Author: MandarinTangerine

Are things heading toward any resolution in Yemen? No, definitely not.

The Houthis recently tried another missile strike on Saudi Arabia (it failed). It appears clear that Iran is supporting the Houthi side.

The Saudis and UAE continue their bombing campaign against Yemen. The US supplies the Saudis with ground targeting support and air-refueling assistance.

Qatar, according to the Saudis, is a conduit in supplying the Houthis with Iranian munitions. The Qataris deny their involvement. The Gulf Cooperation Council no longer cooperates.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni population continues to suffer with famine and disease.

It seems unlikely the Houthis will be defeated any time soon, so the disaster will continue.

We’ve already read of the dramatic actions of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Salman. And now Salman’s friend Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud has purchased the Da Vinci painting, Salvator Mundi for 450 million dollars. The painting will be displayed in the Arabian Louve in Abu Dhabi.

Notwithstanding the record purchase price, the subject matter in the painting is of striking importance. We must assume Prince Bader understood what he was buying, and also the remarkable statement the painting makes.

The painting depicts Jesus, and the title given to the painting, Salvator Mundi, means Savior of the World. In the painting Jesus raises his right hand in a sign of benediction. His left hand holds a crystal globe signifying the entirety of creation with the heavens contained within a sphere. This representation is a Renaissance era concept of the world.

What does Bader think about all this? Is it merely testament to the fact he has a lot of money? And how does it fit with the Sunni Muslim practice of denying the use of human depictions.

Interesting!

Most Western news sources ignore Yemen. I haven’t heard about Yemen on CNN for as long as I can recall. BBC mentions Yemen occasionally. Even the Al-Jazeera English site requires a search for Yemen news.

When the Yemeni Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh, the Saudis  blocked entry for even basic food supplies into Yemen airports and harbors. Recently, a grain shipment landed in the port of Saleef on the Red Sea. This relatively small amount of grain will help but will not go far in alleviating the shortage of food. Another shipment has arrived in the port of Hudeida.

According to Al-Jazeera, seven million Yemenis are at immediate risk for famine, making their plight the greatest in recent world history.

Yemen’s problems began to worsen in 2011 when President Saleh was removed from power. He had reigned for 33 years over a country with corruption and minimal resources. At that point, the state of Yemen was bad, but now Saleh’s stabilizing influence is gone. No solutions are in sight.

For months now Yemen has struggled under the Saudi attacks. A blockade has worsened the already awful conditions with lack of fuel, food, medical supplies and water. The cholera epidemic, which was declining, threatens to get out of control again.  Sewerage systems don’t work any longer. Famine spreads across the country. Medical facilities are rendered non-functional.

But nothing has changed, and no help is in sight. There is no political or economic reason to help Yemen.

Several years have passed since I last traveled to Yemen. Even then, the signs of economic failure were widespread. The country was a setup for the disaster, and now it has arrived.

Even with its poverty, Yemen was a beautiful country with beautiful people.

The city of Sanaa as it was.

Mountain village

And the mountains themselves.

Something is changing fast in Saudi Arabia. What are the changes? Who is the architect? What is the motivation?

The changes. First, there has been the news about allowing women to drive, a benign, cosmetic change, as real freedoms for woman are still far away. Then, there is the status of the Saudi war against Yemen. Is Saudi Arabia still prosecuting the war in a serious way.? Recently, Mohammed bin Nayef, the Crown Prince, was deposed and apparently confined to house arrest. He has been replaced by Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman’s young son. King Salman is well into his eighties. Now, a number religious figures and wealthy princes have been arrested including one of the richest men in the world, Alwaleed bin Talal.

Who is driving the action? Is it the elderly King Salman or his ambitious son, Mohammed? I speculate it’s the latter.

What’s behind all this? Is this a power grab on the part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman? Does it signal new directions for the kingdom, both in religion and politics? There is no answer yet. But what has already occurred suggests major changes in the kingdom and therefore the entire Middle East.

The Baha’i faith is perhaps the newest world religion. Their beliefs are distinctive for their lack of specificity. They believe that each of the monotheistic religions are progressive revelations of the one God and that all these religions point to the same end.

Baha’i grew out of Islam in the mid-nineteenth century when the prophet Bab (gate) stated he had come to announce the new religion.

The details of the religion were soon revealed by Baha’u’llah, who taught the unity of all religions and all mankind. Followers thus attempt to promote the agreement of all men and women in a system which upholds the essential goodness of mankind. They proclaim themselves as lovers of all humanity with a complete striving for universal peace.

