By Police on Sunday used tear gas and deployed tanks to disperse Ethiopian Muslims gathered at a public square for a long-planned Street Iftar in Addis Ababa. The Addis Ababa City Administration has initially okayed the event, put together by Halal Promotion, an events organizer and public relations agency in Ethiopia.
The two-hour event was expected to draw tens of thousands of Muslims to Revolution Square in the city center for a ceremony to break the Ramadan fasting. The organizers say the event had several objectives: To try and break the Egyptian record for the largest Street Iftar, reaffirm the unity of the Muslim community, and pray for peace and harmony in light of the country’s many crises.
The stand-off was avoidable. The City Hall had several meetings with the promoter, Muslim leaders, and activists involved in the preparations. The Mayor and the City’s law enforcement leaders were personally involved. The organizers were issued the appropriate permit. The City Administration changed tack after receiving a letter from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) opposing the Iftar plans. The letter, which was leaked on social media and has been the subject of public debate, warned that the event could ignite conflict if Muslims went ahead with plans to hold Iftar at the square. The letter claimed that holding the planned event at the Revolution Square “could lead to discord between followers of the two religions which co-existed with mutual respect and tolerance.”
The EOTC letter concluded not with a suggestion or a proposal but a demand to the City Administration to move the venue for the Iftar to Addis Ababa Stadium. Unsurprisingly, on Saturday, the eve of the event, city officials began to vacillate on their commitments. Mayor Adanech Abiebie, security and intelligence officials, and the police visited the Iftar venue to evaluate the progress of the preparations. In a subsequent meeting with Muslim leaders and Halal Promotion, the officials raised concerns about ongoing construction and alleged credible intelligence, suggesting that the venue be changed. The proposal echoed EOTC’s demand to the letter in a clear validation of the audacious claim of ownership to the city’s major public square. Unfortunately, it appears that the city administration buckled under pressure from the Church and tried to fudge unconvincing excuses to move the event away from the main square as initially planned.
By Sunday afternoon, Halal Promotion had pulled out of the event, citing unsuccessful attempts to reach an understanding with the government. Although the organizers announced the event’s cancellation, the faithful began to gather in the public square ahead of the Iftar time. Shortly afterward, riot police with full gear moved in brandishing guns and billy clubs. Images shared on social media show tanks positioned within the square. Humiliated at being prevented from breaking a fast with water and dates, in a public square, the faithful began to protest peacefully, chanting, among others, “Allah Akbar,” “we won’t accept a second-class citizen status.” Police responded by firing tear gas as panicked protesters run in different directions, gasping for air and screaming for water.
In a statement on Sunday evening, the City Administration blamed “layers of challenges” for the cancellation and waxed poetic about Ethiopia’s long history of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence. However, it took issue with how the protesters expressed their displeasure at being humiliated and blamed a few irresponsible individuals for misleading the public on social media. The statement stopped short of offering an apology. On Monday, Mayor Adanech issued a contrived apology but sought to downplay the actions of the police.
It is ironic that as the protest unfolded in Revolution Square, Adanech and other senior officials held a lavish Iftar dinner for the diplomatic community a few miles down the road. The contrasting scenes could not be more glaring: An Iftar dinner for photo-ops with foreign diplomats as the country’s long-marginalized Muslim community protested the denial of the right to assemble in a public square renovated with taxpayers’ money.
On Monday evening, the City reached an agreement with the Iftar organizers to hold the event on Tuesday at Revolution Square. Muslim activists and scholars praised the community for its unified resolve in forcing the official concession. The unforced error resurfaced deeply-held feelings of marginalization among Muslims in Ethiopia and is likely to deepen mistrust with protesters on Sunday chanting, “Abiy is a thief.”
The Long History of Marginalisation
A pretty romantic story marks the early encounter between Islam and Christianity in Ethiopia. The story of the Prophet Muhammad sending his followers who were facing persecution in Mecca by the city’s polytheistic leadership to seek refuge with the Christian King Najashi occupies a central place in Islam’s conception of Ethiopia. Ethiopian historiography emphasizes this narrative to tell the story of Ethiopian generosity and the righteousness of its Christian Kings who deserved gratitude from the Muslim community.
However, the relations between the two communities changed as time went on, and over the last century, it was characterized by domination and subordination. Once dubbed a “Christian Island,” Ethiopia saw itself as a Christian nation, and Christianity was a state religion until 1974. The Empire persecuted, forcefully baptized, and even, at times, massacred its Muslim community.
