In the 1930s, several organizations opposing or demanding reform of the Zaydi imamate sprung up in the city, particularly Fatat al-Fulayhi, a group of various Yemeni Muslim scholars based in Sana'a's Fulayhi Madrasa, and Hait al-Nidal ("Committee of the Struggle.
=== Obdobje Severnega Jemna ===Leta 1904, ko je bil osmanski vpliv v Jemnu v zatonu, je imam Yahya iz skupine imamov Zaydi prevzel oblast v Sani.