are fighting back in their own way. Abused wives in Yemen are actually murdering their abusive husbands, oftentimes with the help of a male relative. 50 women from 25-50 years of age, in 2012 alone, were arrested for doing away with their violent hubbies.

Inequality, domestic violence and “emotional motives” were just some reasons behind such crimes, said the report, adding that the killings took place in Mahweet, Taiz, Hajjah, Sana'a, Amran and Marib.

However, the ministry said that the number of women who were victims of attempted murder was nearly double the number of women involved in killings.

Dr. Mujib Abdul Bari, a specialist in psychiatric and neurological disorders, told AlArabiya.net that constant physical and psychological abuse drastically changes a person.

Daily abuse makes a woman feel despair at her seemingly hopeless situation, said Bari, adding that women in such situations “forget their femininity and resort to killing their spouse.”

He said that the most notable crime in Yemen took place on August 7, 2012 in a village in the province of Marib, in which a 40-year-old woman killed her husband and two sons following a family dispute.

Bari wants the government to help women realize there are alternatives to dispensing with their husbands, by establishing "awareness programs":

The programs would help women to realize that they are contributing members of society and “to learn not to accept humiliation and be able to make their own decisions,” said Bari.

“In case women have taken a wrong decision in marriage, they should resort to legal solutions, such as divorce or going back to their families [who can] help them on a psychological level.”

Unfortunately, it's going to take a lot more than educating the women. He has no idea how hard it is to extricate oneself from an abusive relationship with a controlling male. And he obviously has no clue how difficult it is for a controlling male to relinquish power, one who believes his religion gives him the right to beat his wife. With a  religion and culture that considers women subservient to men, you would need to re-educate the whole male population, and change the religion itself.  That's not going to happen.

Al-Qaeda In Yemen Offers Gold For Killing U.S. Ambassador and Soldiers

Libyan militants were so successful in eliminating U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi that Yemen's Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is getting into the action. Ambassador Gerald M. Feierstein is worth $160,000 in gold (3 kilograms), and any dead U.S. soldier in that country will be worth 5 million Yemeni riyals (approx. $23,00). But to hasten the event, just like a coupon, they only have 6 months to do it.

The bounties were set to "inspire and encourage our Muslim nation for jihad," the Al Qaeda statement said, according to the AP.

Washington considers Al Qaeda in Yemen to be the group's most dangerous branch.

According to the U.S. Embassy website, Feierstein was sworn in on Sept. 17, 2010, as the U.S. ambassador to Yemen. Prior to his appointment, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Feierstein, who entered the Foreign Service in 1975, is a specialist in Near East and South Asian affairs. He has served overseas in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Pakistan, Tunisia, Lebanon and Oman.

Ah yes, #myjihad.

The U.S. State Department better ramp up security in Sanaa or get the Ambassador the hell out of that country.

Stupid Tourists Traveling To Dangerous Places- 2 Finns and 1 Austrian Abducted In Yemen

There are certain countries in the world that should be off limits to anyone with a brain and no pressing need to travel there. In this day and age, many of those are located in the greater Middle East. Some might have been considered relatively safe for tourists prior to the Arab Spring, but not so much any longer. And with al-Qaeda's rise to prominence in some of those countries- Yemen comes to mind- one would think that people would cross those places off their bucket list, but no. I'm sure three people right now are wishing they had done so.

It seems an Austrian and Finnish man, and a Finnish woman are the latest kidnapping victims of al-Qaeda. This time in Yemen. Apparently the three were allegedly abducted by AQAP in Sanaa as they were about to head on down to the southern port of Aden.  The south happens to be a haven for al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), they have kidnapped many before, including Saudi Diplomat Abdallah al-Khalidi who has not been seen since March, but this obviously was not a deterrent to the fearless three.

But these abductions are not recent events. Back in 1998 a bunch of tourists were kidnapped and some killed in the battle between Yemeni troops trying to rescue them and the militants holding them hostage. The UK still advises its citizens not to travel there. So does Australia and the U.S., and I would venture to say most countries have similar travel advisories.

The two males were in Sanaa supposedly studying Arabic. Couldn't they have signed up for Rosetta Stone, or at least found a less dangerous location to learn Arabic?  They do exist. And the female had just arrived in Yemen. An incredibly stupid place for a woman to travel alone, though I assume she must have known the other Finn.

According to a Yemeni official, in  a bid to free imprisoned fellow militants al-Qaeda had said they would abduct foreigners and "stage bank hold ups."

Although I hope the three are freed, they have no-one to blame but themselves.