While formal equality between religions is enshrined in the constitution, Orthodox Christianity still dominates Ethiopia’s socio-cultural life. The role of the Orthodox church has reduced significantly, but the Church continued to have significant cultural influence. Most importantly, the Christian community perceives itself and its identity as the ideal Ethiopian identity and its center of gravity; Muslims are seen as guests tolerated by their Christian hosts. During emperor Haileselassie’s reign, the community was referred to as “Muslims who live in Ethiopia.” As a result, Ethiopian Muslims had limited access to opportunities within the state, exemplified by the relatively few Muslims in subsequent administrations and civil service.
From the time of Menelik II until the land reform of the 1970s, the EOTC owned large tracks of land, and collected taxes from farmers or officials levied taxes, and turned it over to the Church. While the Derg nationalized some of the land previously owned by the Church, it continues to control premium real estate and properties across the country, particularly in Addis Ababa and other major cities.
Although Muslims constituted the largest demographic bloc since the 1980s, the state saw them as expendable minorities and held them with utter contempt and disrespect. For example, in 2011, the government tried to impose a state-sanctioned religion on the entire Muslim population and accused leaders of the community and those who resisted the move as extremists and terrorists. Moreover, Muslims are often suspected of disloyalty and expected to prove their allegiance over and above what is expected of others.
Muslims make up about 45 percent of the Ethiopian population, but the community has long existed on the periphery of Ethiopia’s cultural and political life. Due to this peripheral place accorded to them by the Ethiopian state, Muslims lived as second-class citizens. The decision to block the Iftar program on Sunday further cemented this predominant view about the marginal status of Muslims.
Although relations appeared to be thawing over the last three years with the government passing the “Proclamation to Provide Legal Personality to Ethiopian Islamic Affairs General Council,” the events of the last couple of months signal a return to the tense relations of 2011-2014.
After attempts to co-opt, dazzle and divide the leadership of the Muslim community failed, the government seems poised to bully the community into submission.
Recently, the General Assembly meeting of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (popularly known as Majlis) was disrupted by security forces. In March 2021, 23 of the 26 transitional leaders of the Council broke ranks with the head of Majlis and called the general assembly meeting. Delegates from across the country came to Addis to participate in this critical gathering. The Ministry of Peace, working with national intelligence, intervened and forced the closure of the meeting venue. The faithful conducted an open-air meeting and took several decisions. Both the Mufti and government have vowed not to recognize decisions taken at the meeting.
Since Abiy’s rise to power, there has been a concern about the return of religion to politics. This is not simply because Abiy himself is a religious man who draws on his skills as a preacher to get his message across but also because Abiy spends a considerable amount of time cajoling and wowing religious leaders. The prime minister, who belongs to the prosperity gospel church known as Full Gospel (Mulu Wongel) Believers’ Movement, likes to be seen with religious figures for photo-ops. He offers to mediate between religious groups. He writes dizzyingly bizarre letters addressed to the faithful during religious holidays. Earlier this month, in an Easter message, he said Ethiopia’s renaissance is inevitable, like the resurrection of Christ.
In a recent speech, Abiy said the renovated Revolution Square would hold half a million people and help in showcasing and marketing to tourists Ethiopian religion and culture. He expressed hope that the contractor will complete the renovation work before the next Meskel holiday. He noted that Meskel Square (the name Christians use for the square) would host several events once completed. His use of the name Mesqel Square referring to the city’s main public space and his omission of Muslim and other Ethiopian holidays in his speech added weight to the EOTC claim that the square belongs to it.
Abiy is already facing explosive political and security challenges from within and outside the country. His shallow understanding of Ethiopian history, society, and the state has thrown the country into the abyss, and there is no clear pathway out of the current impasse. Moreover, it is unclear why Abiy and his administration want to provoke a conflict with the Muslim community while the country is on fire, with a national election in less than a month.
Already, Muslim scholars are calling on their community to stand up and fight to end their second-class status in Ethiopia. In addition, some are calling on their supporters not to participate in and legitimize the forthcoming election. It is unclear what impact this would have on the ruling party’s performance in the election, but the Iftar snub on Sunday has created an apparent rupture between the Muslim community and Abiy Ahmed’s ruling Prosperity Party. The u-turn on Monday is unlikely to mend the rift.
Comments