By Donald N. Levine

When invited by the Ethiopian community of San Jose, California, to compose a short millennial piece celebrating something distinctive about Ethiopia’s heritage, I decided for a variation on the theme of many of my previous writings, where I emphasize the multiethnic character of historic Ethiopia. This concerns the extent to which the various peoples of the Horn have come from common ancestors and intermingled in so many ways– through intermarriage, commerce, shared festivals, cultural borrowings, and common political aspirations and activities, most notably in the defense of Ethiopia against external invasions from the Turks, from the Sudanese, and on those two terrible occasions, from imperialist Italy.

In this piece I shall celebrate an aspect of Ethiopia’s heritage that has rarely been accorded the attention it deserves. This concerns the character of her religious traditions. At least four features of religion in Ethiopia deserve special attention.

For one thing, Ethiopia became receptive to each of the three great Semitic world religions very early, earlier than nearly any other part of the world. Hebraic influence arrived at an extremely early period. This is attested by Hebraic words that were used in the translation of the New Testament into Ge’ez. Most remarkably, the chief indigenous surviving Judaic community – that of the Beta Israel – knew only of Jewish holidays prior to exile of the Jews to Babylon in the 6th century B.C.E. The adoption of Christianity as official religion in Aksum took place in the 4th century C.E., making Ethiopia, like Syria, Armenia, and Egypt, home to one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. And she gave refuge to followers of the Prophet Mohammed before Islam was officially established, protecting them when the nascent faith was endangered, a gesture that inspired Mohammed to declare Ethiopia perennially exempt from any sort of jihadic intervention.

Because these religions arrived so early, they took shape in Ethiopian soil in a way that enabled them to grow side by side from the outset. They intertwined in many ways. None of them became used as the basis for any sort of rabid exclusionary project. Judaism in Ethiopia was always part of the Ethiopian national culture, not–until the past century–a force that led her followers to reject Ethiopia as their national homeland. Neither Christianity nor Islam was used historically as a basis for persecuting other populations or massacring dissidents, as happened so often with both of those religions in other countries.  (Ahmad Gragn’s jihad was instigated from outside Ethiopia by the Ottoman Turks.  Emperor Yohannes’s strict Christianizing policy reflected a national political fear of being invaded by Mahdist Muslims, who did invade and finally killed him. Popular prejudices against the Beta Israelis, often called buda, did not reflect a studied persecution of them by the Orthodox Church.) Beyond that, Ethiopians of different Semitic religions could and often did intermarry, often took part in one another’s festivals, and shared certain special occasions together–most notably, the annual pilgrimage to the site of the Archangel Gabrael at Mount Kulubi.

Third, the relation to “pagan” Ethiopian religions was tolerant to a degree not shown much elsewhere–a subject that deserves a lot more study. Family resemblances between the properties of indigenous deity symbols, such as the Oromo Waqa, with the Semitic deities may have had some subliminal effect, even though resemblance of that name and other cognate names among peoples in the South–Waq (Afar, Somali, Burji, Konso, Dasensech, Gurage); Wak (Saho); Wa’a (Hadiyya); Waga (Gamu ); Waqaya (Majangir); Muqo (Tsamako); and Magano (Sidamo)–with Amharic wuqabi (guardian angel) may reflect common sound and not linguistic kinship. To be sure, the Christian and Muslim missionaries pressured followers of indigenous faiths to embrace one of those Semitic religions. But there are many instances where indigenous religionists held joint celebrations with Christians and/or Muslims.

Finally, I would mention the depth of religious sentiment that marks so many Ethiopians. This trait came to the fore during the Derg period, when systematic efforts to eradicate religious traditions were met by increased observance, including a remarkable increase in the practice of fasting.

These elementary facts should be known by every single Ethiopian at home and abroad. One good way to celebrate Ethiopia’s special millennium would be to promote awareness of these special features of her history and culture.

በሚሊኒየሙ ምክንያት ድሆቹን ጠራርገው ከአዲስ አበባ ሊያስወጧቸው ነው ማለትን አንብቤ አዝኜ የኔን ድምጽ የድሆቹ አድርጌ ወዲያውኑ የገጠምኩት ነው:: ለማንበብ እዚህ ላይ ይጫኑ::

By Andrew Cawthorne

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A senior Somali Islamist leader said on Tuesday the Islamic Courts movement ousted from Mogadishu in a brief war at the end of 2006 remained unbroken and better-supported than before among the population.

“The movement is intact. The leadership is still there. Many of them are inside the country, in Mogadishu and elsewhere, in hiding. Others are abroad,” said Ibrahim Hussein Adow, foreign affairs pointman for the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC).

Adow, who has made Yemen his home in exile, said Somalis had seen the contrast between violence by the Ethiopian military backing Somalia’s interim government, and the stability the Courts brought during their six-month rule of the south in 2006.

“When the Islamic Courts came in, things changed. Tribes were united, the port and airport opened, weapons were collected, we even stopped piracy,” he said by telephone during a trip to Doha.

“The movement changed people’s lives for the better…The Ethiopians  Woyannes and Transitional Federal Government have created violence and genocide…So the support for the (Islamic Courts) movement is more than before.” Many in Mogadishu and elsewhere in south Somalia credited the Islamists last year for bringing peace to areas knowing little but warlord rule and anarchy since 1991, when the Horn of Africa nation descended into chaos with the fall of a dictator.

But Somalis, who are generally moderate Muslims, also complained of hardline practices by the SICC such as enforcing dress codes and banning public viewing of films.

Addis Ababa Woyanne sent thousands of troops into Somalia to help the interim government of President Abdullahi Yusuf drive the Islamists out of power at the New Year, scattering their fighters around the south and sending leaders into hiding.

But some Islamist fighters regrouped to spearhead an insurgency against the Ethiopian Woyanne troops and government.

“It is not the Islamic Courts organising this, but the population organising itself,” Adow said of the daily attacks.

“Ethiopians Woyannes killed so many people with their indiscriminate bombing and their tanks. Their violence is behind the problem, they have alienated the population.”

Adow said the recent National Reconciliation Conference in Mogadishu was a failure as it was run by the Ethiopians Woyanne and government, and never intended to bring opponents on board.

A U.S.-educated lecturer in education and international affairs, Adow, in his mid-fifties, said he advocated peaceful engagement of all the Somali factions at a neutral venue.

“We will go anywhere, provided talks are inclusive, there is an independent body present, and the place is safe,” he said.

Nashville, Tennessee, the City of Country Music, has issued a proclamation declaring September 12 Ethiopian Millennium Day.

Nashville is a beautiful city where over three thousand Ethiopians reside.

The Mayor of Nashville, Mr. Bill Purcell, stated that “The city of Nashville and the nation join in celebrating the rich culture and tradition of Ethiopia…”

See the proclamation here.

We thank the Mayor of Nashville for his continued support and acknowledgment.

For further information contact:
Ato Tsehay Demeke, [email protected]
Ethiopian Community Association, Nashville Tennessee

(AFP) Bahrain’s Maryam Yusuf Jamal has grabbed her first world gold medal in women’s 1,500 meters after beating her Russian rival Yelena Soboleva.

The Ethiopian-born Jamal struck for home with 300 meters to go but Soboleva stayed with her; however, it was Jamal who first crossed the line in three minutes 58.75 seconds.

Jamal’s victory over Soboleva was a milestone for her who could win Russia, the country, which held sway in the event claiming the three previous gold medals.