Zaydism

Zaydism, also referred to as Fiver Shi'ism, is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, the other two being Twelverism and Ismailism.
Zaydism is typically considered the Shia branch that is closest to Sunni Islam, although the "classical" form of Zaydism historically changed its stance on Sunni and Shia traditions multiple times, to the point where Zaydis' simply accepting Ali as a rightful successor to Muhammad was enough to consider them Shia.
Zaydis regard rationalism as more important than Quranic literalism and historically were quite tolerant towards Shafi'i Sunnism, the jurisprudential school of about half of the Yemenis. Most of the world's Zaydis are located in northwestern Yemen and Najran in Saudi Arabia.

History

Origins

In the 7th century some early Muslims expected Ali to become the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, successor to Muhammad. After the ascension of Abu Bakr, supporters of Ali continued to believe only people from Muhammad's family qualify as rulers. They selected an imam from each generation of Muhammad's family.. The Zaydis emerged in reverence of Zayd ibn Ali's failed uprising against the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. While a majority of the early Shia recognized Zayd's brother, Muhammad al-Baqir, as the fifth leader, some considered Zayd as the fifth imam, and thus in the 8th century formed the Zaydi or "Fivers" offshoot of Islam.
Since the earliest form of Zaydism was Jaroudiah, many of the first Zaydi states were supporters of its position, such as those of the Iranian Alavids of Mazandaran province, the Buyid dynasty of Gilan province, the Arab dynasties of the Banu Ukhaidhir of al-Yamama, and the Rassids of Yemen. The Idrisid dynasty in the western Maghreb were another Arab Zaydi dynasty, ruling 788–985.
Some Persian and Arab legends record that Zaydis fled to China from the Umayyads during the 8th century.

Zaydi empires in Iran

Under Hasan ibn Zayd, the Alavids established a Zaydi state in Daylam and Tabaristan in 864. It also expanded into Sa'dah around 893, under al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, a descendant of Imam Hasan ibn Ali; Yahya thereby founded the Rassid dynasty. The Zaydi state in Tabaristan lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of the Sunni Samanids in 928. Roughly forty years later, the state was revived in Daylam and Gilan and survived until 1126. Historically, there was a small community of Zaydi Kurds between Iran and Iraq.
After Marzuban ibn Justan converted to Islam in 805, the ancient family of Justan's became connected to the Zaydi Alids of the Daylam region. Thus the rulers of Daylam were also called the Justanids.
The Buyid dynasty was initially Zaydi as were the Banu Ukhaidhir rulers of al-Yamama in the 9th and 10th centuries. The leader of the Zaydi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph. From the 12th to the 13th century, Zaydi communities acknowledged the Imams of Yemen or rival Imams within Iran.
The Karkiya dynasty, or Kia dynasty, was a Zaydi Shia dynasty which ruled over Bia pish from the 1370s to 1592. They claimed Sasanian ancestry as well.
The Zaydis on the Caspian Sea were forcefully converted to Twelver Shi'ism in the 16th century.

Outside Arabia and Iran

The Idrisid dynasty was a Zaydi dynasty centered around modern-day Morocco which ruled from 788 to 974. It was named after its first leader Idris I.
The Hammudid dynasty was a Zaydi dynasty in the 11th century in southern Spain.

Evolution of the Zaydi Imamate in Yemen

The Zaydis in Yemen had initially lived in the highlands and the northern territories, but the extent of their dominance away from their capital of seven centuries, Sa'dah, had been changing over time. The Rassid dynasty was re-established under Al-Mansur al-Qasim after an Ottoman invasion in the 16th century. After another conflict with the Ottomans, a new succession line was started in the 19th century by Muhammad bin Yahya Hamid ad-Din. With minor interruptions, these two dynasties ruled in Yemen until the creation of the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962.
The Rassid state had been founded under Jarudiyya thought; however, increasing interactions with Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of Sunni Islam led to a shift to Sulaimaniyyah thought, especially among the Hadawi sub-sect. While the rulers ostensibly conformed to Hadawi law, the doctrines had to be modified to allow hereditary, as opposed to traditional merit-based, selection of imams.
This transition did not happen abruptly, but through a long-lasting process from the fifteenth century onwards that saw the gradual merging of Zaydi doctrine with elements of Shafi'i Sunnism. By the mid-eighteenth century, the rulers of the Qasimi Imamate had become dynastic, a more formal state bureaucracy was established, and the traditional Zaydi notion of khurūj was deemed unacceptable.
File:North yemen religion map.png|thumb|150px|Zaydi regions in Yemen's interior, excludes Tihamah on the coast.
The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, also known as North Yemen, existed between 1918 and 1962 in the northern part of what is now Yemen. Its capital was Sana'a until 1948, then Ta'izz.

