| Summary/Abstract |
This article reassesses the reign of Imām Yaḥyā Ḥamīd Al-Dīn (r. 1904–48), the historiography of which has emphasized its perceived political, economic, and intellectual isolation. In contrast to this view, this article situates the rise of Imām Yaḥyā and the formation of the Mutawakklite Kingdom of Yemen in interwar movements of anti-imperialism and moral reform that were global in ambition and reach. Rather than remaining isolated from broader political and intellectual trends, Imām Yaḥyā actively engaged the reformist project of the Sunnī-salafī movement through the growing medium of the trans-regional Arabic press and the post-Ottoman associational life of the interwar Muslim congresses.
|