Yemen
(2001)
The Constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respects this right
in practice; however, there were some restrictions. The Constitution
declares that Islam is the state religion. The Constitution
also states that Shari’a (Islamic law) is the source
of all legislation.
There was no change in the status of respect
of religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
Followers of religions other than Islam are free to worship
according to their beliefs; however, the Government forbids
conversions and prohibits non-Muslims from proselytizing.
The amicable relationship among religions
in society contributed to the generally free practice of
religion.
The U.S. Government discusses religious
freedom issues with the Government in the context of its
overall dialog and policy of promoting human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has a total land area of about
330,000 square miles and its population is approximately
18 million. Virtually all citizens are Muslims, either of
the Zaydi order of Shi’a Islam or the Shafa'i order
of Sunni Islam, representing approximately 35 percent and
65 percent of the total population, respectively. There are
also a few thousand Ismaili Muslims, mostly in the north.
Almost all Christians are temporary foreign
residents, except for a few families living in Aden that
trace their origins to India. There are a few Hindus in Aden
who also trace their origins to India. There are several
churches and Hindu places of worship in Aden, but no non-Muslim
public places of worship exist in the former North Yemen,
largely because northern Yemen does not have a history of
a large, resident foreign community as in the south.
Christian missionaries operate in Yemen
and most are dedicated to the provision of medical services;
others are employed in teaching and social services. Invited
by the Government, the Sisters of Charity run homes for the
poor and disabled in Sana’a, Taiz, Hodeida, and Aden.
The Government has asked the Vatican to open additional Sisters
of Charity facilities. The Government issues residence visas
to priests so that they may provide for the community's religious
needs. There is also a German Christian charitable mission
in Hodeida and a Dutch Christian medical mission in Saada.
An American Baptist congregation has run a hospital in Jibla
for over 30 years. The Anglican Church runs a charitable
clinic in Aden. An American nongovernmental organization
(NGO), run by the Seventh-Day Adventists, works in the governorate
of Hodeida.
Nearly all of the country’s once sizable
Jewish population has emigrated. Approximately 500 Jews are
scattered in a handful of villages between Sana’a and
Saada in northern Yemen.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respects this right
in practice; however, there were some restrictions. The Constitution
declares that Islam is the state religion. Followers of other
religions are free to worship according to their beliefs
and to wear religiously distinctive ornaments or dress; however,
the Government forbids conversions, requires permission for
the construction of new places of worship, and prohibits
non-Muslims from proselytizing and holding elected office.
The Constitution states that Shari’a is the source of
all legislation.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The Government prohibits non-Muslims from
proselytizing. Under Islam as applied in the country, the
conversion of a Muslim to another religion is considered
apostasy, a crime punishable by death. There were no reports
of cases in which the crime has been charged or prosecuted
by government authorities. In January 2000, the director
of the Aden office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) received a report that a Somali refugee, who allegedly
had converted from Islam to Christianity after his arrival
in Yemen, had been arrested for apostasy. The UNHCR’s
investigation found that the refugee had been detained on
criminal charges previously by police in Aden and at the
UNHCR’s Al-Jahin camp. Although the refugee was registered
with the UNHCR under a Christian name, he maintained an address
in Sana’a under a Muslim name, was married to a Muslim
woman, and possessed an Islamic marriage certificate. The
UNHCR believed that authorities detained the refugee on criminal
rather than religious grounds. The refugee was not charged
formally and his trial was canceled. He was remanded to immigration
detention, then released in July 2000. The UNHCR, with the
Government’s knowledge, arranged for the refugee to
be resettled in a third country; he and his family departed
the country on August 25, 2000.
The Government does not allow the building
of new non-Muslim public places of worship without permission;
however, in 1998 the country established diplomatic relations
with the Vatican and agreed to the construction and operation
of a "Christian center" in Sana’a. Weekly
services for Catholic, Protestant, and Ethiopian Christians
are held in the auditorium of a private company in Sana’a
without government interference. Christian church services
are held regularly in other cities without harassment in
private homes or facilities such as schools, and these facilities
appear adequate to accommodate the small numbers involved.
The Papal Nuncio, resident in Kuwait, presented his credentials
to the Government in March 2000. The country’s ambassador
to Italy was accredited to the Vatican in July 1999. President
Ali Abdullah Saleh paid an official visit to the Vatican
at the time of his state visit to Italy in April 2000.
Public schools provide instruction in Islam
but not in other religions. However, almost all non-Muslims
are foreigners who attend private schools.
There are no legal restrictions on the
few hundred Jews who remain in the country, although there
are traditional restrictions on places of residence and choice
of employment (see Section III). In mid-2000, the Government
suspended its policy of allowing Yemeni-origin Israeli passport
holders to travel to Yemen on laissez-passer documents. However,
Yemeni, Israeli, and other Jews may travel freely to and
within Yemen on non-Israeli passports.
