The Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula are the original Arabs. Tribes of nomads from the Arabian Desert developed Arab culture. From there, they expanded into what we now know as the Arab World, where Arabic is the key language.
Yemenis started migrating north during the pre-Islamic era. Many Arab families with common names (e.g., Haddad, Haddadeen, which means Smith or metalworker) that have long family trees in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan trace their ancestry to that early migration from Yemen. For example, the family name, Haddadeen, originated in Sana'a.
There are many Arabic dialects spoken in Yemen. Today, there is a sharp division between Yemeni from the northern tribes and the southern ones. Those from the north descended from Mesopotamians, who entered their land 1,000 years before Christ. They claim Ismail from the Book of Genesis, and their patriarch. Those from the south believe they descended from Qahtan, also known as Joktan, in the Bible.
The north and the south were separate nations in the 70s and 80s; one backed by communists and the other by the West. They merged for a couple of years, but now they are fighting once again. Iran backs one side using Shia Islam as their banner, while the other supports a Sunni Muslim head of state. Yemenis would love to have the fighting stop, but the situation is out of their control. Innocent people are being killed.
The war is driving people out of Yemen, and there is a large Yemeni diaspora, especially in nearby countries like Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan and Kenya.
There is also a diaspora in Western nations like the UK and the US. Yemeni Arabs have been in the UK since the 1860s, and they are the oldest Muslim community in that country. They served in the British navy in World Wars I and II. They also worked in shipyards during these conflicts. Most were from rural parts of Yemen, and they had to learn both a new language and British ways. A large number of Yemenis arrived in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s.
There are Yemenis who have been in the UK for generations. These Yemenis can be lawyers, shopkeepers, dock workers or anything else. It was difficult when they first arrived, but now they are doing well. Some have inter-married with the British.
Others have arrived more recently. The new arrivals need help in overcoming the traumas of war and getting re-established in their new homeland. Most of them live in various urban centers in the UK. They prefer to live near other Yemenis. The fierce controversies in Yemen spill over to the Yemeni diaspora in the UK. There are those who sympathize with either side of the Yemeni civil war.
The Yemeni Community Centre in the UK offers a festival, fashion show and folk dancing. They have several Yemeni associations in various parts of the country. Their community also teaches Arabic and helps support newly arriving Yemenis in need of education, medicine and other help. These Yemeni expatriates send money back home to Yemen.
The Yemeni Arabs have had a close association with Islam since it began in the 600s. Today, nearly all the Yemeni Arabs are Muslim, no matter where they live. Two-thirds of Yemenis adhere to some form of Sunni Islam, and about one-third are Shia Muslims. Though they vary in terms of tribal loyalty, one thing Yemeni Arabs all agree on is devotion to the Islamic religious system. Almost none of them have put their trust in Jesus Christ, no matter where they live.
Yemeni Arabs in diaspora need peace in their homeland. All of them have family members whose lives are in jeopardy because of the fighting. There will be no end to the fighting until there is humble repentance, and the acknowledgement that they must submit to the sin-free Savior. They need the intervention of Jesus Christ.
Pray for a lasting and just peace in Yemen that will allow the Yemeni diaspora to return home.
Pray for an end to foreign military intervention and blockades in Yemen.
Pray for the Lord to use the instability in Yemen to help Muslim Yemenis to understand they need a loving and all-powerful savior.
Pray for the small number of Yemeni believers to boldly proclaim the gospel to their families, friends and neighbors.
Pray for small, extended-family based home fellowships to multiply in the UK.
Pray for more workers to enter the harvest via foreign assistance organizations.
Scripture Prayers for the Arab, Yemeni in United Kingdom.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/features/yemenis-britain-war-fence-between-us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenis_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/27/uk-yemeni-diaspora-houthi-attacks
https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/yemen-cardiff-uk-oldest-muslim-diaspora
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
