ZAYDIYAH

also spelled Zaidiya, or Zaidis, English Zaydis a sect of Shi'ite Muslims owing allegiance to Zayd ibn 'Ali, grandson of Husayn ibn 'Ali. Doctrinally the Zaydiyah are closer to the majority Sunnites than are the other Shi'ites. Early in the 10th century the Zaydiyah became dominant in Yemen, and thereafter Zaydi imams were the spiritual rulers of that area. From the departure of the Turks in 1917 until 1962, they were also the temporal rulers of Yemen.