How a Zaydi revivalist movement in northern Yemen became a global military force

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Houthi movement began as a local Zaydi religious network in northern Yemen, seeking to preserve traditions against perceived foreign encroachment. Over two decades, it transformed from a small youth group into a powerful military actor, eventually challenging regional powers and disrupting international trade routes in the Red Sea.

The roots of the Houthi movement lie in the Zaydi community, a Shiʿi sect that established itself in northern Yemen in 893 ce. For centuries, Zaydi imams served as the region's political and spiritual leaders until the 1962 revolution, which replaced the imamate with a military republic. This transition marginalized Zaydi elites, who felt their influence slipping away as the new government sought closer ties with Saudi Arabia and promoted Wahhabism, a doctrine many Zaydis viewed as an existential threat to their identity.

In the 1990s, Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi, a former parliamentarian, founded the Believing Youth network to provide religious education and social welfare as an alternative to Wahhabi influence. Tensions escalated following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which the movement’s sympathizers viewed as a continuation of the foreign intervention that had disenfranchised their community. Hussein al-Houthi adopted a confrontational stance, utilizing a chant that included "death to America" and "death to Israel," prompting the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh to launch a crackdown in June 2004.

The conflict turned violent in September 2004 when Yemeni forces killed Hussein al-Houthi, leading his brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, to assume leadership. What began as a local rebellion in the Saʿdah governorate evolved into a broader civil war following the Houthi takeover of Sanaa in 2014. Supported by Iran, the movement grew into a formidable military force. By 2023, the group moved to the global stage by launching missiles toward Israel and targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, asserting its role as a key player in the regional Axis of Resistance.

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