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

Religion, Language, and Nat i o n a l i s m 2 2 9In addition to impressing the rest of the community with their continuedadherence to Harari customs, the students who returned to Harar weregranted “educationally commensurate positions,” though ones outside of politicallysensitive sectors. Furthermore, other Harari, for the first time, foundthemselves accepted in the Ethiopian military, and a few eventually attainedhigh rank (Mahdi 1998, 47–48). However, despite the success of some membersof this generation in gaining entry into national structures, not every t h i n gchanged for the majority of Harari.The basis of the economy for the Harari who did not pursue advanced formaleducation was basically twofold. For the majority, rent paid by Oromosharecroppers and tenant farmers made up the most important part of theirincome; for the better-off class, trade and shop-keeping boosted family incomes,sometimes considerably. However, continued government fear and distrustof Islam led to periodic harassment of Muslims; Ethiopians who did notpossess a good command of Amharic were sometimes disparaged, especially asits importance as the national language increased; and the failure of the governmentto appoint a governor from among the Harari themselves or anyother Muslim peoples generated further resentment. The Harari who couldafford to leave Harar did so increasingly, and those who could not had to adjustto the new sociopolitical and economic situation. For example, manyHarari claim that it was during the 1950s that increasing numbers of Harariwomen began working outside the home for the first time, owing to the needto supplement their families’ incomes.Harari SocietyHarari have historically been Muslim, and most Harari (in Harar, at least) havealso been and still are polyglots, speaking gey sinan and any number of otherlanguages, including Amharic, Arabic, Argobba, English, French, Italian,Oromo, and Somali. Beginning at least in 1887, however, Harari discourse beganhighlighting group differences, usually in terms of religion (for example,versus the Christian Amhara) but also sometimes in terms of the perceived sophistication,or lack thereof, of the manners or culture of members of otherethnic groups who had converted to Islam (for example, versus the MuslimOromo) (Waldron 1974, 268, 270–271; 1980, 251–252).C o n c i s e l y, Harari society is built on and organized around three social institutions.They are a f o c h a , “community organizations,” whose primary responsibilitiesare at weddings and funerals; a h l i , “family networks”; and m a r i ñ ñ e t ,which are organized friendship groups. A Harari’s involvement in afocha, ahli,and m a r i ñ ñ e t activities ties him or her into an extensive and overlapping seriesof alliances that stretch across and throughout the city, like a spiderweb, and