Religious Freedom
Not Zaidis, Hashemites actuallly, but the report is getting much better. There’s also the Bahai arrested and facing deportation.
The US International Religious Freedom Report 2008,released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, said that neither Yemeni constitution nor other laws protect or inhibit freedom of religion.
“Neither Yemeni constitution nor other laws protect or inhibit freedom of religion; however, government policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion.”
It said the Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion and that Shari’a (Islamic law) is the source of all legislation.
The Government generally respected religious freedom in practice; however, there were some restrictions. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the period covered by this report, it said.
Muslims and followers of religious groups other than Islam are free to worship according to their beliefs; however, the Government prohibits conversion from Islam and the proselytizing of Muslims. During the reporting period, there were reports of arrests of Christian converts and members of the Baha’i community.
Although relations among religious groups generally continued to contribute to religious freedom, reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice increased, particularly as related to the Jewish community in Amran Governorate and Zaydi Muslims. Jewish residents of Amran Governorate reportedly experienced increased harassment by a small group of their Muslim neighbors.
Some prominent Zaydi Muslims reported they felt targeted by government entities for their religious affiliation. The continued, unresolved situation in Saada Governorate and increasing violence between government forces and rebels associated with the al-Houthi family, who adhere to the Zaydi school of Shi’a Islam, caused political, tribal, and religious tensions to grow during the reporting period.
