The dangers of stoking religious conflict

By Fekade Shewakena | April 2, 2009=20

In Ethiopia, Christians and Moslems = have lived=20 harmoniously for centuries. Since the coming to power of the = Meles=20 Zenawi regime, however, ethnic and sectarian conflicts have = been=20 making national headlines. The photo (right) shows a 16th = century=20 Gospel of Matthew preserved in a monastery in Tigrai region. = A=20 richly decorated 19th century Koran as preserved in Harar = (Courtesy=20 of Cross and Crescent ; Goethe Institute, Addis = Ababa)=20

Some people in Ethiopia on = the religious=20 fringes are playing with fire. I have received emails of videos = and audios=20 circulating over the internet as evidences of Christians being = attacked by=20 Moslems and Christians attacking Moslems in Ethiopia. It appears = these=20 documents are being sent out by each group to garner sympathy for = their=20 respective cause. I cannot finger point to who started this = stupidity as I=20 have no detailed information. But I don=92t think it is even = important to=20 know who started it. None of it comports with Ethiopia=92s history = of=20 religious tolerance. I have also heard stories of sporadic attacks = by=20 these fringe fanatics in different parts of Ethiopia. The = government also=20 has issued incoherent statements about it, in some cases blaming = it on its=20 political opponents as it often does. Whatever its magnitude, and = whoever=20 the culprit instigating it, these developments are downright scary = and=20 extremely disturbing and they should stop.=20

Trying to widen it, parading ugly = statements=20 coming out of the mouths of these fringe elements, playing tit for = tat and=20 taking it out on the innocent, is plain stupidity and no one is = going to=20 benefit from it both spiritually and materially. Forming = interfaith groups=20 and having honest and intelligent discussion can help not only = stop these=20 fringe elements, but also goes a long way to find the real culprit = trying=20 to saw the seeds of discord among the two religions who have = uniquely=20 cultivated a long tradition of tolerance and living in peace in = Ethiopia.=20 The elders in the leadership of both religions should be reminded = that=20 they have a huge responsibility to stop this madness.=20

Yes, religions have not been treated equally throughout our = history in=20 Ethiopia. Christianity has been dominant in Ethiopia for = centuries. Yes,=20 there are historical reasons for this inequality. But our Moslem = brothers=20 and sisters have every right to demand equality now. It is their = country=20 and they deserve no less. We still have to go some length to = attain=20 religious equality in Ethiopia but this can only be done by first=20 establishing a system under the rule of law. It has to be clear to = all of=20 us that those responsible for the unequal treatment of and = inequality=20 between religions were never once the ordinary people of Ethiopia = of any=20 faith. It was the rulers who use religion for political ends. Any=20 religious discord in Ethiopia can directly be traced to the = manipulative=20 works of the rulers and not to any group of ordinary people. It is = undeniable that there is a lot of progress toward religious = equality in=20 Ethiopia since the seventies, particularly since the coming of the = dergue=20 in 1974. But unfortunately, both Christians and Moslems ended up = getting=20 the short end of what we sought.=20

The dawn of our genuine demand for equality was marked by the = 1974=20 Moslem-Christian historic demonstration in Addis Ababa in support = of the=20 demand for the equal treatment of Moslems in Ethiopia. Mengistu = and the=20 dergue answered our question by turning out to be equal = opportunity=20 killers and oppressors across religions. The Ethiopian Orthodox = church=20 lost most of its land and property and turned destitute overnight. = Even=20 the pope and many clergy were guillotined. Moslems and Christians = were=20 killed by the dergue at the same rates with equal disregard for = our lives.=20 This, of course, was not the kind of equality we wanted. But we = can say we=20 suffered equally.=20

The TPLF/EPRDF made a smarter choice than the dergue when it = decided to=20 control the administration and management of religious = institutions and=20 use them craftily for its political ends. They even made direct = and=20 indirect interference in the appointments of the leadership to = lead both=20 the mosque and the church. In cases where both the Christians and = Moslems=20 attempted to rebel against this meddling demanding independence, = the TPLF=20 never hesitated to desecrate the places of worship of both Islam = and=20 Christianity and used military force inside both mosques and = churches=20 spilling the blood of innocent believers. Have we forgotten? This = happened=20 not a long time ago.=20

I argue that the most serious problem that stands in the way of = religious equality in Ethiopia now is the absence of democracy and = rule of=20 law. Religious conflicts are minimal or none existent in = democracies. This=20 is the key to forming a lasting equality. I met a Moslem Ethiopian = friend=20 who participated in a recent demonstration at the Ethiopian = embassy in=20 Washington DC. Among other questions, I asked him what they were = doing at=20 the embassy and why they did not call Christians to join them in = the=20 demonstration. He said the objective of the demonstration was to = demand=20 that the Woyane government implement the articles in the = constitution as=20 regards religious equality. I asked him the responses they got. He = told me=20 that the Ambassador and embassy staff sweet-talked them and = thanked them=20 for their peaceful demonstration and even told them that their=20 demonstration was a model for other demonstrations. I only hope my = Moslem=20 brothers and sisters who sincerely look for the right answers to = their=20 questions have not fallen for this cheap patronization.=20

