Ethiopian Muslims in Diaspora have sent a nine member delegation consisting of religious and community leaders, scholars and known Muslims activist of equality, freedom and justice in Ethiopia. The delegation has been in the country since early this month (since April 6, 2007, to be exact). It is entrusted with a mission to bring the Muslims concern to the attention of the authorities; hold discussion to reach at common understanding on the gravity as well as magnitude of their issues; this with ultimate objective of working out together possible lasting solutions to each. To realize that the delegation spent time and resource in formulating agenda’s for discussion and in building the needed confidence for an open and constructive discussion. The discussion points are of particular interest to Muslims, they are nevertheless of great concern to all Ethiopians as they form the fundamentals to the country’s peace, stability and prosperity.
Since the arrival of delegations in Ethiopia, the state controlled mass media’s (radio, TV, News papers) reported on the mission of this high level and first ever Muslim delegation. Unfortunately they preferred not to correctly report for what the members of the mission traveled thousands of miles leaving their loved ones behind. “Lesemi gira gebaw endilu”, they choose to confuse the unawares by reporting that the delegation is there to hold discussion with Ethiopian authorities about Millennium celebration.
A nine-member group of Ethiopian Muslims in Diaspora arrived here on Sunday to hold talks with government officials on ways of enabling the members of the Muslim communities living abroad to actively participate in the celebration of the Ethiopian millennium.(1)
Commenting on the actions of the government controlled Media’s, a member of the delegation who wish not to be named as he is not authorised to speak on behalf of the delegation, said “it is too unfortunate that these media’s prefer to misinform their listeners and readers on the mission of the delegation. We had our discussion points pre-defined long before we left our home. For that matter, these are submitted to the authorities well in advance of our scheduled discussion time so that they could also have time to look at them and get prepared for the discussion. Millennium celebration is no where to find in the list of points we set out in advance. We are here to discuss issues that are of vital interest to Ethiopian Muslims in particular and that of all Ethiopian in general. In this respect, we are well received by the authorities and held quite constructive and open discussion. I don’t know from where they go that idea of millennium thing and for what reason they preferred to characterize our mission that way.”
Would they hope to undermine the delegation and its cause? Or create mistrust between the delegation and the communities it represents?
The Millennium issue is of concern to Ethiopian Muslims. Specially when there is an effort to make it look like a commemoration of the Christian history of Ethiopia, Where there is a strong attempt for the occasion to portray the country as a “Christian state”, when there is astounding desire by some to undermine the role and significance of Islam and Muslims in the historic as well as contemporary Ethiopia, it is vital that Muslims do their share for Ethiopia to be the face of all Ethiopians and dump the false impression on part of externals and the local fanatics that wish to characterise Ethiopia by merely one religion and culture. The Millennium is such a critical moment that all oppressed nations and nationalities, religions and cultures push their way and come out to play their share in the Mosaic nature of mother Ethiopia. In this sense, it is an opportunity that should not be missed.
The Millennium, having won its own significance in the minds and hearts of the Muslims, it did not make up to be one among the various issues to be discussed with Ethiopian authorities. This is for the mere reason that there is nothing to discuss about it. What it all needs is action. In this respect, I think, Muslims both in Diaspora as well as at home are being doing their share for the Millennium to portray the face of all Ethiopians and their diverse culture, tradition and history.
Whatever the purpose of these Media outlets in misrepresenting the delegation and misinforming its customers, it has nothing to worry about. Long before the members plan to travel to Ethiopia, Muslims in Diaspora articulated well the Muslims’ concern, what is significance is, and the consequence of not giving attention to and not addressing them in due time. The Muslims in Diaspora have participated in formulating the agenda these heroes’s, for whom Ethiopian Muslims at large are very much indebted, have brought with them.
The Muslim at home is no less aware of the objective of the mission and the issue the delegation was to raise as it met Ethiopian higher authorities. In fact, as soon as the delegation set foot in Ethiopia, the first thing it had done was to hold a series of meetings with local Muslim religious and community leaders, representatives of the various groups that are active in the affairs of the Muslim community, influential individuals, intellectuals and business community. It was only after this that they meet the Prime Minister and the rest of his the Ministers.
At the end of their week-long discussion with Ethiopian authorities, the delegation once again met the larger Muslim community to explain further what issues they put on table for discussion. In one such event where a more than one thousand attendants took part, the delegation read out all the agenda points and briefed them until then accomplished works. The participants could not resist their joy on what they could hear from the podium. They used the opportunity to let the members of the delegation know how much they appreciate the step their brothers in Diaspora have taken and that the Muslims at home have no other issue than what the delegation had carried with it and discussed with the leaders of the country.
The delegation have thus carried on its shoulder quite fundamental, far reaching and all-encompassing issues far beyond what is attribute to it by Ethiopian News agency, Walta, Addis Tribune, and their like. The mission of the delegation was put on air and reached to the wider public thanks to VOA, Negashi, First Hijra radios and others Ethiopian information outlets.
One more thing I would like to mention before I end my writing is about another of their assertion. Falsely attributing to the leader of the delegation, they reported that “there are 50, 000 members of Ethiopian Muslim communities all over the world“. This could not be nothing but a mere attempt and campaign to undermine the delegation and its mission. Actually, the number of Ethiopian Muslims in North America only is estimated to be far higher than this figure. There are more than hundred thousand Ethiopian Muslims in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - just in one city in the country among many more where Ethiopian Muslims reside in great numbers. Let me leave to my readers now to guess the number of Ethiopian Muslims scattered around the world!
The action of the Media when it comes to Muslims and Islam in Ethiopian is well taken note of by Ethiopian Muslims so much so that one of the agenda’s the delegation formulated involved the Media. Their doggedness to misrepresent the mission of the delegation is thus in line with its tradition. For Ethiopia to prosper this crucial institution need to repent from its misdeeds never to go back to them.
(1) Links to reporting of ENA in relation to the Muslims’ delegation:
April 08, 2007 | April 10, 2007 | April 14, 2007
