RIYADH: They call themselves “Ansar Allah,” meaning “Supporters of God.” Their reality, however, could not be further from the truth. For what do the Houthis support? Not God. Not Islam, for sure.
The Houthis have committed the ultimate transgression by attacking the holiest sites in Islam. They have fired missiles toward Makkah and Madinah — the cities where the Prophet walked, where the Kaaba stands as the “qibla” for every Muslim on Earth, where millions of believers journey each year to perform Hajj and Umrah. To target these sacred places is not merely a crime against Saudi Arabia, it is an act of war against every Muslim who bows toward the Kaaba five times a day. It is an assault on the soul of Islam itself. It is ironic, of course, that as so-called “Ansar Allah,” with their slogans calling for death to the United States, and death to Jews, their focus has been slaughtering fellow Yemenis and targeting neighboring Saudis.
Consider the carnage at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport earlier this month. Houthi ballistic missiles and drones rained down on innocent travelers, men, women, and children preparing to board planes for pilgrimage, for work, for family reunions. The documentary “Before Boarding the Plane: Witnesses and Testimonies,” published by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of National Guard, captures the horror in gut-wrenching detail.
Saudi citizen Abdulhameed Al-Sharari described an explosion like a thunderbolt that still haunts his hearing. He helped foreign travelers search for their passports amid the chaos, heard a woman crying for help, and rushed to her aid — only to be shocked by the severity of her injuries. He saw his friend covered in blood. He discovered his own arm was bleeding. An Egyptian man asked him for water. Al-Sharari later learned the man was dead.
French resident Chloe Catherine heard the explosion, saw passengers running in different directions, and realized she was seriously injured. Losing blood rapidly, she feared no one would find her. She called her friend Kirit Brett, who navigated through smoke and flames to reach her amid dozens of injured passengers.
Maher Al-Ansari recalled the power outage, the debris falling from the ceiling, the injured passengers carrying others to help ambulance crews. “Heroes,” Al-Sharari said of the Saudi soldiers who rescued him. “They have always been heroes.”
The toll? Thirteen dead. Three hundred were injured in a single attack. During five days of strikes on the airport, 18 people were killed and more than 333 were wounded. Among the dead: Taqwa Radwan, Lamis Asiri, Munira Al-Anazi, and Maryam Ibrahim Sulaiman Al-Namlah, all Saudi citizens. Azza Ramzi, a 28-year-old Egyptian flight attendant. Mohammed Hussein Al-Barqawi, a 33-year-old Jordanian father of two. Talal Al-Dhani, a 63-year-old Palestinian father of six. Mohammed Yousuf Ali, an Indian IT engineer traveling with his family for Umrah. An American citizen. These were not combatants. They were pilgrims. They were parents. They were human beings.
Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars, the most authoritative religious body in the Muslim world, has issued its verdict. The Houthis’ actions, the council declared, “constitute terrorism by any measure.” Their threat is “no less dangerous than that of Daesh and Al-Qaeda.” They “spread corruption on earth and commit aggression against Muslims.” Attempting to target visitors to the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque is “an even graver sin and act of aggression.”
The council cited Qur’anic verses condemning those who “wage war against God and His Messenger and spread corruption on earth.” It urged all Muslims to condemn the Houthis and stand united against those who attack Islam’s holy sites.
The Gulf Cooperation Council has condemned “in the strongest terms the continuous attacks launched by the Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia, including the targeting of the Two Holy Mosques and surrounding areas,” and has called on the international community to designate the group as a terrorist organization.
The US has already designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization — one of President Donald Trump’s first acts upon returning to office. Canada and Australia have followed suit. The European Parliament has adopted a motion condemning the Houthi offensive as “flagrant violations of international law” and called for their addition to the EU’s terrorist list. Lord Sarfraz of the UK’s House of Lords has written to the British government urging reconsideration of its refusal to proscribe the group: “Attacking Riyadh’s airport was a tipping point. It reinforces the serious nature of the threat.”
The Houthis’ crimes extend far beyond Saudi Arabia’s borders. Within Yemen, they have starved their own people, recruited child soldiers, suppressed women, and transformed a proud nation into a humanitarian catastrophe. They have attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, threatening global trade and the livelihoods of millions. They have launched drones and missiles at civilian infrastructure across the region. They have kidnapped, tortured, and killed political opponents.
They have attacked pilgrims at airports and on their sacred journeys. They have desecrated the sanctity of Makkah and Madinah by turning their weapons toward the cities where God’s house stands.
And they have done all of this while wrapping themselves in the mantle of religion, while claiming to be “Supporters of God.”
Let there be no ambiguity. The Houthis are not “Ansar Allah.” They are “Ansar Ash-Shaytan” (supporters of Satan). Their bombs targeting pilgrims and airports and the holy mosques expose their true purpose. Their reign of terror across Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the world demonstrates their true allegiance.
The Council of Senior Scholars has spoken. The Gulf Cooperation Council has spoken. The US, Canada, Australia, and the European Parliament have spoken. The survivors of the airport massacre have spoken through their tears and their scars.
The rest of the world must listen. They should designate this terrorist militia for what it is. The international community must hold the Houthis accountable for every missile, every drone, every drop of innocent blood.
The Houthis have declared war on God, on His Messenger, on His holy cities, and on all who worship Him. They are the enemies of Allah.