Baha’i is a today a world wide religion with five to seven million followers. A large number of Baha’is reside in Iran where they have undergone variable levels of persecution. The Iranian government does not accept Baha’i as a particular religion, but rather considers its believers as apostate from Islam.

Gnosticism is not a separate religion,  but I include it here because many of the Middle Eastern faiths already described incorporated the ideas of Gnosticism.

Gnostic ideas developed in the second century AD as theologians began to form and question the concept of God. The basic idea consists of a dualism: God Himself is pure and completely above the world, while the world itself is evil. The corollary of the system is that true knowledge comes to the individual through a secret process that is known only to a select group.

Neoplatonism, emerging in the same time frame, contributed elements to the system with its idea of emanations or emissions flowing out from a singular being. The linkage with Gnosticism is that, for salvation, one must be aware or made aware of this knowledge.

Many texts of Gnosticism arose  in the first few centuries after Christ. In general, they expressed the idea that there were important concepts and even facts that were not revealed in the Bible.  In order for the individual to be sufficiently informed, this information was needed. Notable among these were the Nag Hammadi gospels, found buried near a settlement in Upper Egypt. Like many Gnostic documents, their authenticity has been questioned.

Gnosticism is considered heretical to Christianity. Its idea that knowledge itself is the key to one’s salvation is in direct contrast to the Christian doctrine of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest of the world religions. There are perhaps 200,000 adherents throughout the world with most residing in Iran and India. It can best be described as monotheistic with its chief deity, Ahura Mazda. The sacred text is the Avesta, compiled over centuries by many authors. Some commentators state that Zoroastrianism lay the ground work for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

While one may think of Zoroastrians as fire worshipers, the main reason for that expression is that they worship toward a source of light, often a fire.

Coming into existence very early, the religion did not rise to prominence until the fifth century BC. With the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD, the number of Zoroastrians began to decline.

The system emphasizes the importance of right behavior.

Conversion to the faith is generally impossible,  and therefore the religion is hereditary.

While Iran, of course, is mainly Muslim, some facets of Zoroastrianism remain in the culture.

The religion is primarily of historical importance, and it has little political influence.

The Alawites, a group predominantly located in Syria, is a secretive and inbred sect, perhaps an offshoot of Shiism. Even in Syria, the sect consists of less than 20% of the population. Alawites adhere to the teachings of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. The Alawites ascribe nearly divine significance to Ali.

While the practices and beliefs of the Alawites are not well-known outside the religion, their system of theology incorporates elements from Judaism, Christianity, Gnostic, and even Zoroastrianism. They believe the one God reveals Himself through the personality of various individuals, such Mohammed, Jesus, Buddha, and Socrates. The Alawites obscure their beliefs from outsiders in order to avoid criticism.

The Alawites believe in reincarnation, often as a punishment for sin in this life.

The current importance of the Alawite faith rests in the fact that the Assad regime in Syria built its political apparatus around members of the sect. While they are a minority in Syria, much of the Assad power structure resides with the Alawites.

As the Syrian civil war has continued, a portion of the Alawite community has declared itself separate from the Assad coalition.

Continuing our discussion of the lesser known religious sects of the Middle East, we consider the Yazidis.

The Yazidis are northern Mesopotamian, residing mainly in northern Iraq and adjoining Turkey. Their people group, consisting of less than one million adherents, came to the news in 2014 as they were attacked by ISIL and trapped on Mount Sinjar. Through an international effort, including the US military, many were rescued. Others, however, mainly women and children, were taken by ISIL into sexual slavery, which remains one of the principal modalities of warfare.

The Yazidi faith is monotheistic but heavily syncretic embracing elements of Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. They believe the world has been placed under the care of seven angels, with the chief referred to as the Peacock Angel. Conversions do not occur, and any who marry outside the faith are considered to have converted to the religion of the partner. They believe in reincarnation.

Because of the obscure character of their faith and their inwardly focused social structure, the Yazidis are among the most misunderstood groups of the Middle East. Their worship of the Peacock Angel is interpreted  by some as a form of devil worship. Hence, they became a target of ISIL during the Sinjar episode. Now, they are still at some risk because Kurdish groups distrust their intentions. With the syncretic nature of their faith, they don’t fit in with any of the religious majorities.

Although their current status has not reached the area of general news, the Yazidis are likely a setup for further conflict.