BEIRUT — For decades, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, an Islamist cleric and political leader, cut out a prominent role in Yemen’s public life. His death last month at the age of 82 will not put to rest a range of lingering controversies, from connections to Osama bin Laden to claims of several “scientific and medical inventions” that critics say were not legitimate.
Al-Zandani was born in the southern Yemeni province of Ibb in 1942, and moved to Egypt to study pharmacology in the late 1950s, later joining the nationalist movement which began to sweep the Arab world, led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
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But al-Zandani would quickly turn to the Muslim Brotherhood and the wider Islamic movement, which would guide him through his decades-long career as a preacher, political activist and ultimately, jihadist.
Following the September 26, 1962 coup that helped end the rule of the monarchy in Yemen, al-Zindani, with his distinctive rhetorical tone, turned into a symbol of the nation’s religious wing that would vie for power for decades. He was helped to do so by communicating with notable Yemeni tribal figures, such as the family of influential Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar.
Al-Zindani was one of the most prominent founders of what was known as the “Islamic Movement” – the Muslim Brotherhood affiliate in Yemen.
Along with his opposition to the nationalists and the civil movement, he also took aim at what he called the “Marxist tide” in Yemen. In 1965, he was named Deputy Minister of Endowments and Guidance. It was his first government position.
Afghanistan jihad
Yet his activities spread outside of Yemen, joining the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in their war against the Soviet Union, a war supported by the United States and many Arab countries.
The Afghanistan jihad was a milestone for al-Zindani, emerging from it as one of the world’s most prominent jihadi figures, along with al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahri. He later parted ways with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
It was noted that Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of Taliban in Afghanistan released a statement mourning al-Zindani’s death.
“It is with great sadness and sorrow that we received the news of the death of one of the greatest scholars of the Islamic world, the scholar and Mujahid, Sheikh Abdul Majeed Al-Zindani,” Mujahid said. “The Islamic Emirate (Afghanistan) considers the death of the deceased a loss for the entire Islamic nation.”
Civil war
Al-Zindani was one of the most prominent leaders opposing the socialist rule in South Yemen, which ended with the 1990 unification with the North.
After the war, he turned his tribal and religious movement into an Islamist political party, the Islah party. He founded the party with Sheikh al-Ahmar, the influential tribal leader. Al-Zindani was named a member of the ruling presidential council in 1993 at the height of tensions between ruling partners, the Congress and Socialist parties.
Al-Zindani was close to the Congress and its leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s late president. He played a crucial role in Yemen’s 1994 civil war which excluded the Socialist Party from power.
Sanctions target
As a religious leader and scholar, he established and chaired the Iman University in 1995 the capital Sanaa. He received funds from the government and donations from Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia.
The university was seized by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels when they descended from their stronghold in the country’s north and took over power in 2014, unleashing the county’s ongoing civil war.
Al-Zindani was sanctioned by the United States and United Nations’ Security Council over his links with al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, accused of providing financial support to terrorist groups.
He was sanctioned by the UN for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of actors or activists by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of, recruiting for” or “otherwise supporting acts or activities of al-Qaeda.”
Aside from his religious and political activism, al-Zindani was known for his alleged medical and scientific inventions, which stirred up controversy inside and outside Yemen. The most controversial incident when he claimed that he developed a drug for AIDS, with critics accusing him of misleading his supporters — mostly Islamists.
