Systematic Suppression: Houthis Ban Tarawih in Ibb by Cutting Power and Kidnapping Mosque Imams
Yemen Monitor / Ibb / Exclusive:
Local sources reported on Friday evening that the Houthi armed group cut off electricity to several mosques in Ibb Governorate, a move aimed at preventing the performance of Tarawih prayers via loudspeakers.
In a related context, sources revealed on Thursday that the group banned Tarawih prayers in most mosques in the Al-Sha’ir District of the same governorate, most notably at the Grand Mosque in the Al-Radai area, the district center.
The sources explained that these measures have sparked widespread anger and resentment among citizens, who are accustomed to observing the nights of the Holy Month of Ramadan in houses of worship, viewing these actions as a direct crackdown on their religious rituals.
In a further escalation, the group kidnapped four mosque imams and Sharia science students on Wednesday in the Bani Shabib sub-district of the Hubaysh District, north of Ibb.
According to news sources, the abductees are: Okasha Abdullah, Jamal Al-Arumi, Yusuf Al-Faiq, and Haitham Al-Jaybli. All are students of the Salafi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Burai, who traditionally sends his students to remote villages to lead prayers and provide religious instruction.
Sources confirmed that this Houthi campaign is part of an ongoing policy to pressure residents and suppress the performance of Tarawih prayers.
Over the past few years, the group has consistently taken similar measures in areas under its control—ranging from closing mosques and silencing loudspeakers to replacing preachers and imams or kidnapping them—in an effort to restrict this specific religious practice.
