AS NEWS CONTINUES TO FLOW ABOUT THE POSSIBLE CLOSURE OF AL-IMAN UNIVERSITY THE SHOWDOWN [Archives:2000/30/Front Page]
July 24 2000
The showdown between the two parties started when mosque preachers in Taiz and Sanaa launched an offensive campaign against Al-Yusufi, accusing him of blasphemy and going against Islamic values and beliefs made clear by the act of his republishing the “Sanaa is an Open City” story written by Mohamed Abdulwali more than 25 years ago.
The most brutal organized attack launched against Al-Yusufi was the one led by Sheikh Abdulmajid Al-Zindani, the chairman of the Shoura Council of the Islah Party in his Friday prayer’s preachment on the 14th of July. The preachment was attended by thousands of Zindani’s students who study at his Iman University.
The university is said to have suffered from severe economic difficulties during the last few months.
The government seemed to have had its own response to the preachers, and religious leaders in general, and Abdulmajid Al-Zindani in particular, by launching critical articles against them in Al-Thawrah, Al-Jumhuriya, Al-Mithaq, and other governmental newspapers.
As a response to Al-Zindani’s attack against the newspaper and its editor, Al-Thawrah official daily published an article in which it described the difference between knowledge and ignorance, and put Zindani in the position of a sheikh who lacks the right knowledge to develop the country, and instead attempts to drag it back to the age of backwardness. The newspaper attacked the way Zindani acts by saying, “Zindani called for forming the Iman council which is a clear breach of the law and constitution. He gave himself the right to represent Islamic religion in the country of faith and wisdom.” The newspaper directly accused Zindani of attempting to “divert Yemeni from abiding by the law, and rather encourage them to carry and use weapons in a direct manner, which is clear evidence that he wants to spread chaos and lawlessness and prevent security and stability in the country.”
What is most interesting and noticeable is what the newspaper mentioned about Zindani’s position in the Islah Party. Even though it is well-known that Abdulmajid Al-Zindani was among the founder members, the newspaper said that he only represents himself and has nothing to do in representing the Islah party and its position. It emphasizes that the Islah party is a responsible one that should not be dragged to turn the country into chaos and call for such ‘weird’ action.
However, in contrast to what has been mentioned, the views of Zindani only represent himself. The Sahwa newspaper, and mouthpiece of the Islah Party responded strongly to the article, saying that Zindani is actually the main figure in Islah and has the full representation of the party. Apart from Al-Thawra, the PGC’s mouthpiece, Al-Mithaq newspaper launched a similar attack on Zindani. The two attacks seem to be a signal of the possible closure of his “Iman University.”
The newspaper said is its response, “It is not surprising that Al-Mithaq newspaper, mouthpiece of the PGC, attacks such a national and prominent personality such as Zindani, as it used to do this frequently in the past.” It continued by saying that, “what is surprising is what Al-Thawrah wrote against Al-Zindani in an irresponsible matter, despite its position as the official newspaper of the Republic of Yemen.”
The newspaper expressed its disappointment over whether “the attack was merely an insult on a prominent and respected individual with huge popularity such as Al-Zindani, or was it aimed at the Islah party. Is this attack intended to silence the courageous voices against the upcoming rise in prices, or is this just a condition to normalize with Israel? Is it meant to divert the attention of the public to less significant issues and put them in conflict with each other to cover up the government’s corruption and cheating.”About the activities of the Iman University, the Sahwa newspaper listed the contributions of the university to the academic sector in the Republic of Yemen, and published photos of President Saleh’s inauguration ceremony of the university. It published the text of the republican decree that permitted the opening of the university, in an attempt to stress the legitimacy of the university, and maintaining that its closure would be a clearly illegal action.
It is expected that the relations would continue to be further stringent and reach critical levels unless Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar mediates and interferes to stop the tensions from accelerating.
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