Abstract

The twentieth century revival of a Zaydi law requiring the conversion of orphaned Yemeni Jewish children has been described in both popular and scholarly literature as exemplifying antisemitism and provoking emigration from Yemen. Recent scholarship has concluded that this law was implemented infrequently and sporadically. However, as of yet no serious attempt has been made to explain when and why Imam Yahya chose to enforce the Orphans' Decree. This article attempts to fill this lacuna by describing a coherent and consistent policy through which the Imam applied this decree, or protected against it, as a manifestation of his authority vis-à-vis rival Yemeni Muslim political authorities. It concludes that inter-Muslim political conflict and not the desire to persecute or convert Jews was the primary motivation for implementing the Decree.

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