Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives - Islamic Books ...

Religion, Language, and Nat i o n a l i s m 2 2 3drinking alcohol was increasingly respected, and some people rejected coffee,claiming it was a Christian beverage (Waldron 1980, 252–254).Although such issues may have been noted by Menilek’s administration inH a r a r, more practical concerns of ruling the province were of primary importance:The area was enormous, its population was diverse, and state resourceswere limited. Thus, the conquerors implemented a system of indirect rule. Insteadof destroying Harar’s historical governing structures, the Ethiopians retainedthem but subsumed them under the newly created Governor’s Office. Inthe process of trying to establish its own political position, the Governor’s Officebecame a coordinating body that attempted to control and regulate the functioningof various pre-conquest structures of authority. In that context, Hararimen with a command of Amharic and a willingness to work with the Christianconquerors found opportunities for considerable upward mobility. There werenevertheless probably only limited opportunities for working with the state, evenif there were more than a few Harari who were able or willing to do so.Harari acceptance of Ethiopian rule was not encouraged by the disorderthat ravaged Ethiopia during World War I. In addition to economic problems,political infighting plagued the empire. Before his death, Emperor Menilekhad named his grandson Lej Iyasu as his successor. A headstrong youth andthe son of a Muslim provincial ruler who had been forced to convert to Christianityin the late nineteenth century, Iyasu lacked respect for the old nobility,forged good relations with prominent Muslims, allegedly enjoyed sexual relationswith any woman (married or not) he fancied, and otherwise offendedthe conservative and Christian ruling class. His policies, his actions, and his visionof an ethnically and religiously integrated ruling elite increased the hostilityof his political opponents. In the face of European fears of Ottoman (thatis, Islamic) influences on Muslim colonial subjects in Africa and Asia after theoutbreak of World War I, Iyasu’s relations with Germany, rumors of his conversionto Islam, his preoccupation with the Ogaden region (inhabited by MuslimSomalis resisting British and Italian intrusions), and his communications withthe Somali anticolonialist leadership ensured that Britain, France, and Italywould oppose him as well.Because of his sympathy toward Islam and his frequent visits to Harar, Iyasuwas popular in the town and in the Somali lands east of it. But that does notmean he was able to improve life for the town’s inhabitants. The British consul,Dodds, reported in early 1916 that “[l]awlessness, unrest and discontent[were] the order of the day throughout the Province. The courts [had] neverbeen so busy . . . every chief, every soldier, every trader [was] tired of the conditionof the country. From their point of view trade [had] diminished, prices[had] increased, revenue [had] decreased, and there [was] no security”(Dodds to Wilfred Thesiger, February 14, 1916, United Kingdom, Foreign Office).He also commented that he received daily complaints “of murder, as-