The movement emerged in the 1990s and became a significant challenge to the government at the time. Northern Yemen had been under Zaydi rule for a thousand years, until the 1962 revolution brought that era to an end. Subsequently, tensions escalated between the Houthis and the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh. Although Saleh was himself a Zaydi, his regime clashed with the group in 2004, resulting in the death of Hussein bin Bader al-Houthi. Following his brother’s death, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi assumed leadership of the movement and emerged as its de facto leader. In 2006, he engaged in several battles against the Yemeni government, marking the beginning of a series of conflicts that would eventually escalate into six separate wars. A significant turning point came in 2014. Amid a deep economic and political crisis in Yemen, exacerbated by government instability and widespread protests, the Houthis took advantage of the situation to make military advances.
They captured the capital, Sanaa, and deployed forces along Saudi Arabia’s northern border, where they began challenging Saudi Arabia. In 2015, following the group’s takeover of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense, Ali Abdullah Saleh formally requested military intervention from Saudi Arabia. In response, Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition against the Houthis, leading to an ongoing conflict. Throughout this period, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has continued to escalate tensions by antagonizing the coalition. In his televised speeches, he has frequently declared his defiance of the Arab coalition while moving between locations to keep his whereabouts secret. Over the years, the group has carried out missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and targeted the Red Sea, repeatedly seeking to gain control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a crucial maritime chokepoint.
An elderly woman stepped out of her house and noticed three elderly men with white beards sitting in her front yard. Not recognizing them, she said, “I don’t think we’ve met, but you must be hungry. Please, come in and have something to eat.” One of the men asked, “Is the head of the household at home?” “No,” she replied. “He is away.” “In that case,” they all answered, “we cannot come in.” When her husband returned home, she told him what had happened. He asked, “Where are they now?” She replied, “They’re in the front yard.” He told her, “Please go outside and invite them in.” The woman stepped outside and invited the three men into her home, but they replied, “We do not enter a house all at once.” “Why is that?” she asked. One of the men explained, “This one is called Wealth,” pointing to one of his companions. “This one is Success, and I am Love.” He continued, “Now go back inside and discuss with your husband which one of us you would like to welcome into your home.” The woman returned inside and told her husband what they had said.
Overjoyed, he exclaimed, “How wonderful! In that case, let’s invite Wealth. Let him come in and enrich our home!” His wife disagreed, suggesting, “My dear, why don’t we invite Success instead?” Their daughter-in-law, who was nearby, overheard their conversation and quickly offered her opinion: “Wouldn’t it be wiser to invite Love? Then our home would be filled with love.” The husband replied, “Let’s follow our daughter-in-law’s suggestion. Go outside and invite Love to be our guest.” The woman went outside and asked the three elders, “Which one of you is Love? Please come inside and be our guest.” Love stood up and began walking toward the house, with the other two following him. Surprised, the woman asked Wealth and Success, “I invited only Love. Why are you coming inside as well?” The two elders replied, “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two would have stayed outside. But because you invited Love, we accompany him. Wherever Love is present, Wealth and Success are sure to follow.”
During his travels, Alexander the Great came upon a city filled with the tombs of many kings. Curious, he asked the locals whether any descendants of those royal families still lived. They told him of a young man descended from those kings who lived in solitude among the graves, avoiding contact with others. Alexander summoned the young man and asked why he had chosen to live among the dead rather than among the living. The young man explained that he was searching for something elusive, something he had been unable to discover during his time there. “I live among the dead to distinguish the bones of kings from those of their servants,” he remarked.
“Yet I find them indistinguishable. I cannot tell one from the other.” Alexander offered to accompany the young man and restore the dignity and prestige his ancestors had once enjoyed among their people. The young man replied that, despite his great ambitions, he had four requests he wished Alexander to fulfill. When Alexander asked what he desired, the young man answered, “I wish for a life free from death, eternal youth untouched by old age, wealth free from poverty, and happiness untainted by sorrow.” Alexander paused, realizing that even the mightiest conqueror could not grant such extraordinary wishes. The young man continued, “Since you cannot grant them, allow me to seek them from the One who can.” At that moment, Alexander recognized the young man’s profound wisdom, acknowledging that he had never encountered anyone so insightful.
