Reem Al-Fadhli (South24) 

Decades ago, Aden was the home of Christians, Jews, Baha'is and other religions and sects along with the Muslim majority. The city constituted a unique example of coexistence as well as religious and sectarian tolerance in the region.

The synagogues and churches were adjacent to mosques where everyone can practice his religious rituals with full peace and tranquility. At that time, Aden's residents lived in a peaceful atmosphere where the religious background was not important and not a determinator for the way of treatment within the society.

Thanks to its geographical location on the global trade road, the events and the historical occasions Aden has witnessed over time, several nationalities flocked to the coastal city making it one of those Arab cities that enjoy a lot of religious diversity.

However, over the subsequent decades, such diversity has declined due to the policies of successive authorities in Aden starting from the Socialist regime which ruled South Yemen after gaining independence from Britain and until the Yemeni Unity regime that invaded South Yemen in 1994.

The religious identity in Aden has been subjected to shoveling and obliteration attempts after the Unity Agreement between Southern and Northern states. For political purposes, the Unity regime targeted the religious identity in Aden, not only at the level of different religions but even among the Islamic sects themselves, especially Sufism which spread in Aden and South Yemen.

Aden's religious heritage

According to the census of 1955, as mentioned in the book titled “Aspects from the History of the Aden state" by researcher Bilal Ghulam, [1] Aden's population was at that time about 138000 including a majority of 126000 Muslims while Christians came in the second place with a total of 5600. There were 4786 Hindus, 831 Jews, 596 Zoroastrianists (Persians) and 480 with no clear religious affiliation. 

Islam

After the emergence of the Islamic da'wah (preach), the city of Aden transformed from a trade hub like other pre-Islamic well known markets to be one of the early Islamic civilized centers as an important port. The expansion of its commercial market helped in the spread of the principles and the values of Islam. This is reflected in building mosques which constitute part of the city's history, prominent of them are Aban, Al-Aidarus, Sheikh Jawhar Al-Nabi Mosque, Al-Asqalani and many others mosques [2].

Christianity

Between the 19th and the 20th centuries during the British occupation, a number of churches in the city were built. The most famous among those churches are St. Anthony St. Mary Garrison, and St. Joseph, which was built in 1850 in Crater and considered one of Aden’s oldest churches. It follows the Roman Catholic mission and part of it was transformed to a school. Meanwhile, some other churches were built but of less importance than those aforementioned [3].

Judaism

Studies indicate that the Jewish existence in Aden dates back to the 12th century. After the Abyssinians controlled Yemen in the 6th Century, North Yemen's Jews were pushed to move to Aden and stayed there in addition to the arrival of the Spanish Jews to the city at the end of the 15th century [4].

The Great Synagogue of Aden, known as the Abraham's Shield built in 1858 in Aden (Wikipedia)

The number of synagogues in Aden was estimated by more than 10 ten small sub-temples. One of the most important synagogues built by the Jews in the city is Singut or "Star of Avraham" which is considered one of the most beautiful synagogues in the world with a capacity of 1000 persons according to Ghulam in his aforementioned book.

Hinduism and Zoroastrianism (Perisn) are among the religions that existed in Aden. Their believers worked as Craftsmen and Merchants in the 19th Century. More than 5 Hinu temples were built in Aden including Shri Trikamraijii Haveli, Sheikh Othman Hanumanji, Shri Ramchandra ji, Shri Hinglaj Mataji Mandir, Shri Shankar Hanuman and Gyani and Sikh temple [5].

Shri Trikamraijii Haveli Temple in Crater, Aden March 1, 2022 (Ali Hassan. (South24)

As for Zoroastrianism, It dates back to the era when Indian and Persian merchants used to go to Aden to work in the trade sector after Britain colonized it and the declaration of Aden as a free port in 1850. They settled in Aden after signs of prosperity in the city as mentioned in “Aspects from the History of the Aden State''. They built Their own “Fire” Temple in Al-Taweelah area in Crater, and they also built the "Tower of Silence'' Temple [6].

Baha'ism reached Aden after World War II as a wave of Baha'i immigrants settled in South Yemen especially around the Port of Aden which was the world’s second busiest port that attracted a variety of people [7].

Isma'ilism

Along with religions, the city witnessed the emergence of several Islamic sects, top of which is Ismailism whose followers came from the Indian province of Gujarat. They originally were Hindus but they converted to Islam earlier in the 11th Century. A large part of Yemenis of Indian descent has been Shiite, particularly from the “Bohra” or “Khoja” Ismailis. In 2014, their number in Aden was roughly 300 [8].

Cosmopolitan city

Regarding religious diversity in Aden, Moataz Mubarak, a researcher specializing in the history of Al-Adeni, told “South24” that: “Aden is by nature a Cosmopolitan city [9]. It is a global city that accommodates everyone”.

Mubarak attributed this to the fact that Aden “includes the oldest and the most prosperous port. It has been the destination for merchants and those who seek new opportunities. Thus, different religions and races settled there long before colonialism. This was reflected in the travelers’ drawings and writing.

Effective political vicissitudes

After the political decisions and the changes in running the state since 1947 impacted the coexistence in Aden, the Jews in the city were the most affected by such arbitrariness. Since the declaration of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the lives of Aden’s Jews have turned to unbearable hell [10].

Throughout history, political vicissitudes have largely impacted the general character of the demographic composition of the city. Those changes had acted as points of strength and enhanced this diversity. However, starting from the era which was greatly influenced by the Marxist regime, to the rule of the former Yemeni regime, and the conditions of the recent war in the city, great changes have taken place in this historical religious diversity that has characterized the city throughout the ages.