Source: Al Arabiya

Suicide Bombers Wanted- Al Qaeda Places Internet Ads For Shahids

Unemployed? Tired of the planet? Want your 72 virgins now? Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (out of Yemen- the latest hotbed of terrorism) is looking for a few good men to train as suicide bombers. According to Al Arabiya, Internet ads have been popping up on jihadi on line forums asking for volunteers to contact them for further information through email. Targets: in order of importance the U.S., Israel, France and Britain. No mention of any other evil Western nations.

They want to know about your experience and who you want dead.

You can find those ads on Honein, al-Fidaa and Shmoukh al-Islam.

According to the ads,

“The aim of this training is to continue with our brothers who are seeking to carry out operations that make for great killing and slaughtering of the enemies of Islam."

“It is clear now that the individual jihad, or what is called the lone wolf, has become more widespread and its features have started showing -- in summary, it is a complete jihadist operation to be carried out by a single bomber.”

I guess the babies they are raising for jihad aren't old enough yet to serve as suicide bombers.

Pathetic.

Al-Houthis Desecrate Quran, Yemen Sunnis Outraged

Muslims are at each other's throats again, this time in Yemen. The Sunni Salafis over there are infuriated with the Shia al-Houthi militants over the desecration of a Quran. Yes, they desecrate their own holy books, as witnessed in a video of a dead Salafi being dragged by al-Houthi extremists. Apparently, a man in Sana'a saw the video posted somewhere on-line, noticed the Quran dropping from the dead man's pocket, and subsequently being trampled on. According to the Yemen Observer, the man said that

...  he felt utterly disgusted with al-Houthis, stressing further that the move was a declaration of war against every respectful Muslim. “The Quran is our heart and soul, walking on it equates to insulting our beloved Prophet, his teachings and God himself. Surely our clerics will issue a fatwa condemning the culprits. Those men should be tried for apostasy,” said Abdullah Goorgoor.

Hello, the al-Houthis are also Muslims, and the Quran is their heart and soul, as well.

I haven't been able to track down the video, so it's not clear whether the trampling was deliberate or not, though that doesn't seem to matter much to religious fanatics. We know how outraged they became when a few of our soldiers in Afghanistan inadvertently burned some Qurans which had extremist messages written all over them, which is desecration in and of itself. But they're not smart enough to distinguish the difference.

But the al-Houthis and Salafist Sunnis have been battling for the heart and soul of  northern Yemen for a long time:

Al-Houthi militants, a group of Shia Muslim which advocates a return to the ancestral rule of the Imams have been enthralled in a war with Salafists, a group of hard-liner Sunni Muslims calling for a strict application of the Scriptures; both factions seeking to control Yemen northern territories.
Al-Houthis which famously fought the government back in 2004-2009 in a lengthy and bloody war, used last year’s unrest to awaken its army, finding in Teheran an enthusiastic ally against the Saudis, and hence Sunni hegemony in the Peninsula.

Some are afraid this 'desecration' incident will flame the fires of sectarianism, not that that's a big surprise.  Yemeni political analyst Ahmed al-Sofi said:

“Yemenis do not take lightly to religiously driven insult, especially when it comes to its most sacred and revered book, the Quran. Unless some apologies are formulated, Salafists will retaliate in the most violent manner possible as it constitutes for them a clear call for Jihad [holy war].”

Ironically, the leader of the al-Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, vociferously condemned the Bagram Quran desecration, calling on all Muslims to  stage anti-American "anger protests", and that accepting a US apology would be "of no benefit." Does that mean they have no intention of apologizing to the Salafists?
If it was indeed desecrated, where are all the violent protests in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh? Oh, that's right, it wasn't American soldiers that were responsible.

Unveiled Women In Yemen Being Attacked

According to Bikyamasr.com (which isn't always a trustworthy source of information), unveiled women are being attacked in Yemen, although this isn't at all surprising, if true.

SANA’A: Local residents in Aden told Bikyamasr.com that al-Qaeda militants in the region were now targeting unveiled women: harassing them, and at least one instance, physically abusing them as they are trying to enforce the full face veil.

Although the Qur’an only specifies that a woman should cover her hair, neck and ears, Ansar al-Sharia chose to understand this somewhat differently, arguing that since the wives of the prophet were covered, so should all Muslim women.

What the militants don’t mention, or don’t know, is that as with everything in Islam it is very much up to the individual to choose their path – as religion cannot be imposed by force.