Yemeni Arab Republic era

After the fall of the Zaydi Imamate in 1962 some Zaydi Shia in northern Yemen converted to Sunni Islam.
The end of imam rule, with the new rulers in Yemen no longer conforming to the requirements of Zaydism, caused a number of Zaydi scholars to call for the restoration of the imamate. This contributed to the North Yemen Civil War that lasted from 1962 to 1970. The national reconciliation of 1970 paused the fighting with traumatized Zaydis following three main routes:

joining the new political system ;
restoring the spiritual and cultural heritage of Zaydism by opening religious centers and encouraging the tribes to send their youth for education there;
preparing for the future fighting.

Throughout the Republican era, the position of Saudi-backed Salafis and other Sunni groups in Yemen steadily increased, as did the position of Sheikhs who sometimes cooperated with these Salafi groups for pragmatic reasons. The Salafis reportedly pursued an aggressive "policy of provocation" towards the Zaydis who inhabited the surrounding area, often accusing them of apostasy and sometimes even destroying their cemeteries. Despite this, the Salafi school enjoyed the support of both the Saudi and North Yemeni regimes. This situation helped sow the seeds for mounting discontent among the Zaydi population and ultimately Zaydi revivalist movements such as the Houthis, an armed rebel group.

Houthi insurgency

Since 2004, the Houthis have been waging an uprising against factions belonging to the Sunni majority group in the country. The group has asserted that their actions are for the defence of their community from the government and discrimination, though the Yemeni government in turn accused them of wishing to bring it down and institute religious law.
On 21 September 2014, an agreement was signed in Sana'a under UN patronage essentially giving the Houthis control of the government after a decade of conflict. Tribal militias then moved swiftly to consolidate their position in the capital, with the group officially declaring direct control over the state on 6 February 2015. This outcome followed the removal of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012 in the wake of protracted Arab Spring protests. Saudi Arabia has exercised the predominant external influence in Yemen since the withdrawal of Nasser's Egyptian expeditionary force marking the end of the bitter North Yemen Civil War.
There is a wide array of domestic opponents to Houthi rule in Yemen, ranging from the conservative Sunni Islah Party to the secular socialist Southern Movement to the radical Islamists of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and, since 2014, the Islamic State – Yemen Province.

Law

In matters of Islamic jurisprudence, the Zaydis follow Zayd Ibn 'Ali's teachings, which are documented in his book Majmu' Al-Fiqh. Zaydi fiqh is similar to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, as well as the Ibadi school. Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi school, was favorable and even donated towards the Zaydi cause. Zaydis dismiss religious dissimulation. Zaydism does not rely heavily on hadith, but uses those that are consistent with the Qur'an, and is open to hadith. Some sources argue that Zaydism is simply a philosophy of political government that justifies the overthrow of unjust rulers and prioritizes those who are Ahl al-Bayt.

Theology

Haider states that mainstream Zaydism is a result of the interaction of two currents, Batrism and Jarudism, their followers brought together during the original revolt of Zayd ibn Ali. The names, also designated as Batri and Jarudi, do not necessarily represent cohesive groups of people; for example, Batri ideas were dominant among Zaydis in the 8th century, and Jarudism took over in the 9th century. The following table summarizes the differences between Batri and Jarudi beliefs per Haider:

Batri	Jarudi
Muhammad implicitly designated Ali as a caliph.	Ali was clearly named by Muhammad.
Ali's opponents were victims of bad judgement. They should not be cursed or declared apostates.	Ali's opponents were apostates and can be cursed.
Imamate can go to a less worthy candidate.	Only the most worthy candidate shall become an imam.
Legal authority is vested in the entire Muslim community.	Only Ali's and Fatima's descendants have legal authority.
Doctrines of raj'a, taqiyya, and bada' are invalid.	Raj'a, taqiyya, and bada are accepted.

Zaydis' theological literature emphasizes social justice and human responsibility and their political implications—i.e., Muslims have an ethical and legal obligation by their religion to rise up and depose unjust leaders, including unrighteous sultans and caliphs.