Muslims in Ethiopia: The Christian legacy, identity politics, and Islamic reformism

Abstract

In March 2011, news about the forced flight of Christians from western Ethiopia stirred a highly charged controversy-both within and beyond Ethiopia-about the role of Islam in the Horn of Africa. According to a Fox News report,1 Ethiopian Muslims set ablaze about 50 churches and dozens of Christian homes. This incident was a consequence of the desecration of the Qur’an by an Ethiopian Christian earlier that month. The violence escalated but was quickly controlled by federal police. Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi blamed an obscure religious group called Kawarij2 for inciting the violence by preaching religious intolerance in the region. The events in the Jimma region seem not to be an isolated case, as indicated by similar incidents mentioned at the end of the news report.