Most writers discussing pre-Republican Yemen stress its complete isolation from the rest of the world. Those sympathetic to the Republic are anxious to point out that the Imams, or kings, of the country consciously followed a policy of almost hermetic isolation in order to ensure the continuation of the feudal privileges which they and the tribal sheikhs enjoyed. Whether or not this interpretation is accurate it is necessary to point out that some countries, and not only Arab states, had already been in contact with the kingdom for several decades at the time of the 1962 coup.Italy was the first European nation to make a deliberate attempt to develop its relations with Yemen in this century. The Italians, anxious to make their position in Eritreamore secure and, if possible, to gain an economic foothold in Arabia, concluded a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the Imam on September 2, 1926. From that time, and in spite ofthe disappearance of Italian colonies in East Africa, the Italians have continued to enjoy a somewhat privileged position among Western Europeans in the country. At times during the past few years, they have been almost the only Westerners permitted to remain in Yemen.
The Promise of Interreligious Dialogue for a World in Conflict