Abdul-Malik al-Houthi
| Abdul-Malik al-Houthi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Abdul-Malik |
| Born |
1 January 1979 Saada Governorate, Yemen |
| Allegiance | Houthis |
| Battles/wars | Houthi insurgency in Yemen |
Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi (Arabic: عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي) is a leader of the Zaidi movement Ansar Allah (Houthis). His brothers Yahia Badreddin al-Houthi and Abdul-Karim Badreddin Al-Houthi are also leaders of the group, as was his late brother Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. Abdul-Malik Houthi is the leading figure in an insurgency in the Sadah province in northern Yemen which has been continuing from 2004 to the present day. The uprising has been called the Houthi Rebellion due to his leadership. The Zaidi community comprises around half of the population of Yemen, concentrated in the north. In traditional Zaidi religious belief if there is no clear leader for the Zaidi community a Caliph can emerge through armed struggle. Yemen was formerly ruled by a Zaidi Caliphate that ended in 1962.
Abdul-Malik was born in Saada, northern Yemen, in 1982. Some sources stated that he was born on 22 May 1979. His father, Badreddin al-Houthi, was a religious scholar of Yemen's minority Zaydi Shia sect. Also, Badreddin al-Houthi turned to Jaroudi sect after traveling to Iran between 1994 and 2002 (alleged). Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was the youngest among his eight brothers. His older brother, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, was politically active and a member of the parliament of Yemen. He was a serious critic of Saleh. Hussein founded the Houthis movement to promote Zaidi thought, rise against the oppressors ruling Yemen, and to provide educational and social services. After Hussein al-Houthi died, Abdul-Malik succeeded him by taking control of the movement.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has criticized the Yemeni government for keeping a status quo in the country, which he said had plunged people into poverty, and accused the government of marginalizing the Zaidi community. The Yemeni government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh accused al-Houthi's group of trying to reestablish the "clerical imamate" (Shia Islamic government), which al-Houthi denied.
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