Zaidism
Yemen is divided between the self-styled “normative” sort of Muslim – i.e. radicalising Sunnis – and a faction of the other sort who are usually first to die when the former sort take charge. Yemen’s minority Muslims, as far as I can tell, are a remnant from the early days of Shi’ism: the Jarudiyya sect of Zaydis….Zaydi law shares with the Hanafi branch of Sunnism a high respect for al-Baqir and adherence to the legal precepts of Kufa as of the late Umayyad era. Also, their support for rebellion, if domesticated, would allow for a more democratic form of politics than is traditional to more monarchical forms of Shi’ism such as, e.g., the ‘Abbasids (if you count them) and Fatimids.
The Zaydis ended up in Yemen and there ran an Imamate, a sort of caliphate, until a revolution upended their rule in the 1960s. Apparently the Zaydis are now considered “un-Islamic” and slated for destruction.
This would be a shame for those who prefer their Islam pluralistic. It would be tragic for historians; because the Zaydis probably have an extensive and ancient literature, mostly independent of other Shi’a and Sunni movements, and I doubt it’s all been published yet.
He goes into a lot more detail at his full post.
This relates to the Yemeni government’s current trashing of the Zaidi libraries. Its part of the attempt to wipe out the whole culture.
The Zaidi lived in harmony for over a thousand years with their Sunni co-patriots, drawing a respect for tolerance and pluralism from Zaidi teaching. Zaidism is termed among the most moderate forms of Islam. It is quite distinct from the Iranian and Iraqi line of Shism. It does not require leaders to be divine but rather just. Zaidis do not define other Muslims as apostates for divergent beliefs. Of all the Islamic traditions, Zaidism is among the most amenable to democracy and pluralism. Zaidism encourages ijtihad and constant re-interpretation of teaching, as opposed to the Salifist tradition of following prior ancient interpretation. As such, Zaidism can be termed among the most progressive and modern forms of Islam because of its ancient tradition of reinterpretation.
