Dammaj
Dammaj
دماج | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Dar Al-Hadeeth (left) in Dammaj | |
Dammaj Location in Yemen | |
| Coordinates: 16°53′38″N 43°48′08″E / 16.89389°N 43.80222°E | |
| Country | Yemen |
| Governorate | Saada Governorate |
| District | As Safra |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local |
| Population (2007) | |
• Total | 15,626 |
| Time zone | GMT+3 |
| Climate | BWh |
Dammaj (Arabic: دماج, romanized: Dammāj) is a small town in the Sa'dah Governorate of north-western Yemen, southeast by road from Sa'dah in a valley of the same name.
Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadi'i established the Madrasah Dar al-Hadith in Dammaj in 1979,[1] an important center of learning for followers of the Salafi creed,[2][3] who made up the majority of the town.[4] The Salafis reportedly pursued an aggressive "policy of provocation" towards the Zaydi Yemenis who inhabited the surrounding area, often accusing them of apostasy and sometimes even destroying their cemeteries.[5] Despite this, the Salafi school enjoyed the support of both the Saudi and North Yemeni regimes. This situation helped sow the seeds for mounting discontent among the Zaydi population and ultimately Zaydi revivalist movements such as the Houthis.[5] In 2014, the non-local Salafis, including all of the students there, were evicted.[6]
The town was at the target of the Siege of Dammaj, and in November 2013, further sectarian violence between militants of the Houthi-led Shia movement and Sunnis erupted in the town, creating many casualties; some 50 had been killed by the start of the second week.[7][8] In one incident in late November, a mine exploded as a military vehicle was passing by, killing two Yemeni soldiers.[9]
References
- ^ Noor, Farish A.; Sikand, Yoginder; Bruinessen, Martin van (2008). The Madrasa in Asia: Political Activism and Transnational Linkages. Amsterdam University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-90-5356-710-4.
- ^ Cesari, Jocelyne (25 July 2013). Why the West Fears Islam: An Exploration of Muslims in Liberal Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 381. ISBN 978-1-137-25820-5.
- ^ Mahoney, Richard D. (2004). Getting Away with Murder: The Real Story Behind American Taliban John Walker Lindh and what the U.S. Government Had to Hide. Arcade Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-55970-714-5.
- ^ Jubran, Jamal (5 December 2011). "Post-Saleh Yemen: A Brewing Battle between Houthis and Salafis". Al-Akhbar. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ a b Brandt, Marieke (2024). Tribes and Politics in Yemen: A History of the Houthi Conflict. London: Hurst. p. 106-112. ISBN 9781911723424.
- ^ Al-Sakkaf, Nasser. "Non-local Salafis evicted from Dammaj" (Archived 2016-01-03 at the Wayback Machine). Yemen Times. 14 January 2014. Retrieved on 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Yemen: ICRC evacuates 44 severely wounded people from Dammaj". ICRC. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ ""Catastrophic" humanitarian situation in Yemen's Dammaj". IRIN. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ "Yemen soldiers killed despite rebel-Salafist truce". France24. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.