Muslims accuse Ethiopian government of meddling in mosques

Why the resistance to al Ahbash?

According to the constitution, the government has no business interfering in religious affairs; Ahmedin says the Al Ahbash sect is alien to Ethiopian Muslims despite its origins; and some doctrines of al Ahbash are unacceptable to many followers. For example, it permits believers to receive interest in transactions with non-Muslims; fornication with non-Muslims is also accepted.

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Analyst Jawar suggests al Ahbash's controversial history is reason enough for people to object to its promotion. Its pro-Israel leanings and its founder's attacks on "well-respected" Islamic scholars created furious opposition, he says.

"I think what aroused the Muslim population at large is al Ahbash's aggressive 'moderation' approach that emphasizes assimilation," he says. "But let's say the sect is moderate as it claims – still it is not wise to drag its huge controversy into the country."

Government reaction to independence

Since a democratic constitution was adopted in 1995, Ethiopian Muslims have been asserting their independence, and the government is reacting poorly to that, say activists. Prior to the modern era that enshrined religious freedom, Muslims had to accommodate their beliefs during imperial times when Christian emperors ruled the land, or suppress them during the Marxist totalitarianism of Mengistu Hailemariam's military Derg regime in the 1980s.   

In decades past, followers of the Prophet Muhammed's teachings in Ethiopia would engage in processions of Orthodox Christians – the most populous faith in the country – and assist in building churches. Some Muslims in Ethiopia's northern Wollo region still get crosses tattooed on their forehead, an indicator of centuries of cultural assimilation.

Salafism has grown in Ethiopia, but there is "zero influence from foreign extremists" on an almost exclusively moderate community, according to the pair of activists. Even "hard-liner" Ethiopian Salafi preachers denounce Al Qaeda's former leader Osama Bin Laden as an unbeliever, they say.

Ethiopia's protesting Muslims want to practice their religion and select their new leaders without interference, in line with the country's constitution, the activists say. "Let us be free," they argue. "Let us have our own organization that is led by ourselves, not government cadres." New government plans to hold non-transparent elections for council leaders controlled by the authorities will not be accepted by the community, Ahmedin says.

Because of Ethiopia's proximity to hotbeds of extreme Islam, "it is rather understandable that the Ethiopian government would be concerned about who is engaging in religious activities and what these individuals may be preaching," says J. Peter Pham, director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

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