Det etiopiske højland er historisk set et kristent citadel i Nordøstafrika, men der er også mange muslimer og de er vrede over, at regeringen angiveligt favoriserer en islamisk sekt på bekostning af de øvrige muslimer.
ADDIS ABABA, 15 November 2012 (IRIN): Tensions have been simmering over several months between Muslims and the Ethiopian government, with thousands holding demonstrations in protest at the government’s alleged interference in religious affairs; the authorities have blamed the protests on a small group of extremists.
Around 60 percent of Ethiopia’s 84 million people are Christians; Muslims make up about one-third of the population, according to official figures.
Religion-related clashes have been rare in the African Horn country, but unrest over the past several months has led to several deaths and dozens of arrests. IRIN looks at the causes of, and fallout from, the protests.
What sparked the protests?
The leaders of the protests, which began in December 2011, accuse the Ethiopian government of trying to impose the al-Ahbash Islamic sect on the country’s Muslim community, which traditionally practises the Sufi form of Islam.
Al-Ahbash beliefs are an interpretation of Islam combining elements of Sunni Islam and Sufism; its teachings are popular in Lebanon.
Said to be first taught by Ethiopian scholar Abdullah al-Harari, the Ethiopian Al-Ahbash teachings are moderate, advocating Islamic pluralism, while opposing political activism.
In December 2011, the state moved to dismiss (afskedige) the administration of the Awoliya religious school in Addis Ababa.
In July, police dispersed an overnight meeting at the school on the eve of an African Union heads of state summit, and arrested several protesters and organizers of the meeting, which police officials said did not have a permit.
Those behind the meeting, an “Arbitration Committee” of 17 led by prominent religious scholars, said they wanted to dialogue with the government.
But they insisted that they would continue legitimate protests to oppose its continued interference in the administration of the religious school and the election of members of the country’s supreme Islamic Council.
Accused of dictating elections
They accuse the government of dictating elections to the council, which concluded on 5 November, and favour the Al-Ahbash Muslim sect.
Temam Ababulga, a lawyer representing activists who led the protests – some of them are currently behind bars – says they are appealing to a federal court to cancel the election and its outcome, on the grounds that the elections were not conducted in accordance with the council’s by-laws.
“The opposition to Ahbash at this time is not theological… the protesters oppose… that the regime is sponsoring the movement, providing finance, logistical support and allowing it to use both the Islamic Council and the state institution in its proselytization (tiltag for at vinde tilhængere),” said Jawar Mohammed, an Ethiopian analyst now studying at Columbia University in the USA.
“Ahbash has been in Ethiopia since the 1990s and has peacefully coexisted with the rest of Islamic revival movements,” he said, adding:
“The confrontation came only after the government invited the leading figures from Lebanon and started aggressive re-indoctrination campaign.”
What is the government’s response?
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http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96787/Briefing-Ethiopia-s-Muslim-protests
