CLARENDON PRESS, OXFORD
1974
The success of Islam can be attributed partly to the well-known simplicity of this creed and ability to adapt itself to indigenous practices, and partly to group conflict. By this time Ethiopian Christianity had settled into a stagnant and rigid posture, while the Christian clergy had become devoid of all missionary zeal. Moreover, Christianity constituted the prim
symbol of Ethiopian nationalism. In Trimingham’s opinion, Christianity was rejected by some groups, which regarded it as the religion of their enemy, and which in turn espoused Islam as a protection against Ethiopian nationalism. Islam also provided its adherent with historical claims used to counter the historical and genera logical claims of the Christians. Converts to Islam invariably claimed Arab origin through a Muslim saint, while local ruling dynasties usually claimed descent from Muhammad himself.The Galla tribes, which had penetrated furthest into the plateau and occupied its eastern edge accepted Islam during eighteenth century. These Tribes – Raya and Yejju in Wollo province – were the source of strength of the Galla dynasty of Gondar, which played a dominant role during the Age of Prince. Though nominally Christian, the Galla rulers of Gondar depended upon the support of their Muslim kinsmen, many of whom migrated to the central part of Ethiopia, especially to Begemdir. Appointed of Muslim officials became a common occurrence, and these functionaries were accused of actively propagating their faith among the people. Torn by doctrinal of provincial conflict, the Ethiopian Church was incapable of resisting its ancient enemy; nor could the Christian provincial rulers who, as often as not, were allied with the Galla against their co-religionist. The strength of Islam in the heartland of Ethiopia increased considerably during this chaotic period. Converted to Islam. Some of these, such as the HABAB, MARYA, BILEN, and others, had been Christians for centuries; while others, such as BEJA, had partially been converted to Islam earlier. Ultimately, Islam displaced Christianity and become firmly established among the nomadic population of Eritrea.
Unlike the lowland and eastern plateau tribes, the Muslim found on the northern plateau –within the territory of historical state of Ethiopia—belong mainly to the same ethnic group as the Christian majority. They speak Tigrinya or Amharinya and share the same culture, differentiated only by their religion and the interior sociopolitical status traditionally attached to it. The name JABARTI generally is applied to Ethiopian Muslim in northern Ethiopia. THE JABARTI traditionally devoted themselves to trade and crafts, since they were barred from land possession in most areas from state office everywhere. Enjoying access to the sea ports under MUSLIM CONTROL and taking advantage of the Christians’ scorn for commerce, the JABARTI became a trader community. In this vocation they still are to be found concentrated in the towns and large villages of northern Ethiopia.
(23. The only way MUSLIM could acquire land was by purchase, an exceedingly rare occurrence in traditional Ethiopia. A more common practice, especially in ERITREA where it is known as TSEDBI, was that of leasing land on long-term basis. Another way of acquiring land was through a grant from the emperor or provincial ruler. During the Age of Princes, the sympathetic Galla rulers of Gondar assisted Muslims communities to acquire land in Begemdir province. The only office to which MUSLIM were appointed in the past was that of NAGGADRAS (head of merchants) i.e. trade tax collector.)
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Differences among profoundly religious people inevitably produce derogatory distinctions. The traditional definition of Ethiopian nationality excluded non-Christians from participation in the affairs of state, barred them from appointment to office, and, in most cases, deprived them of the right to own land. The gulf between Christians and Muslims in Ethiopia was deepened by memories of bloody conflict between their respective faiths. Perpetual Christian apprehension concerning the intentions of Muslim neighbors has served to maintain the distance separating the two communities within Ethiopia, and has greatly influenced the attitude of the state towards its Muslim subjects. The social distance between the two groups is widened by numerous religious taboos which inhibit social intercourse such as the rules concerning food which prohibit Muslim and Christian from sharing each other’s table. The traditional Christian professes contempt for Muslim, whom he considers inferior and alien. When two persons sever relations after a quarrel, the Amhara says: ‘They have became like Christian and Muslim.’ Deriding the Muslim’s landless position, a Tigre proverb ‘ THE SKY HAS NO PILLAR, THE MUSLIM HAS NO LAND.’
