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

Religion, Language, and Nat i o n a l i s m 2 2 7Having returned to Ethiopia in 1941, Haile Selassie’s overriding concernwas to reestablish his sovereign control and to undermine British efforts to restricthis authority in what he regarded as his country and what the British regardedas occupied enemy territory and treated like a colony. He was especiallypreoccupied with regaining recognition of Ethiopia’s rights over thenorthern province of Eritrea and the southeastern province of Ogaden. Becausethose two regions were largely inhabited by Muslims, he was intent oncountering any “Islamic” opposition that might generate negative publicity forEthiopia in the Middle Eastern and Western presses. In that context, the MuslimHarari found themselves disadvantaged in seeking employment, especiallywithin government administration or the military. Similarly, they encounteredofficial resistance to their attempts to assemble publicly, pursue Islamic education,and speak Arabic at sociopolitical functions.Harari whom I interviewed in the 1990s were unanimous in believing thatHarari notables and King Menilek had signed an agreement, after the 1887Battle of C’alanqo, guaranteeing the Harari various rights, including limitedself-autonomy and complete religious freedom, in return for which Harariwould pay an annual tribute to the Christian king. In the late 1940s, it was beliefin the existence of such a document that inspired dissatisfied Harari to agitatefor the long-since-undermined rights they believed had been granted.H o w e v e r, by 1948, Kulub, the political movement formed by Harari in alliancewith an Islamic, Somali nationalist organization, had been brutally crushed,large amounts of Harari property and wealth had been confiscated, and hundredsof Harari men had been imprisoned.From a historical perspective, one highly significant result of these eventswas that the previously powerful cognitive hold of Harar town on the Hararipeople was broken. Until then, the vast majority of Harari were born and diedin the town, even though during their lifetimes they may have traveled outsideit for trade or other purposes. Illustrating the close tie between geography andidentity here is the fact that in the Harari language, the city is called g e y ( t h ecity), its inhabitants are gey usu’ (the people of the city), the culture gey ada(customs of the city), and the language itself gey sinan (tongue or language ofthe city). And hinting at the close tie between geography and religion is thefact that an Arabic name for the city is Madinat al-Awliya, or the City of Saints.Indeed, there are hundreds of saints’ shrines in Harar, some of which are eventoday the sites of regular Sufi ceremonies. It is thus significant that only in thewake of Kulub did Harari persons begin to leave their urban homeland p e rm a-n e n t l y. It was only after 1948 that relatively large numbers of Harari establishedpermanent residence and distinct communities in other Ethiopian urban centerssuch as Jijjiga, Dire Dawa, Addis Ababa, and Jimma and in regions furtherabroad such as Egypt, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia. In their diaspora, the Hararitended to seek out other Muslim regions or groups.