A traditional Muslim society, Yemen has for centuries defined itself along tribal lines, always putting the accent on one's man tribal allegiance over his sectarian affiliations.
For centuries the Zaidis of the highlands cohabited with their Sunni brothers in the south, drawing strength from their disparities, never critical or intolerant.
Yemen has always been defined by its geography, its customs and culture never its faith.
As the Arab Spring grew strong in 2011, fed by the millions of voices which sought to topple authoritarianism, old powers woke up from their stupor suddenly aware of the coming of a new tide.
As the world watched dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen fall one after the other, engulfed by the revolutionary storm, the premise of a new Arab order began to form.
The two sleeping giants of the Islamic world, Iran and Saudi Arabia, suddenly found themselves standing before one another, their swords out of their sheath, one ready to defend its empire at all cost while the other is aching to turn into realities its dreams of religious imperialism.
Yemen, the poorest country of the Arabian Peninsula, a country which decades of pandemic corruption and mis-management have driven to the very depth of instability and chaos has now turned into a proxy as Iran and Saudi Arabia claim their stakes.
Key to stability, Yemen holds within its 2000 Km of coast spread out from the western shores of the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, a geo-strategic position of such importance that the fate of the region could very well pan out on its dusty plains.
Just as Iran has been providing the Houthis with weapons, training and financial back up, Saudi Arabia has been enabling al-Islah , (Yemen Sunni radical political faction) and the Rashad Union (Yemen Salafi faction), a group close to the Saudi Wahhabis -
Decades of latent sectarianism against the Houthis have been heightened by Yemen's anger toward Iran's meddling in its internal affairs.
Giving that 45% of Yemen's population is estimated to be Zaidi Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam, a rise in sectarian sentiment would fracture the country' social make up and cohesion.
The Houthis, a Zaidi rebel group which is now organized under its political denomination, Ansar Allah - the party of God - went in the span of two years from being a shadowy rebel organization limited to the boundaries of its provincial borders , Sa'ada, to controlling Yemen norther territories almost undisputedly.
The provinces of al-Jawf, Sa'ada and Hajja are now under the control of Abdel Malek al-Houthi, the group ideological and tribal leader, so are parts of the Amran province and the capital, Sana'a.
The rebels which were besieged once by the Yemeni army under the leadership of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in 2004 and 2009, have become a powerful political and para-military force, one which the government does not wish to challenge too openly.
In June, US American Senator John McCain said in an address at the Brookings Institution, he believed the Houthis had now become a bigger threat to Yemen than al-Qaeda.
US Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein has long accused Iran of arming and financing the Houthis, a belief which the central government of Sana'a shares.
Political analysts have theorized that Tehran is trying through the Houthis to create an offshoot of the Hezbollah , a para-political faction which holds much sway over the Lebanese government, something that Saudi Arabia cannot tolerate.
With an army estimated to be strong of tens of thousands of men and supporters based nationwide, the Houthis have become the government's new opposition.
Just as Bahrain, Syria and Lebanon are being torn apart by a wave of sectarianism, on the back of political tensions, Yemen too stands to fall prey to religious hatred.
Schools and Mosques in Yemen northern provinces have become battlefields for Zaidis and Salafis; entire villages have been held hostage in recent months, asked to pledge their loyalty to one group.
In May, Asharq al-Awsat reported that Houthis militants stormed several Salafis Mosques in Sa'ada; " Armed confrontations erupted in the eastern and northern regions of Yemen, as Houthis militias took control of a number of mosques Sa'ada."
In June, al-Sahwa - local Yemeni news site - reported, "more than 100 Houthi fighters have been encircling Dar Mossab mosque in Sahar district of Sa'ada, pointing out that they inspect worshipers and confiscate their assets."
Tens of thousands of civilians have had to evacuate the Sa'ada province in view of the violence.
The Houthis' open support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in alignment with Tehran policy is adding insult to injury in the impoverished nation as people are coming to associate the Zaidi group with the horrors of Syria.
It is such an association of the religious and the political which could feed sectarian motivated violence in Yemen, a trend which is spreading through the Arab world.