For centuries many of the worlds muslims were, in one way or another, practitioners of sufism, sufism is the most pluralistic incarnation of islamaccessible to the learned and the ignorant, the faithful and nonbelievers. The emergence of salafism in bale, ethiopia volume 81 issue 4 terje ostebo. Wahhabi theology treats the quran and hadith as fundamental texts as understood by alsalaf alsalih pious ancestors and developed further by many. Wahhabism has been generating controversy since it first emerged in arabia in the 18th century. Africa is beset by multiple problems with security issues at the top of the list. European centre for law and justice eclj upr submission ethiopia 2009 2 religious freedom in ethiopia i. Two leaked cables of us embassy addis ababa briefly discuss the state of wahabi in ethiopia. At worst, it is a mischievous attempt to use wahhabism as a scapegoat to destabilize the country and, at once, to disguise the true face of orthodox fundamentalism. A need for better recognition, was published in 2012 and is avilable online. While arguing against wahhabism, the harari middle class expose a zealous historical consciousness and cultural awareness, mostly expressed. On september 26, 2003, ethiopian journalist alemzelalem wrote an extensive article detailing how saudi arabias wahhabi islam has corrupted the islam of his native ethiopia. Though i was predisposed toward the ethiopia i had studied since the late 1950s, i.
Perspectives on the relation bn the ethiopian diaspora. Pdf the wahhabi mission and saudi arabia semantic scholar. A socioeconomic study haradhan kumar mohajan accepted 15 october, 20 ethiopia is considered to be one of the oldest nations in the world but at present its socioeconomic condition is not satisfactory. A cable dated nov 2008 on the growing wahabi influence in ethiopia. Tor is an encrypted anonymising network that makes it harder to intercept internet communications, or see where communications are coming from or going to in order to use the wikileaks public submission system as detailed above you can download the tor browser bundle, which is a firefoxlike browser available for windows, mac os x and gnulinux and. Burhakaba and dinsoor were vacated after days of fierce fighting against ethiopianbacked tfg forces. Wahhabism is a reform movement of islam that originated in arabia in the 18th century. Giorgis january, 2016 nilikuonyesha nyota na uliangalia kidole tu. Saudi arabia is an exporter of wahhabism to many nations and ethiopia has had its fair share of such incidents.
As the recent violence against development infrastructures and investment installations attest, the egyptians are using olf and ginbot 7 as their agents to wage a proxy war against ethiopia hoping to halt the progress of gerd. Political changes and challenges saliba sarsar, editor, and julius o. Constitution the constitution of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia provides for religious. Governing the faithful the web site cannot be found. Situated in the horn of africa, ethiopia is bordered by eritrea to the north, sudan to the west, kenya to the south, somalia to the east and djibouti to the northeast. Commission on international religious freedom uscirf is deeply concerned about the increasing deterioration of religious freedoms for muslims in ethiopia. Interpretations of islam islam is a universal religion and culture. Saudi arabia and ethiopia lynne rienner publishers. Aklog birara dr part i regardless of our political, religious and ethnic differences and the formidable odds ethiopia continues to face, most ordinary ethiopians agree ethiopia has a remarkable and long history as a free and independent multiethnic and multireligious nation. It covers various fields such as philology, religious studies. Order code rs21695 updated january 25, 2006 the islamic traditions of wahhabism and salafiyya christopher m. Force and fanaticism wahhabism in saudi arabia and beyond. One case in point is the role of ethiopia in the history of islam.
The full, formated report can be accessed here pdf. Born in 1703, abdulwahab grew up in nejd presentday saudi arabia and was a religious zealot who believed the two most important aspects of religion were, the quran and the sword. This is the sect that threatens the stability of saudi arabia and the middle east. I pointed out the stars to you, and all you saw was the tip of my finger. The gruesome attacks, which resulted in one mans hand being cut off, were influenced by the spread of wahhabism in the area. Muslims accuse ethiopian government of meddling in mosques. Wahhabism in saudi arabia and beyond, by simon ross valentine.
Alems article is, at best, a crude and wholesale ideological import of the bush paranoia into ethiopia, untainted by personal and intellectual experience. The majority of muslim scholars rejected the wahhabi definition of shirk and tawhid. Prior to 911, there was little wahabi proselytizing in ethiopia. It is presented here only for information purposes. Both countries have shown an increased interest in ethiopia and the wider horn of africa region in the past few years.