In fact Ethiopian Moslems have more serious issues to worry = about. They=20 may need to be a little more wary of the government=92s = unnecessary=20 intervention in Moslem countries to fight so called jihadism and = the=20 rhetoric Meles and Bereket use borrowing from the West. They = should be=20 bothered by the official use of such terms as Islamists, Islamic=20 terrorism, jihadists etc. If I were an Ethiopian Moslem I would = worry more=20 about this kind of incendiary, mercenary government literature = than what a=20 lunatic Christian monk out from a monastery speaks of Islam. = Thanks to the=20 election of President Obama, these languages are now being = discarded even=20 in US officialdom. If our Moslem brothers and sisters think that = the=20 statements on religious equality stated in the constitution can be = selectively implemented while other parts of the constitution keep = being=20 violated by the regime every day, I think they are wasting their = time. It=20 is like they are asking the lady to be half pregnant and give = birth to a=20 normal child. Either the constitution is respected as a whole or = there=20 will be no respect for any part of it. I think both Moslems and = Christians=20 should get this clearly. Only the prevalence of the rule of law = can=20 guarantee equal treatment.=20

Ethiopia has enough space to accommodate all religions equally = if our=20 rulers do not violate our values and the laws in the books. At = different=20 times the regime has used our differences, religious and ethnic, = for=20 political purposes. Differences are the nutrition over which the = woyane=20 thrive, can=92t you see it? A Moslem who demands better for = himself cannot=20 get it if the Christian is not guaranteed of the same rights and = vice=20 versa. Our rulers, including the TPLF are not worried about giving = religions equal playing field. Their preoccupation is over how to = use them=20 for their political ends.=20

The last time I checked the list of the 193 people murdered by = Meles=20 Zenawi after the ill fated May 2005 election, it contains an equal = mix of=20 Moslems and Christians at least as can be seen from their names.=20

Decrees and constitutional amendments or oral promises from = powerful=20 despots cannot guarantee equality and freedom, only a collective = decision=20 by people and an absolute guarantee of the rule of law do. Whether = we like=20 it or not we have to learn to share the space God gave us without=20 encroaching on each other=92s spaces. So the best place to spend = our=20 emotions and energy is on seeking and building democracy and the = rule of=20 law. That is the ultimate weapon that would make all of us equal. = Despotic=20 rulers have a vested interest in our division and inequality. Read = history.=20

Or learn from me, a Christian and Tahir, my Muslim childhood = friend. We=20 were about six or seven year olds then. Tahir and me, both of us = were born=20 in Debr Sina, that beautiful town at the foothills of Tarma Ber in = northern Shewa. We were neighbors. Our mothers were friends. Tahir = and me=20 always play together and love soccer a lot. We eat in each = other=92s homes.=20 Our mothers and everybody in our homes cares much not to mix our = plates.=20 Living in our neighborhood was also a bully named Negash. Negash = is a=20 little older and bigger than both me and Tahir. There was hardly = any kid=20 who hasn=92t tested Negash=92s boots on his butt (the calchio). He = sometimes=20 beats you for no reason and calls you any name he wants. Negash = also loves=20 to have us fight with one another. He often asks, =93Which of you = two is=20 stronger?=94- =93mann yashenifal=94, he would say, and goads us to = wrestle and=20 fight. Tahir and me have wrestled more than once to show him which = one of=20 us are stronger. Negash does this to many kids in the = neighborhood. One=20 day, while I and Tahir were playing =93goalkeeping=94 with the = rubber ball=20 Tahir's father gave us from his store that morning, Negash came. = Negash=20 grabbed our ball and kicked it hard that after making some bounces = it=20 ended up in the compound of people who had a dangerous dog. Both = Tahir and=20 I who have not even had fifteen minutes with our new precious ball = were=20 mad as hell and demanded that Negash gets our ball back for us. = Tahir and=20 I have grown in a community where boys were not allowed to cry and = run=20 home to seek help or hide. We had to stand on our feet and fight. = Going=20 home crying will result in you getting whipped more. I picked up a = few=20 stones and demanded that Negash gets our ball back. Tahir too = filled his=20 pockets with stones and held two big ones in both hands. While = Negash was=20 taking strides to catch and beat us, we rained our stones on him = and=20 knocked him down. We frisked his head and he was full of blood. We = did not=20 want to take a chance and wanted to make sure that he doesn=92t = get up and=20 beat us. Negash was crying in his pool of blood when we were all = over him=20 giving him the calchos he loves to give to others. Some adult = passerby=20 stopped us and Tahir and me went home with our heads up but = without our=20 precious ball. Negash was taken to the clinic by his family. Our = family=20 and Negash=92s heard the story of what happened. Tahir and me told = our story=20 to our families as is. Negash=92s family pressed charges against = our=20 families. Finally, other people in the neighborhood intervened and = made=20 peace, I hardly remember how they did it. On the day of peace the = three of=20 us were made to kiss one another=92s chicks and told to never = quarrel again.=20 From that day on, Negash became a different person for us. He = started=20 respecting not only Tahir and me but also his other victims in the = neighborhood.=20

That, my friends, is how you sometimes get your freedoms back.=20

Fekadeshewakena@yahoo.com=20

Ethiomedia.com - An African-American news and = views website.=20
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