Condemn Religious Intolerance!!!

By Fitsum G.

October 18, 2006

FRDE Constitution, Article 27: (Freedom of Religion, Belief and Opinion)

Down with religious intolerance! Yes! But also, down with all sorts of intolerance! They are just a sign or manifestation of incivility and sickness of the mind! What else?! Recent reports of clashes motivated by religious intolerance reaching us from the south, specially in Oromia National Regional State, around Dedessa, (Illubabor) Jimma, Agaro and environs, can only fill us with nothing else, but disgust and alarm. This is so uncharacteristic and alien to us Ethiopians that our first impression is that there should be some devilish influence blowing over our country, from who knows which direction. The historical harmony and tolerance amongst citizens of multiple religion, multiple faith or creed, and multiple ethnic origin in Ethiopia is almost proverbial, and anything that aims to disrupt such state of affairs should only deserve to be condemned. Interreligious misunderstandings or misjudgements that cropped up through the years have been handled and settled by the elderly, and community of religious leaders in an orderly, pondered and cordial manner. The Prophet Mohammed is reported to have stated: “ A country wherein no one is wronged: a land of righteousness” referring to Ethiopia. This is another testimony to the fact that there are no stories of intolerance amongst Ethiopians on account of their beliefs. In other words, one’s religion here is just his or her business, and respected for what it is. Remember the widely cited cardinal Amharic dictum: ‘Hager Yegara New, Haimanot Yeghil, (Common country, but individual faith).

The most outstanding and symbolic sign of the fraternal coexistence of Christianity and Islam in our land is the erection in Addis Ababa of St Raguel Church side by side with the Grand Anwar Mosque, sharing practically the same fence, right at the heart of the market place, Merkato! This might look very much artificial, or blasphemous for foreigners, but for Ethiopians, it is taken for granted. It is a symbol of civility and enlightenment, tolerance and brotherhood. The two major faiths here have lived in harmony, respecting each other’s dogmas and truths for as long as any living person can remember. The years of Gragn Mohamed, the ‘Left handed’ warrior are long gone by, and belong to history books only; getting backwards to the fourth century is today inconceivable!

Ethiopians’ such harmony might not please certain people, extremists of this or that faith, though. And the basic reason for trying to sow hatred and distrust amongst the followers of the various faiths can only be a result of such unhappiness. In a land where religion has always been left to the individual while the country’s sovereignty is a matter of common concern, there is nothing like a religion that can or should represent an entire nation, an entire region, or an entire community. It is common to see members of the same family belonging to either of the religions; and there is nothing scandalous about it. It only depicts the extent of multiculturalism, multiethnicism and acceptance in our society. That is why any attempt to destroy such well asserted postulate can only be destined to fail, provided we all fight it back with vigour. Ethiopia belongs to the Atheist, the Animist, Pagans, Jews, Moslems and Christians, equally. Religious equality is one of the consecrated principles in the Constitution. See above. And there isn’t any unforeseen or newly developed reason that such should not be the case for the future. That is why there could be no other explanation except an alien influence trying to penetrate our communities. And this should be rejected outright! We are not willing nor ready to import any sort of poisonous religious intolerance. Puritanism is incompatible with our society. We are a mosaic of religions, cultures and peoples and our diversity is our beauty and strength, not a liability.

The recent acts of intolerance, provocations, threats/insults, armed assaults, burning down of places of faith and worship, and the cycle of retaliations of all sorts are just to be condemned and isolated. Periodic religious recurrences, processions, holidays or festivals should not be hampered by any of such extremist outlook. If this is one result of the phenomenon of globalization, we reject it. It is for us unhealthy. We reject the tendency of importing poisonous ideas and faiths of whichever angle. We live that to idle minds, mentally abnormal people, ready to pay whatever price to disseminate the gospel of hatred and hostility in the name of an unlikely attempt to proselytize. From whichever side such idea comes, it needs to be remitted back to its origin! Ethiopians are not ready to subscribe to such influences unless they pass a sentence of genocide on their own peoples. And the examples of Ruanda are enough for us. Statements such as ‘if you want to live here, you should convert to this religion or that religion’ should only be condemned! And there have been reports of such suspect tendencies around Jimma, allegedly aided by the silence or complicity of certain local authorities. These must be exposed and prosecuted.

We have already passed that stage of intolerance and suspicion. In many conflict areas in the world, hidden or not easily discernible motives may be smelled. Analysts are busy studying such phenomena, from various vantage points, and surely they could come up with some hypothesis. The Middle East, the Persian Gulf, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and many other parts of the world can be cited as examples. In many cases, it is estimated that it is the rush for the control of precious resources such as petrol that provokes many of these clashes. Control of fuel resources could virtually imply control of the world economy, and hence control of the world! It sounds logical enough. But when we observe that the most devastating of such cases in recent years happened right in the heart of ‘civilized Europe’ a few years ago with a sort of religious and ethnic motivated genocide in the Balkans, particularly in Serbia and Montenegro, where else could we search for a cause except in pure ethnic/religious chauvinism, ego and hatred by some on others? There were no precious resources at stake.

Nevertheless, never in Ethiopia has there been such phenomenon that could be worthy of our headlines. At times, there might have occurred certain misunderstandings provoked here and there, and in a highly heterogenous society, it could only be considered in the order of normalcy to expect certain disputes. Prompt reconciliation and restraint have kept them within manageable limits, and for limited periods of time. The important thing is to have tempers cool off so that normal life could take over and proceed. Ethiopia’s admired and appreciated capacity to accommodate all faiths in reasonably sound harmony is further shown by the Moslem-Christian cordial coexistence everywhere in the country. I know of a Christian friend who in solidarity with his Moslem friends share a few days of the Holy Ramadan fasting period and participate in the evening ‘fetira’ festivities with them. We rejoice and mourn together. And this has become normal, typical of Ethiopians.

Furthermore, interreligious marriages are common and such intermingling is particularly notable in areas such as Wollo in north Ethiopia and no one makes a case out of them. Names such as Haileyesus Mohammed, a clear melange of the two faiths, are common. This may not please certain mercenaries and messengers of hate, because they have their own devilish agenda of advocating ‘fundamentalism’ or ‘purity of religions’, by all means. Their pleasure when people get killed and cry over their dead, when places of worship are set on fire, can only be a result of psychologically disturbed minds, better left for psychiatrists. Such sadism has nothing to do with faith, prayers, religious fervour and observance. All religions teach, first and foremost, the prominence of love, and the sanctity of human life, a creation of God/Allah. That is all. That is why we must isolate such devilish influences and fight them back, today. Remember popular Artist Teddy Afro’s song called ‘Chemin de Fer’ where he testified to the love between the Moslem and Christian faithful in our land.

It is seen evidently that every where in the world there are a few people whose only raison d’être is to disrupt the life of others, while they are incapable of leading their own normal life in peace. Such deranged minds need to be treated in isolation, and show them that the people in general have nothing to do with them, or their ideology. That is why the peaceful community of both faiths around Jimma have done well in distancing themselves from the vandalism of the past days, as did their religious leaders, the Islamic Council as well as the Orthodox Synod. If there are people who think they can have any political or religious dividends from such acts of barbarism, it is time that we all showed them the contrary, in unison. Such attempts do not belong here. Speak out in condemnation of such acts, whenever and wherever you have the occasion!