Gabriele vom Bruck - Mirrored Loss: A Yemeni Womans Life Story

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

Gabriele Vom Bruck 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gabriele Vom Bruck.

Title: Mirrored Loss: A Yemeni Womans Life Story / Gabriele Vom Bruck.

ISBN 9780190057978

In fond memory of my mother Lisa vom Bruck, ne Westerhoff (19212014)

and

Hndlingsen
(19552012)

A year after returning from Yemen in 2008, this project became a casualty of a series of family emergencies and got much delayed. Amat al-Latif al-Wazir, on whom the book centres and who had graciously received me into her life during our numerous conversations in Sana, patiently awaited publication. I feel immensely privileged to have been invited to publish her reminiscences of her fully lived but tragic life, and am most grateful to her for placing her trust in me. I am also much indebted to her children Tariq, Afaq and Luay who helped in numerous ways and enriched the content of this book by sharing their own memories with me. Much welcome assistance was also provided by other members of the family, most notably Muhammad ibn Abd al-Quddus, Zayd ibn Ali and Qasim ibn Ali who never tired of speaking about living through the dark and fateful months in 1948 which would impact their lives forever. Over many years, they all gave generously of their knowledge.

Michael Dwyers keen interest in the project and his and his colleagues encouragement and support was much appreciated. I benefitted from comments on parts of the draft and other forms of assistance from Caroline Osella, Ulrike Freitag, Ludmila du Bouchet, Madawi al-Rasheed, Alan Hollinghurst, Wolf-Dieter Lemke, Harold Schickler and Matti Pohjonen.

I should also like to extend my thanks to Professor Gudrun Krmer for offering me a Senior Research Fellowship at the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies (BGMCS), which is funded through the German Universities Excellence Initiative (MayNovember 2014). This provided me with a stimulating environment for discussing my ideas about subjectivity and the political in Yemeni autobiographies, and an opportunity to teach the Schools excellent students. A Research Fellowship at the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies (ZMO) headed by Professor Ulrike Freitag (MayJuly 2015), financed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), allowed me to join Dr Heike Liebaus research team Trajectories of lives and knowledge which provided much intellectual stimulation. I am especially grateful to her and Dr Norman Saadi Nikro for helpful discussions.

The project was generously sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust.

Abdullah ibn Ahmad al-Wazir (Amat al-Latifs father, imam 1948) (executed)

Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Wazir (paternal cousin and Amat al-Latifs first husband, also referred to as al-Fakhri) (executed 1948)

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Quddus ibn Ahmad al-Wazir (paternal cousin)

Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mansur (maternal cousin)

Zayd ibn Ali al-Wazir (second husband)

Tariq (eldest son) (b. 1959)

Luay (youngest son) (b. 1964)

Afaq (daughter) (b. 1964)

Abdullah ibn Ahmad al-Wazirs wives (selected)

Bint Muhammad al-Dhari (Izziyyah bint Muhammad al-Dhari; mother of Amat al-Latif [b. c. 1930] and Abd al-Rahman [b. 1927])

Bint al-Mutawakkil (Fatima bint Muhammad al-Mutawakkil; divorced)

Bint al-Hamdani (Hamudah bint Salih al-Hamdani; mother of Muhammad [b.1937], Ahmad [b. 1942] and Ali [b. 1948])

Bint al-Ulufi (Fatima al-Ulufi; mother of Mutahhar [b. 1940] and Yahya [b. 1944])

Other members of Bayt al-Wazir

Ali ibn Abdullah (grandson of Imam Muhammad ibn Abdillah, al-amir; Amat al-Latifs second husbands father) (executed 1984)

Abbas ibn Ali (second husbands brother)

Abdullah ibn Abbas ibn Ali (second husbands nephew)

Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Abdullah (second husbands brother)

Qasim ibn Ali ibn Abdullah (second husbands brother)

Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah (second husbands brother)

Muhammad ibn Ahmad (paternal uncle; father-in-law)

Abd al-Quddus ibn Ahmad (Amat al-Latifs paternal uncle)

Muhummad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad (Amat al-Latifs fathers paternal cousin; Amat al-Latifs maternal uncle through milk kinship) (executed 1948)

Ahmad ibn Muhummad ibn Ali (al-Safiyy; fathers paternal cousins son)

Ismail ibn Ahmad ibn Muhummad (fathers paternal cousins grandson)

Abd al-Samad ibn Muhummad (Amat al-Latifs second degree paternal cousin)

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah (nephew of Ali ibn Abdullah)

Amat al-Aziz bint Abd al-Quddus ibn Ahmad (paternal cousin)

Amat Allah bint Abd al-Quddus ibn Ahmad (paternal cousin)

Amat al-Khaliq bint Ali ibn Abdullah (second husbands sister)

Azizah bint Abd al-Rahman (Amat al-Latifs niece; her brother-in-law Muhammad ibn Alis second wife)

Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad (Amat al-Latifs paternal cousin; first husbands half-brother)

Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad (first husbands nephew)

Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah (nephew of Ali ibn Abdullah) (executed 1948)

Sons and daughters of Imam Yahya

Ahmad (b. 1895; imam 194862)

Al-Hasan (19072003)

Al-Abbas (b. 1921; executed 1955)

Abdullah (b. 1912; executed 1955)

Ibrahim (b. 1914poisoned 1948 or 49)

Taqiyyah (b. 1922)

Umhani (19021978)

Amat al-Salam bint Hasan Hajar (great granddaughter)

Note that some members of Bayt al-Wazir carried the names Muhummad and Abdillah rather than Muhammad and Abdullah.

Amat al-Latif al-Wazirs birth in Sana, ca. 1930.

Death of Amat al-Latifs mother, ca. 1934.

Stay in Hudaydah, ca. 19351941.

Sayyid Abdullah al-Wazirs career:

Governorship of Dhamar, 19211934.

Governorship in Hudaydah (Tihamah province), 19341941.

Highest ranking member of Imam Yahyas Court, 19411948.

Imam, 18 February 1948.

Amat al-Latifs marriage to Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Wazir, mid-1940s.