Although Yemenis are considered traditional when it comes to Islam, and fiercely defensive of their faith and practice, the vast majority of southerners have said to be outraged by the recent spate of harassment.

“How can they dare attacks girls and women who do not wear the veil? It is a personal choice, which should not be imposed on anyone,” said Anessa Abdelaalem a school teacher in Aden.

According to reports from the local authorities several girls were sprayed with acid on their face by Ansar al-Sharia, for they refused to bow to their demands.

If only a few months ago, Yemenis did not feel threatened by al-Qaeda, assuming that the armed forces would end up crushing their advances, an insidious fear is slowly chocking Yemen as the dark cloud of extremism is gaining against the light.

Rumor has it there have been acid attacks, as well. However, according to one source, those attacks are merely rumors. Perhaps to intimidate women into conforming, or staying at home, which is what they seem to think women do best.

Who knew there were unveiled women in Yemen?

Persecuted Jews forced to leave Yemen

There are few Jews left in Yemen, and they're running scared. Not that there are many Jews in any Muslim-majority country, in spite of the fact that they pre-date Muslims in the Middle East. Of course, if the Palestinians and Ahmadinejad and the evil Mullahs have their way regarding Israel, there won't be any left in the Middle East at all.

According to historians Yemeni Jews are considered to be one of the oldest communities in the Arab world. It is thought that they wound up in Yemen some 2,500 years ago, pre-Islam, trading for King Solomon.  For the most part they have lived peacefully in Yemen for centuries, until 1947 when dozens of Jews were killed and their homes and shops were destroyed as a backlash to the creation of the state of Israel. So, from 1949 to 1950 most of the Yemeni Jewish population (over 49,000) were sent to Israel to escape the violence. Some 2,000 opted to remain, understandably so, since this had been their home for centuries. Then again in the early 1990s another 1,200 or so left, mostly to Israel, after decades of not being allowed to leave the country. Several hundred stayed behind, by choice.

Fast forward to 2004- persecution of Jews by a rebel Shiite group (Al Houthis) increased in Saada, one of the 2 remote areas of Yemen where Jews lived. In 2007 they were actually threatened by the Houthis,

"We warn you to leave the area immediately... [W]e give you a period of 10 days, or you will regret it," read a letter signed by a Al Houthi representative cited in a Reuters article.

So all 60 of the Jews from Saada fled to the capital where former President Ali Abdullah Saleh took care of them. Meanwhile, the Jews in Raida (the last Jewish enclave) lived in relative peace until December 2008 when a retired air force pilot (Abdul-Aziz al-Abdi) shot a prominent Jew, Moshe Nahari, because he refused to convert to Islam. The violence against Jews escalated when Israel mounted their offensive in Gaza towards the end of December 2008, with men and children being beaten and pelted with rocks. And even though these were not Israelis or Zionists, these were Jews who wanted to remain in Yemen, they were still harassed and persecuted until they were forced to leave. What I find interesting is that the Jews in Raida lived very similar pious, religious lives as their Muslim neighbours. In fact, Jewish women, like their Muslim sisters, rarely appeared in public and when they did they wore the Niqab (the black robes that cover the whole body except the eyes). If you look at the photo above, you can't even tell the women are Jewish.

Then in October 2009, as a result of continued anti-Semitism, the U.S. state department mounted a clandestine mission to save the Jews of Yemen. Some were brought to the U.S, some were to travel to Israel, and some remained under the guardianship of the Yemeni government.

Now, with a total Jewish population of only 450 or so, and Saleh (their protector) gone, the Jews of Yemen are very frightened. 

Community leader Rabbi Yahia Youssef Mussa told Bikyamasr.com that Saleh had over his three decades in power and had always been “kind and compassionate” towards the community, adding that now that he was leaving he feared that “groups” would target his people.

“We were living under President Saleh’s protection so far and I am now worried that the next government will ignore our plight. We don’t have the ability to push back the Shia militants if they attack us. What will become of us?” asked the Rabbi.

According to the Rabbi, the escalating trouble between Israel and Iran could mean increased trouble for them.

“Al-Houthis are financed and groomed by Iran, therefore the Jewish community in Yemen has become their target … they have already pillaged our village and stole all our belongings."

They are already noticing the difference in treatment since Saleh's departure.  Some families who had been provided with  housing after their village was raided have been asked to move.

“We were living under President Saleh’s protection so far and I am now worried that the next government will ignore our plight. We don’t have the ability to push back the Shia militants if they attack us. What will become of us?” asked the rabbi.

It looks like after all these centuries, there might not be any Jews left in Yemen.