The life of Ali Al Bukhaiti, former spokesperson for the Houthis in Yemen and nowadays a political and social activist residing in the UK, has been one filled with moves and changes.
Born in 1976 in the village of Al-Malha, Dhamar Governorate, to the Al-Hada tribe, he moved between several regions in Yemen, living part of his childhood in Taiz. “I also moved between Islamic sects and religions,” Al Bukhaiti reminisced in an exclusive conversation with The Jerusalem Post.
“Although our region follows mainly the Zaidi sect of Shia Islam, the Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood school of thought dominated the region for a period, and therefore I was influenced by Salafism and the Brotherhood in my early youth. Then I moved to the Zaidi sect under the influence of my maternal grandfather, who was the imam of a Zaidi mosque.”
Al- Bukhaiti explained that as early as the age of 14 he began having doubts about his upbringing and religion. “This was influenced by some discussions that took place in our family and because of my affiliation with the Yemeni Socialist Party.
I gradually began rejecting some of the pillars of religion until I reached the point of becoming completely irreligious and atheist at about the age of twenty. From that time, I felt reconciled with all people and all religions and races.”
Al Bukhaiti explained that many in his family were atheists, “so my decision was unsurprising, and I did not have to hide my beliefs. Despite this, I did have to conceal my views from the traditional Yemeni society, until I arrived in London in 2019. There, too, I was initially subjected to harsh criticism and attacks,” he added.
“With the passage of time, even Yemenis got used to my opinions, and many began to accept my freedom of belief due to my activity and writings about the issue on social media,” he elaborated proudly. “I brought religious discussions to broad daylight and dragged clerics into absurd wars.” Al Bukhaiti believes that he has a wide influence within Yemeni society, mainly due to the millions of followers he boasts on various social media platforms.
Working with the Houthis up close
Al Bukhaiti’s personal experience with the Houthis is remarkable. “My official relationship with the Houthis began inside the Yemeni Intelligence Prison in 2008 when I was imprisoned for hosting a British journalist with American citizenship, who was preparing a report on the group,” he explained.
“We were arrested while heading to Saada to meet Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. In prison, I got to know some of the group’s leaders, including Mohammed Ali al-Houthi and others. After the Arab Spring revolutions, I was appointed spokesman for the General Forum of Revolutionary Forces, of which the Houthis were part.”
Al Bukhaiti continued: “When the National Dialogue Conference of Yemen was announced over a decade ago, the Houthis granted several of the seats which were allocated to them – to the General Forum of Revolutionary Forces.”
Al Bukhaiti then had a seat in the dialogue conference in 2013, and later was appointed the official spokesman for the Houthis within the dialogue conference, as well as a member of the movement’s political council.
“I continued to work for them until I submitted my resignation in 2015 after they stormed the home of former Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
I had started criticizing the Houthis from the moment they entered Sana’a on September 19, 2014, because of their seizure of their homes and their violations of human rights,” he highlighted.
“During my time working with the movement, those who believe in a civil state and a secular system, including myself, were able to convince the Houthis to present a vision that expresses our aspirations, and initially they did present a civil vision,” Al Bukhaiti reminded. “But after they stormed Sana’a and took over the capital, they began implementing their racist, sectarian vision, so I criticized them and then submitted my resignation, and I said, ‘this is not what we agreed upon with you.'”
Al Bukhaiti stressed that the Houthis are a group that traditionally follows the Zaidi doctrine of Shia Islam, an ancient doctrine that resembles the Sunnah in many aspects. “Then they adopted the political approach of the Islamic Revolution in Iran led by Khomeini.
Their leaders claim that they are more deserving of rule because they are descendants of the Hashemites, who extend to the Prophet Muhammad himself, according to their claim. They aspire to establish their rule in Yemen, where the Zaidi Imamate system ruled Yemen until 1962.”
According to Al Bukhaiti, the Houthi movement is an extension of that political movement that ruled Yemen for hundreds of years, with one prominent difference: “The Houthis have expansionist ambitions into Saudi Arabia. They want to rule Mecca as an extension of the Hashemite rule, and for this, Saudi Arabia loathes them even more.”
When asked about the Houthis’ strengths and weaknesses, Al Bukhaiti highlighted that the Houthis are “part and parcel of the Yemeni people, and their identity and their presence extends for centuries. They are not a haphazard movement in the history of Yemen, and they are unified and follow one leader.
“As for their weaknesses, they are a minority in Yemen – and the majority currently despise them and are waiting for the opportunity to eliminate their authority.
They are also a backward group in their opinions, which do not fit with our times,” he opined, adding that all countries of the region are against them, “except for the Sultanate of Oman, maybe.”
When prompted to bring forth his view for a solution to the Yemeni problem, Al Bukhaiti added: “The solution to the Yemeni issue begins with defeating and breaking the Houthis and ending their rule over Sana’a.
Then, a political dialogue must take place in the form of a new system of government and a constitution. Israel can contribute to this by working to establish an international coalition to overthrow the Houthi authority, like the coalition that overthrew ISIS’s authority in Iraq and Syria,” he suggested.
The Jews of Arabia
Despite his upbringing in Yemen, where society traditionally holds anti-Israel and antisemitic views, Al Bukhaiti has written a great deal about the Jews of Yemen. “As I see it, our ancestors are all Jews. We were subjected to an Islamic invasion, and our ancestors were forced to belong to Islam.
I have written about this a lot, and many Yemenis have become more accepting of these issues due to their hatred of the Houthis. Despite this, they also believe that Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians distort Jews and Judaism, and yet I do believe that most Yemenis love the Yemeni Jews in Israel and have become more accepting of them.”
When asked about his striking willingness to speak to Israeli media openly, Al Bukhaiti replied: “I don’t see any difference between Israeli media and others. On the contrary, I see that Israeli media is more accepting of other opinions compared to Arab media.”
True to his character, Al Bukhaiti does not hide his criticism of the Israeli policies, either: “I do not have a hostile position towards Israel as a people and a state. But I do have a position on the policy of successive Israeli governments because of their crimes against the Palestinians – the siege and the occupation. I have previously received an official invitation to visit Israel, and I am ready to visit it at the earliest opportunity.
My first goal is to meet Yemeni Jews and apologize to them for what the regime of Imam Yahya and Imam Ahmed in Yemen committed against them when they were forcibly displaced to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet in the 1950s, as I wrote some time ago,” he added, evoking a 2022 tweet by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs account in Arabic, in which Al Bukhaiti was invited to Israel.
“Israel must stop its infringements against the Palestinians’ rights. I see it as the main reason for the hatred directed towards Jews, not only in Israel but around the world,” Al Bukhaiti continued. “My message is that we, as Arabs and Jews, can coexist.
The Israeli government must find a settlement with the Palestinians that provides them with the minimum of their rights. The majority of Arabs are ready for peace and reconciliation with Israel and the Jewish people. But this can only happen once the Palestinian issue is settled,” he concluded.