THE JABARTI MUSLIMS of the northern highlands return the Christian disdain in equal measure. ‘ INSTEAD OF CLEANSING HIMSELF IN RIVER, THE CHRISTIAN GOES TO A PRIEST’, resorts a JABARTI saying.
Some measure of SEGREGATION appears to have forced on the Ethiopian Muslim since early times. In the early sixteenth century Alvarez found them living in separate villages in TIGRE.
(Alvarez, the Prester John of Indies, p. 174.). Segregation was officially decreed by imperial edict in 1668, in the reign of YOHANNES I (1667-82).
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Concerned about the ethnic, religious, and provincial divisions that had been reflected in the political struggles of the period, Emperor Tewodros sought to promote unity among the various groups. As a Christian Emperor Tewodros naturally perceived national unity by fiat, as his predecessors had often done. Declaring his aim to have Amhara and Galla eat at the same table, which meant the conversion of the largely Muslim Galla to Christianity, he ordered the conversion of the Galla, Falasha, and Agaw. Meeting with little success, issued a decree in 1864
outlawing Islam and declaring that all Muslims who resisted conversion would be treated as rebels. However, by this time Tewodros had lost most of his initial power, and his efforts to promote religious unity were ineffective.
Emperor Yohannes, who succeeded Tewodros, was even more concerned with religious unity. The rise of Egyptian and Sudanese power during his reign heightened this concern. A decree was issued in 1878 ordering all men in the empire to join the orthodox Christian Church. Non-Orthodox Christian were given two years to comply, Muslims three years, and pagans five years. Shortly afterwards, another decree ordered all non–Christians office-holders to convert or resign their posts. Muslim were ordered to build churches in their districts and to pay tribute to the Christian clergy. The decrees had some effect among Muslim communities, particularly among Galla Muslims with official posts and political ambitions. Many such conversion proved purely nominal--referred to by the Christian as ‘Christians by day, Muslims by night’ –and were rejected in the period of tolerance which followed Yohannes’s death….
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The Church continued as before to rely on the political advantage of Christianity and the activities of the state to promote the expansion of the faith among the Muslim and pagan peoples of the south. The government has made Christianity the official religion of the state, yet political considerations have not allowed it to pursue the propagation of the official creed with great energy. As a result, Christianity has not made great strides in the new provinces where Islam and paganism remain dominant.
While the greatest concentration occurs in the southern province, Muslim are found in all parts of Ethiopia. Wollo province in the north-east has a large number of Muslims, while approximately half the population of Eritrea province in the north adhere to this faith. JABARTI MUSLIMS communities are found in all the towns of the northern highlands. Islam has also claimed many of the tribes which live on the western border of Ethiopia, as well as the Afar in the east. The total number of Ethiopians who adhere to this faith is not known. Politically conscious Muslim assert that they constitute a majority of the total population, and attribute the unwillingness of the government to carry out a census to this fact. The government itself is understandably averse to any mention of the strength of Islam. When the issue of Eritrea was discussed in the United Nations, the government was forced to make the only official statement on record on this subject. Aklilu Habte Wold, then Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, declared that approximately a quarter of Ethiopia ‘s inhabitants are Muslims. The representative of the MUSLIM LEAGUE of Eritrea countered with claim approximately a half.
Though it has old roots in this region, Islam does not bind its adherents into a cohesive community. It is the professed faith of numerous and diverse ethnic groups, and sections of groups, which underwent the experience of conversion at different historical times and under varied circumstance. Muslim groups in Ethiopia have led isolated lives, with little communication among them selves and only a dim awareness of each other’s existence. Unlike Christianity, Islam has found no institutional expression on the national level; it has not provided an ideological framework for unity among its heterogeneous following, nor even a common tradition binding all the faithful. In other words, Islam has not transcended ethnic and cultural barriers to bring a measure of unity to diverse and widely distributed groups which adhere to this faith. This is a fact of considerable political significance, for it has deprived Islam of the potential for political action and has enabled the Ethiopian government essentially to ignore its existence.
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ስም ኤርትራ ካብ ካርታ ዓለም ክስረዝ ማለት ብህዝብና ዝጽወር ጉዳይ ኣይክኸውንን እዩ።