Order code rs21695 updated january 25, 2006 crs report. This book reveals the theories that inspire alqaeda. The watchdog group also observed that wahhabism was imported from saudi arabia. While arguing against wahhabism, the harari middle class. Drawing on international and multidisciplinary expertise, this pioneering edited collection analyzing islam in contemporary ethiopia challenges the popular notion of a christian ethiopia imagined as the centuryold, never colonized abyssinia, isolated in the highlands and dominated by orthodox christianity. The ethiopia sudan relationship changed dramatically after the outbreak of conflict in may 1998 between ethiopia and eritrea. Homegrown wahhabism and muslim identity in northern ghana, 1920 2010 abdulai iddrisu democracy in africa.
Uscirf statement uscirf deeply concerned by emerging. Saudi islam it should be noted that the great majority of ethiopian muslims are followers of sunni islam. Alittihad alislamiyya and political islam in somalia by lara loewenstein casket of former somali president flown to mogadishu. What is the difference between wahabism, sufism, and salafism.
It is the second most populous country in subsaharan africa. The intellectualist movement in ethiopia, the muslim. The majority of ethiopia s population about 73 mill. Both ethiopia and eritrea decided they needed sudan as an ally so they could focus on fighting each other. The sunni puritanical movement called wahhabism has become well known in recent years and is arguably the most pervasive revivalist movement in the islamic world. Us embassy bombings in nairobi, kenya and dar es salaam. Ethiopia as a nation, defining it as an obsolete empirestate, a prison house of peoples. Wahhabism refers to the islamic doctrine founded by muhammad ibn abdulwahhab.
In this video we find wahhabist lying about their real agenda for ethiopia. Scholars who tend to focus on islam in specific societies may overlook connections that, over the centuries, were important in shaping various islamic intercultural dialogs. Ethiopia 1 uscirf 20 annual report over the past year and a half, concerns about religious freedom in ethiopia have increased due to reports of government efforts to impose a particular islamic interpretation on the countrys muslim community. Various saudi nongovernmental organizations ngos help in this. Rise of wahhabism was an example of a larger current, which exerts pressure on the return to sources, discernible in other regions of the islamic world in the eighteenth century. Wahhabism in ethiopia is mainly a salafi movement that envisions spiritual revitalization of. The following was written by mark silverberg, author of the quartermasters of terror. International propagation of salafism and wahhabism by. Hrw ethiopianantiterrorlaw pdf summary this paper analyses ethiopia s draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards.
As a result, ethiopias delicate muslimchristian balance and historic attitudes between the faith. Focusing on islamic scholars returning from studies in. The founder of boko haram could be labeled a wahhabi for his opposition to secular governance, western education, and other islamic interpretations but. Wahhabism, isis, and the saudi connection geopolitical. Wahhabism is a more strict and conservative islamic doctrine and religious movement, which is backed by saudi arabia and the united arab emirates.
Emerging muslimchristian polemics in ethiopia article pdf available in african affairs 110439. Since july 2011, the ethiopian government has sought to force a change in the sect of islam practiced nationwide and has punished clergy and laity who have resisted. Saudi leaders have endeavoured to influence, trade, resources in sudan, kenya and ethiopia which has also resulted in a regional rivalry between sunni muslim saudi arabia and shia muslim iran. European centre for law and justice 4, quai koch 67000 strasbourg france april, 9 2009 religious freedom in ethiopia i. The spread in ethiopia of wahhabism the islamic radical doctrine of the saudi stateis inconsistent with such openness and indeed is not always overtly encouraged by the saudis. A look at ethiopia s support of alqaeda terrorists against eritrea admin. At the time, ethiopia s greatest concern about sudan was the threat of islamic fundamentalism. Ethiopian journalist on the detrimental effects of saudi. Professor ahmad moussalli, january 30, 2009 unbelievers. Africa is beset by multiple problems with security.
On december 26, 2006, a general retreat from positions held by the icu was ordered from the front in baidoa. A bibliography on christianity in ethiopia jon abbink introduction this bibliography intends to meet the need of researchers and students of christianity in ethiopia and africa to have a survey of the most important published materials on the subject in recent years. Valentine, a british methodist pastor and teacher who taught in saudi arabia, has written a useful book about the. Muslims accuse ethiopian government of meddling in mosques ethiopia s muslims have been protesting state interference in their affairs for the past six months.
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