Can the new Mejlis tackle the sectarian division?

It was hailed as a watershed moment for Ethiopia’s large Muslim community that has been mired by strife, deep divisions and co-opting attempt from the regime. A call for the establishment of an independent body free from the government influence was started some seven years ago, a move that made the regime irate, going so far as imprisoning several Muslim scholars, activists, and clergies. Since Abiy Ahmed became prime minister a year ago, brought to power on a wave of popular anger, a committee comprising of nine religious figures was formed to “address the legal standing of the Mejlis and suggests the establishment of Mejlis as a religious administrative organ by a proclamation.” Just a week ago, more than five hundred Muslim leaders came together at Sheraton Addis and re-formed the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC), or Mejlis, replacing the decade-old one, implicated in multiple allegations of corruption and proximity with the regime. “It was a historic day for Ethiopian Muslims, for those who are inside and outside of the country. This was what we have been shedding our tears for. Today, we embark on a new road,” said Omar Idris, a mufti who took the new leadership role. “The split is not good for the country, it is not good for the Muslim population, and it is not good for our faith. The faithful have been urging us to cement the bonds of unity and reconciliation and lead them,” he added.

A cursory glance at the cause of the problem

The Supreme Islamic Affairs Council was originally formed in 1975 with the view to facilitating the relationship between the government and the Muslim community, which constitutes more than 40 percent of Ethiopia’s population. That relationship has had its ups and downs, the consecutive leaders working to advance the recognition of Islam in public sphere while trying to maintain an amicable relationship with the government officials, who have always attempted to limit the influence of religious leaders and institutions. “In their relationship with the state, some have been subservient, some less so. For example, the chairman during the Derg’s period, Haji Mohamad has remained steadfast and independent in his position, despite threats and intimidation from the government,” says Elias Kedir, member of the Ethiopian Muslim Arbitration Committee and an activist freed from jail. In a rousing speech punctuated with quotations from the Quran and Muslim scholar, Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed, who was born to a Muslim father and Christian mother, also made reference to the renowned Muslim leader in the Sheraton’s speech.

Though the changing political situation in 1990s brought greater freedom for the Muslim community, the regime bringing an end the prohibition on haji, suspension of bans and import denials for religious literature, the government’s inclination to control and interfere in the religious affair continued unabated. That was one of the reasons why protest and demonstration began on January 2012, after students at the Islamic school, the Awolia College, walked out of classes to protest the dismissal of Arabic teachers and proposed changes to the curriculum, which they said was an imposition of the teachings of Al-Ahbash at the expense of other movements such as Wahhabiya. The government wanted to promote Al-Ahbash convinced that it is a home–grown movement, and it has “a rather flexible interpretation of Islam, which revolved around political coexistence with Christians,” according to scholars. “Its leader came to Beirut from Ethiopia……… Al-Ahbash of Lebanon expanded to become arguably the leading factor in the local Sunni community,” Mustafa Kabba, and Haggai Erlich wrote in a scholarly journal, “Al-Ahbash Wahhbiyya: Interpretations of Islam”.

Elias clarifies what sparked the anger and protest was not the Al-Ahbash movement, which has the right to exist like those others but the government’s move to impose it on all members of the Muslim community without regard to their own aspirations. Over the ensuing months, the protest has grown to encompass wider anger and frustration against the Muslim Council and political elite, calling for a new “mejlis”, or Muslim Council.

Sufi versus Salafi

In the meantime, the Ethiopian Muslims found themselves embroiled in a struggle between two factions of clerks, the so-called Sufi and Salafi/Wahhabi camps. (Wahhabism is the formal ideology of the Saudi state.) There are different points of contention over both the interpretation of symbols and practice such as whether or not it is permitted to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet, the rightfulness of saint-veneration. “The hostility that ensued between the two had resulted in sectarian violence in some parts of the country. A delegation moderated the polemical theological debate through the creation of an Ulama unity forum where compromises were made,” wrote scholar Dereje Feyissa. According to Dereje, the dispute emanated from competition over financial resources coming from global Islamic networks and the Middle Eastern countries that support the Salafi. “Government interest in and manipulation of the internal theological debate has also further politicised the sectarian divide. By and large, the EPRDF tends to favour what it calls hager beqel islimina (home-grown Islam) or nebaru islimina (indigenous Islam), euphemisms to refer to the ‘tolerant’ and ‘apolitical’ Sufi over the ‘militant’,” he wrote.

A New Direction

A sense that the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was eager to make good on his promises, brought a change in tone with his nomination a year ago and spoke of complete non-interference in Muslim religious’ affairs. It was around this time that the committee was established with nine members, the three of them from the Muslim Committee previously leading the protest movement, three other from the existing Mejlis leadership and three neutral scholars, according to another Muslim activist, Sultan Kassim Genna. “Despite bumpy roads, this committee has tirelessly worked for the past ten months and produced three documents that identify the institutional problems of Ethiopian Muslims and the suggested solutions. One document tries to address the legal standing of the Mejlis and suggests the establishment of Mejlis as a religious administrative organ by a proclamation, the second deals with the restructuring and reorganization of Mejlis and the last deals with various religious points of consensus reached among Ethiopian Muslim religious scholars,” he explains.

Transition of power

There was a concern that if Sheik Mohammed Amin Jemal, President of the EIASC and his deputy Omar Yimam Kombolcha would be willing step aside. But a day before the Sheraton conference, EIASC held its 15th General Assembly and news came that the president resigned on health ground, paving the road for the peaceful transition of power, which has been hailed as the first one.

The judgments are still reserved on the issues that separate the Ethiopian government policy and Muslim interests. “The Ethiopian government is still trying to clear its name. While most of the problems were created by itself, it is presenting it as the end of the conflict between two factions. But the truth was not that. The politicians seem in denial that their own politics was a factor,” Elias told Ethiopia Observer. “Any government intervention real or perceived would have a negative impact on the credibility of PM Abiy’s government and the attempt of transition to democracy,” says Sultan Kassim Genna.

Who is the new leader?

The new president, Haji Omar Idris is a respected mufti, with a reputation of a highly disciplined religious leader and a proponent of Muslim unity. He is president of Fatwa and Da’awa Council, the chief governing body of Islamic teaching in the country. He hails from Genete village, Warra Ilu, one of the woredas of the Amhara region. The area is dominated by Muslims and reputed for religious cohabitation and harmony. Omar’s father was a peasant, the young boy grew up with his three brothers and four sisters. He studied for years under famous Islamic teachers, against the wish of his father who wanted him to be a merchant or a politician. In his later years, he has come to make the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca 39 times, he said in an interview last year. He has in the past served as the chair of the Addis Ababa Mejlis and also chaired of the Addis Ababa Ulama (scholars of Islamic doctrine and law) Unity Forum, a forum established to solve the contentious issues between the two factions. He represented the Sufi camp while the ‘Wahhabi’ camp was represented by Dr. Jelal. He is a teacher steeped in the lore of the ancient books, his devotees say. He is renowned for composing verses and religious texts and he himself said he has 80 unpublished manuscripts.

One of the most important challenges for him and the leadership would be how to reconcile the different visions and translations of Islam within its ranks, especially in the political realm. For the moment, there is high optimism now but the big task lies ahead.

All images are taken the Office of the Prime Minsiter’s Office Twitter account.

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