The background of the Marxist regime in the city dates back to the period that followed the independence of Aden and Southern regions from British colonization as the Marxist character overwhelmed the public situation in the city after the 1960s. The economic conditions changed a lot at that time as the ruling authorities removed the private sector and relied upon nationalized public sectors which led to the immigration of many traders from several religions and sectors according to historical affairs researcher Najmi Abdulmajid who spoke to "South24".

"The value of Aden is basically based on its geographical location which has connected peoples in a number of neighboring continents," he added. It served as a rest house for merchants and businessmen of different religions, languages and races who settled in Aden before the British colonization. In 439 AD, before Islam, the first church was built in Aden which was also mentioned in the Jewish Bible in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Ezekiel.

"Due to these economic changes, many Southerners departed also along with businessmen from other religions and sects" Najmi added.

Ghulam described the decision taken by the former South Yemen regime to nationalize assets as "unfair and wrong" as it led to the exodus of people including merchants, companies and others. This situation impacted people's lives while benefiting neighboring states such as North Yemen; Kuwait and the UAE.

Regarding the impact of this decision on religious diversity, Ghulam told "South24" that "many of Hindu and Persian businessmen left Aden after their assets and houses were nationalized". As for the Bohra and the Twelver sect, most of them emigrated and few remained.

He confirmed that British, European and other nationalities affiliated with other religions had emigrated completely from Aden.

The former Unity regime

After declaring the establishment of the Yemeni Republic on May 22nd 1990, and the subsequent military and political events that led to seizing South Yemen by military force in 1994, Aden witnessed the beginning of a dark stage regarding its religious identity, especially after the Unity regime cooperated with extremists who returned from Afghanistan known as “Afghan Arab”. 

By the help of the Unity regime, the influence of extremists and political Islamist group then began to expand, as they attempted to impose alien ideology in the city and exclude followers of other Islamic sects in Aden such as the “Sufis”. They went too far to the extent of accusing some sects of infidelity according to historians and researchers.

"Hussain Al-Ahdal" Sufi Mosque in Crater, Aden, March 1st, 2022 (Ali Hassan, South24)

On this regard, Najmi said: “These groups used infidelity (takfiri) fatwas against Southerners. This is a result of what former President Ali Abdullah Saleh used to do by establishing camps to train these groups to fight in Afghanistan before the Unity. They included many Southerners who fled the rule of the Marxist regime in Aden”.

“The Northern regime intentionally incited those groups, which included many Southerners, to fight on the ground. Many of them were killed after swallowing the bait. The Northern regime succeeded in making the Southern cities as incubators for those extremists," he added.

The political employment of religion

As for the political employment of religion, Dr. Sameh Ismail, Egyptian researcher in political science and philosophy of history told “South24”: “the old employment of religion is very old. It can be said that the emergence of religions in the primitive societies were associated with political purpose by tightening control over the group through creating a class of priests. Perhaps the implicit contract between clerics and politicians is the most common phenomenon throughout human history”.

He stressed that “the authority uses a set of functional roles of religion to dominate and crumble the social structure to create a state of sectarian conflict which is exploited for more expansion and authoritarian spread. Thus, they could subdue the minorities and secure the lubricity of the majority who surrender to them to protect their status after wrongly believing that the authority is capable of doing that but they are unaware of the subsequent ramifications”.

The Southerners believe that the “Takfiri Fatwa” issued by the Justice Minister in the Unity State, Northern clerk Abdulwahab Al Dulaimi against Southerners in the 1994 War, is one of the most prominent examples in the modern age about the political employment of religion”.

The destruction of Aden’s historical religious landmarks

According to Najmi, the Unity regime made several attempts to obliterate the historical religious landmarks in Aden, as it transformed some churches to legislative buildings, educational institutions, medical clinics or judicial centers. In 1996, He demolished the historic Aban mosque and built it again, stripping it of historical value, which spanned over centuries. 

“Many historical temples and buildings were burnt. A Synagogue was demolished. The Elephant Temple in Al-Khasaf area of Crater was smashed amid severs looting attempts by residents amid the lack of security and oversight”. He added

The immigration of minorities

Aden witnessed successive waves of immigration by the religious minorities after 1994. Gradually, the number of temples declined until the closure of the latest Hindu temple “Shri Hinglaj Mataji Mandir" in the 2015 War. as well as the churches which were opened for minorities and foreigners until this war according to Moataz Mubarak.

Mubarak pointed out that there were many cases of kidnapping religious minorities including those who belong to Islamic minority sects. For example, on March 4th 2016, a massacre occurred in Mother Teresa’s home in which 16 people were killed, including four Catholic nuns, and the Christian priest, Tom O’Zonenil, was kidnapped.

“Aden has witnessed restrictions against the minorities, isolating un-Islamic sites of worship depriving their workers from their dues and seizing some of them like what happened in Jane Sweetmeber Temple. Such acts reached the extent of obstructing the burial procedures for those who just have Yemeni nationality. This created the need to have a foreign nationality,” he added. 

Although everything Aden has witnessed, a number of its churches and temples are still standing as an eyewitness for the civilization extension and religious tolerance that characterized Aden, as well as the love and peace that were the approach of daily life by its peaceful citizens, as evidenced throughout history.

Reem Al-Fadhli 

Editor and Journalist

Photo: The former Saint Mary Church, which was transformed into the Legislative Council (built in 1871 during the British colonial era) March 1, 2022 (Ali Hassan, South24). 

References:

1-"Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 405

2- marefa 

3- "Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 454

4- "Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 406

5-"Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 456

6-"Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 430

7-"Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 430

8-Researcher Bilal Ghulam

9-Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community based on common morals. A person who abides by any form of Cosmopolitanism is known as cosmopolitan or "world citizens".(Wikipedia)

10-"Aspects from the History of Aden", Bilal Ghulam, page 420