Scary Shaykh Yahya and Students Pushed Out of Dammaj

Mabsoot

Amir
Staff member
Article from the YemenTimes about how the scholars and students in Dar al Hadith, Dammaj have to move out, leaving behind their homes and possessions. This was the school originally set up by Shaykh Muqbil al Wadi'ie Rahimahullah.

Religious school students given four days to leave

SANA’A, Jan.13—Non-local residents of Dammaj in Sa’ada governorate are packing their bags following the signing of an agreement on Saturday between the two parties engulfed in conflict in the area—the Houthis and the Salafis. The Houthis, a group of Zaidi Shiites who control Sa’ada, and the Salafis, conservative Sunnis, have been fighting since late October, leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured, according to various estimates.

The agreement, negotiated by a presidential committee, stipulates the evacuation of all students from Dammaj who are not originally from the city, even if they are Yemeni. In practice, this means that Salafi students who have been studying at the Dar Al-Hadeeth religious school must leave Dammaj by Wednesday, a four-day deadline. Locals say the students will be moved to Hodeida governorate because it is a more peaceful area of Yemen.

A local in Dammaj, Mohammed Al-Wadie, said the students are adhering to the agreement but are not happy about it.

“There are around 200 families—more than 8,000 individuals—hoping for appropriate redress from the government,” he said. “I think no one will remain in Dammaj, because these people want to live in peace.”

A spokesperson for Salafi citizens in Dammaj, Sroor Al-Wadie, said the government-brokered deal was not fair to the Salafis.

“After three months of fighting, we were hoping that President [Abdu Rabu Mansour] Hadi would stop the war in Dammaj and punish the Houthis, but we were shocked that he rewarded them by delivering Dammaj to them.”

“The people leaving Dammaj will leave everything they have behind. President Hadi should be held accountable for this inappropriate solution,” he added.

A copy of the signed agreement between the Salafis and the Houthis was published on several news websites. The first point of the agreement called for a ceasefire between both parties and an end to the siege of Dammaj.

The manager of the Dar Al-Hadeeth school, Yahia Al-Hajori, who is also cooperating with the agreement, is critical of it. He said that the presidential committee should guarantee compensation for costs associated with moving to Hodeida. He also asked for a guarantee from the committee that the Houthis will not follow them to the new area.

Meanwhile, a Houthi representative to the National Dialogue Conference (NDC), Ali Al-Bukhaiti, said, that he is pleased with the agreement.

“Those who are armed should leave Dammaj so that it can once again be a peaceful area. The government will control Dammaj and also control Dar Al-Hadeeth. Dar Al-Hadeeth will be able to continue its work.” That is, the religious school will continue to function, but with a local student population, free of outsiders, he said.

Many, including political analyst Nabeel Al-Sharjabi, say the agreement appears to have favored one party over the other.

“The evacuation of Salafis from Dammaj should be considered a setback not just for Salafis, but also for the government because it showed itself to be powerless to do anything to resolve this conflict other than evacuate Salafis from Dammaj in order to resolve this conflict,” Al-Sharjabi said.

Sharjabi believes the Houthis were given the upper hand by the government in this agreement.

“I consider this a very dangerous thing. It is the first step toward a division of the country along sectarian lines,” he said.
 

Umm Abdullah

Junior Member
'Ajiib! There is fitnah almost everywhere in the middle east. May Allah protect those scholars and students of knowledge, who are about to be evacuated amin
 
Top