Details of the killing of Sheikh Hantos, who blew widespread anger in Yemen policy

Details of the killing of Sheikh Hantos, who blew widespread anger in Yemen policy

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Sanaa – The killing of the preacher and the teacher of the Noble Qur’an, Sheikh Saleh Hantos, raised by forces affiliated withHouthi group In the Yemeni governorate of Rima, a state of wide popular anger and a wave of condemnation on social media platforms, amid demands to achieve honest and hold the officials accountable.

Sheikh Hantos, who is about 70 years old, was killed last Tuesday evening, July 1, after clashes and shelling targeting his house in the village of Al -Bayda in the Salafism Directorate, southwest of the capital, Sanaa, by a security campaign belonging to the Houthi group.

The conflict between Sheikh Hantos and the Houthi group dates back to 2022, when the group closed the “Al -Radwan” school to memorize the Holy Quran, which he was running in his region, and since then, he was forced to i’tikaaf in his village, where he continued to teach the Holy Qur’an in its mosque, refusing to teach the group’s curricula, according to sources from his family.

According to witnesses, dozens of military vehicles arrived on the outskirts of Al -Bayda village to besiege the house of Sheikh Hantos, who had previously refused to appear in front of security summonses that were not known. According to his family, the sheikh confirmed that he is ready to appear before the prosecution if he was charged, and that he will assign a lawyer to plead.

The last will

In an audio recording published the day of his death, Sheikh Hantos said that he was his last will, in which he talked about the harassment and assassination attempts he suffered from the Houthis, stressing that he was not fair despite his approach to the authorities under the group, and added: “Whoever dies without his offer or his money is a martyr, God willing, I will be a martyr.”

The Rima Governorate Police statement, which is controlled by the Houthi group, said that Sheikh Hantos “practiced inflammatory activities and received funding from foreign authorities to recruit armed elements”, and the statement accused him of refusing to support the Palestinian cause.

The statement pointed out that the security campaign faced shooting from inside the Sheikh’s house, killing 3 security personnel and wounding 7 others.

However, family sources denied this narration, and confirmed that the Sheikh resisted his personal weapon after besieging and bombing his house, which led to his death due to his injury, and the injury of his wife, noting that the Houthis forced the family to bury him at night, and later arrested 12 of his relatives, including 9 sons and grandchildren of his brother, Sheikh Saad Hantos, one of the flags of teaching the Holy Quran in Yemen.

The family talked about fears that the detainees were tortured in order to extract forced confessions, and video clips showing the effects of the bombing on the house and the destruction of cars and animals in the square of the house.

“Brutal crime”

The incident sparked angry reactions, as Dan The Yemeni Rally for Reform Party What he described as “brutal crime”, while the Yemeni government denounced the incident and considered it a model for the group’s behavior towards citizens. The Ministry of Endowments and Guidance praised the efforts of Sheikh Hantos in teaching the Qur’an, and described it as a symbol of the invitation.

He conducted the President of the Presidential Command Council Rashad Al -Alimi A phone call to Sheikh Saad Hantos (brother of the deceased) to offer condolences, while council member Abdullah Al -Alimi – on the X platform – wrote that “the crime reflects the criminal behavior of the militia.”

Observers fear that such incidents will contribute to deepening the social and sectarian division in the country, and that they lead to a new wave of tension, especially in conservative areas that are linked to strong traditions of respect for scholars and dignitaries of religion, and see in their prejudice a transgression of red lines.

While the Houthi group is committed to the official silence after a Rima police statement, internal and external demands continue to review the security policies that lead to such violations, especially against religious and social symbols that were not known to practice violence or incitement.

On the other hand, Yemeni activists and rights are continuing an electronic campaign to highlight the issue of Sheikh Saleh Hantos, and they call for “not to obscure the truth under the weight of official accounts”, amid caveats that such facts lead to the country sliding towards more polarization and congestion at a time when it is in need of national reconciliation.

Arab reactions

The echoes of the killing of Sheikh Hantos outside the borders of Yemen, where several institutions and religious bodies expressed their condemnation of the incident, and considered it a flagrant violation of the sanctity of scholars and those working in the Holy Quran.

It has been released International Federation of Muslim Scholars A statement condemned what he called “the assassination of the Sheikh of the Qur’an”, stressing that Sheikh Saleh Hantos was killed in a “armed attack”, stressing that “the targeting of scholars and the people of the Qur’an is a major crime that threatens the security and stability of societies, and requires a clear position on all Islamic components.”

For its part, the Association of Muslim Scholars described Iraq The incident as “a complete sectarian crime”, and said that it falls within the “crimes of hatred and discrimination with sectarian dimensions that tear the societal fabric in Yemen and threaten stability and civil peace.”

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