The Government monitors mosques for sermons
that incite violence or other political statements that it
considers harmful to public security. Private Islamic organizations
may maintain ties to pan-Islamic organizations and in the
past have operated private schools. However, in May 2001,
the Government mandated the implementation of a 1992 law
to unify educational curriculums and administration of all
publicly funded schools. Publicly funded Islamic schools
will be absorbed into the national system.
Non-Muslims may vote; however, they may
not hold elected office.
Following unification of North and South
Yemen in 1990, owners of property previously expropriated
by the Communist government of the former People's Democratic
Republic of Yemen, including religious organizations, were
invited to seek restitution of their property. However, implementation
of the process, including for religious institutions, has
been extremely limited, and very few properties have been
returned to any previous owner.
Shari’a-based law and social custom
discriminate against women. Men are permitted to take as
many as four wives, although very few do so. By law the minimum
age of marriage is 15. However, the law largely is not enforced,
and some girls marry as early as age 12. The law stipulates
that the wife's "consent" to the marriage is required;
"consent" is defined as "silence" for
previously unwed women and "pronouncement of consent"
for divorced women. The husband and the wife's "guardian"
(usually her father) sign the marriage contract; in Aden
and some outlying governorates, the wife also signs. The
practice of bride-price payments is widespread, despite efforts
to limit the size of such payments.
The law provides that the wife must obey
the husband. She must live with him at the place stipulated
in the contract, consummate the marriage, and not leave the
home without his consent. Husbands may divorce wives without
justifying their action in court; however, courts routinely
mandate lengthy reconciliation periods prior to granting
the husband’s petition for divorce. A woman has the
legal right to divorce; however, she must provide a justification,
such as her husband’s nonsupport, impotence, abrogation
of the marriage contract (for example, of guarantees regarding
her education or employment options), or taking of a second
wife without her consent. A woman seeking a divorce also
must repay the mahr (a portion of her bride price), which
creates an additional hardship.
Women who seek to travel abroad must obtain
permission from their husbands or fathers to receive a passport
and to travel. They also are expected to be accompanied by
male relatives. However, enforcement of this requirement
is irregular. Shari'a-based law permits a Muslim man to marry
a Christian or Jewish woman, but no Muslim woman may marry
outside of Islam. Yemeni women do not have the right to confer
citizenship on their foreign-born spouses; however, they
may confer citizenship on children born in Yemen of foreign-born
fathers.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
Official government policy does not prohibit
or provide punishment for the possession of non-Islamic religious
literature. However, there are unconfirmed reports that foreigners,
on occasion, have been harassed by police for possessing
such literature. In addition, some members of the security
forces occasionally censor the mail of Christian clergy who
minister to the foreign community, ostensibly to prevent
proselytizing.
There are unconfirmed reports that some
police, without the authorization or knowledge of their superiors,
on occasion have harassed and detained persons suspected
of apostasy in order to compel them to renounce their conversions.
There were no reports of religious detainees
or prisoners.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious
conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been
abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or
of the Government's refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
The country is overwhelmingly Muslim. There
are very small numbers of religious minorities, and relations
among religious groups generally are amicable. There were
no reported incidents of violence or discrimination between
the adherents of the two main orders, Zaydi and Shafa'i Islam.
Religiously motivated violence is neither incited nor tolerated
by the Islamic clergy, except for a small politically motivated
clerical minority, often with ties to foreign extremist elements.
The tiny number of religious minorities
generally live in harmony with their Muslim neighbors. Apart
from a small but undetermined number of Christians and Hindus
of South Asian origin in Aden, Jews are the only indigenous
religious minority. Their numbers have diminished significantly--from
several tens of thousands to a few hundred--due to voluntary
emigration over the last 50 years. Although the law makes
no distinction, Jews traditionally are restricted to living
in one section of a city or village and often are confined
to a limited choice of employment, usually farming or handicrafts
(primarily silver working). They are respected for their
craftsmanship and their silver work is highly prized. Jews
may, and do, own land. They may vote; however, as non-Muslims,
they may not hold elected office (see Section II). Traditionally
the tribal leaders of the regions in which the Jews have
resided are responsible for protecting the Jews in their
areas. A failure to provide this protection is considered
a serious personal dishonor.
Christian clergy who minister to the foreign
community are employed in teaching, social services, and
health care.
A small bomb blasted a 12-foot hole in
the wall of Christ Church in Aden on January 1, 2001; there
were no reported injuries. The perpetrator, whom authorities
believe is linked to extremist Islamic groups, was arrested
in January 2001 and was awaiting trial at the end of the
period covered by this report. On January 10, 2001, in the
village of Dhabyan in Amran governorate, an armed individual
opened fire on worshipers during evening prayers at the local
mosque. Four men were killed and 17 wounded, 7 critically.
The shootings appeared to be criminally rather than religiously
motivated.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Embassy maintains an active dialog
on human rights issues with the Government, NGO’s, and
others, and discusses religious freedom issues in the overall
context of the promotion of human rights. Embassy officers,
including the Ambassador, meet periodically with representatives
of the Jewish and Christian communities.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |