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https://www.transcend.org/tms/?p=19256 | Page 1 of 15
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2070405
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Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2070405
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In domestic politics, the introduction of ethnic federalism has resulted in what I might call, to borrow an expression from Milan Kundera, 'the unbearable lightness of being' Ethiopian. Therefore,the inevitable undesired consequence of the constitutionalenshrinementof Identity Politics, which extended recognition to ethnic and religious identities in that country rooted in historical interpretations about the marginalisation of non-Amharas and non-Christians (esp. Muslims) by the state, gave rise to the radicalization of particularistic identities such as being Oromo and Muslim to the detriment of universalistic identities like being Ethiopian. In Economics theres an apt term for this, i.e., spillover effect. The Islamic revivalism of the past two decades is nothing but the logical outcome of the rise of identity politics in the political landscape, but the radicalization is the spillover effect. According to Jon Abbink, The 'quest for identity' is an expression that can be applied to the efforts of Ethiopian Muslims to be recognized, to organize, and to raise their position in the country towards parity with the Christians[15] In international affairs, the US war on terror, and esp. Ethiopia's position as a key partner in the war on terror, coupled with its legitimate national security concerns vis-a-vis Al-Shabab in Somalia, has placed Ethiopia not only in the unenviable position of desiring to keep extremist elements at bay abroad (across its international frontiers), but also of countering the growing influence of Wahabism at home. Most recently, fear that the Islamists are coming has spread widely due to the rise of Islamist groups in the wake of the Arab Spring, thereby creating a further opportunity for regional leaders such as Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia to play their role in keeping Islamic fundamentalism in check. However, what complicates such efforts at analyses is that givenMeles Zenawi's squalid human rights track record, it is hard to rule out the possibility that he might becapitalizing on his international role and thereby engaging in diversionary tactics from domestic politics, and hence garner American support that he could not otherwiseachieve. Having said that, it has to be noted that different governmental actors have been engaged in misguided efforts to counter the growing Wahabi influence in Ethiopia. The first actor is the Government of Ethiopia (GoE). GoE through, more particularly, its Ministry of Federal Affairs, in joint cooperation with the Islamic Affairs Supreme Council or Majlis, has launched, since July 2011, nation-wide trainings and workshops on peace and religious tolerance targeting the Muslim community. The first training was delivered on the campus of Haramaya University. The Ministry of the Federal
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Washingtons support for Ethiopia in the recent past has been justified in part by Addis Ababas contributions in the global war on terrorism. While Ethiopia has played a supportive role, its policies and actions toward Islamist movements such as al-Itihaad are driven by its own national interests and are not undertaken on behalf of the United States. If Ethiopia sends its forces into Somalia, it may drag Washington into a conflict that will be framed in many parts of the Muslim world as another U.S.-sponsored attack on Islam. Furthermore, the close association of the United States and Ethiopia complicates relationships between Washington and other regional actors, notably Eritrea and a range of Somali groups.[26] The same holds true of the current Islamic upheavals in Ethiopia. Washington has to put Addis Ababas problems in the proper context of the wider problem of the rise of authoritarianism in domestic politics. Ethiopian Muslims have, for much of their countrys history, been peaceful and hence itd be only be irresponsible to needlessly engage in activities that disturb the equilibrium of co-existence and tolerance maintained between Muslims and Christians in that country. The only way to go about the ongoing problem is for Addis Ababa to take its hands off Islamic affairs and leave it to the Muslim community and faith-based non-governmental organizations to reach out to the Muslim community. This again is not to gainsay the right of The Association of Islamic Philanthropic Projects (Jam'iyyat al-Mashari' al-Khayriyya al-Islamiyya) or Al Ahbash or whatever Islamic sect to operate in Ethiopia provided that it respects the laws of the land. The solution to the problem created by the securitization of Islam and intra-Islamic relations should be nothing but de-securitization of Islam and intra-Islamic relations, not the privileging of one Islamic sect over another and should start out with de-securitization. Except for the few historical instances from the countrys remote past mentioned above, Ethiopia has never been a breeding-ground for Sayyed Qutb- or Al Zawahiri-styled Islamism and theres little indication that it will ever be, given that the Muslim community continues to enjoy and exercise its freedom of worship without any interference. Whatever else has been done by Addis Ababa will provide nothing but a recipe for future conflicts. The strategy deployed will most likely backfire, thereby sowing the seeds of political Islam that it seeks to keep at bay. It is imperative to bear in mind that it is the marginalization and suppression of Muslims by the Ethiopian Christian State in the past that bred extremism. The current interference by the secular tyrant
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[1] Aaron Maasho, Ethiopian Muslims protest government 'interference', Reuters, May 11, 2012, Addis Ababa, http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE84A00W20120511?sp=true
[2] Peter Heinlein, Ethiopian Government, Muslims Clash about Ideology, Voice of America, May 21, 2012, http://www.voanews.com/articleprintview/837582.html
[3] J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, Oxford University Press (1952), p. 44.
[4] Harold G. Marcus, A History of Ethiopia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft109nb00g/, P .21
[5] Id, P. 22
[6] Id, p. 26
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[7] Id, p. 31
[8] Donald N. Levine, Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution a Multiethnic Society (2000), 2nd ed, Chicago and London: the University of Chicago Press, 43-44
[9] Id, 44
[10] Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia: 1855-1974 2nd ed.(Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press,2001), p.7
[11] J. Spencer Triminghams pathbreaking survey, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952, Oxford University Press
[12] Abdul Wasie Yusuf, "Sharia Courts in Ethiopia: Their Status, Organization and Functions" (1971) (Unpublished Snr. Thesis on file at Addis Ababa University Law Library), p. 21-29; for a discussion of the operation and competence of Sharia Courts in present-day Ethiopia, see my book, Legal Pluralism in Contemporary Ethiopia: A Critical Introduction, 2010, LAP, Saarbrucken, Germany.
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[14] Abdulmalik Abubeker, "Effects of Divorce in the Civil Code and the Sheria [Sic] Law" (1990) (Unpublished Snr. Thesis on file at Addis Ababa University Law Library), p. 7.
[15] Jon Abbink, An historical-anthropological approach to Islam in Ethiopia: issues of identity and politics, Journal of African Cultural Studies, Volume 11, Number 2, December 1998, pp. 109-124, p. 110
[16] Growing Wahabi Influence in Ethiopia Amhara Region and the "Jama Negus Mosque", http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/07/09ADDISABABA1672.html
[17] Id
[18] Id
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[19] Id
[20] Id
Imperialism",
[23] Growing Wahabi Influence in Ethiopia Tests the Limits of Tolerance, http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=08ADDISABABA3230; A Sufi and a Wahabi Sit Down to Lunch, http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=07ADDISABABA2781
[24] Ethiopia: Recent Bombings Blamed on Oromos Possibly the Work of GOE, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/10/06ADDISABABA2708.html#
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[25] Ethiopia expels 2 Arabs amid tension with Muslim community; govt warns group declared jihad, Washington Post, May 5, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ethiopia-expels-2-arabs-amid-tension-wit h-muslim-community-govt-warns-group-declared-jihad/2012/05/05/gIQA5gxf3T_story.h tml
[26] Terrence Lyons, Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: US Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea, The Center for Preventive Action, CSR No. 21, Council on Foreign Relations, December 2006, p. 29
[27] Mustafa Akyol, Can Islamists Be Liberals? The New York Times, Op-Ed, May 14, 2012, A 21 ______________________ Alemayehu Fentaw is an Ethiopian-born Horn of Africa Analyst based in the US. He is currently a Fellow of the Institute for International Education and an At-Risk-Scholar with SAR, New York University.
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