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

Religion, Language, and Nat i o n a l i s m 2 4 3ings from God. Regardless the motivations, since the early 1990s, there hasbeen increasing Harari observance of the post-Ramadhan fast.H i s t o r i c a l l y, I was told, mostly old people and women would fast and devoteextra time to study and prayer during the additional week of fasting. A numberof testimonies also indicated that increasing numbers of young Harari todayfast as well, because when they do so their parents permit them to go out atnight to eat and visit friends, which gives them the opportunity to have funand meet members of the opposite sex. 3 One friend, about forty years old, toldme he was fasting that year for the first time because his wife had decided todo so and he did not feel right about her fasting without him.The observation of the post-Ramadhan fast is marked by celebrationsthroughout Harar, which takes on a festival-like atmosphere, and since the1990s the celebrations have become a tourist event for non-Muslim Ethiopiansfrom the capital and elsewhere. During the final days, there are big celebrations,larger in some places than those signaling the end of Ramadhan. Thegeneral atmosphere is merry, and there are d h i k r ceremonies throughouttown. One, near the Erer Gate of the town wall, takes place during the lastthree nights of the week. It is held in a room and led by a s h a y k h , a c c o m p a n i e dby numerous people with wooden hand clappers and several drummers. Atthe sessions I attended, prayer songs—in Harari and Arabic—were led by variouspersons, and both men and women (many of whom were youngteenagers) danced, most with infectious enthusiasm. Some women had theirheads covered, and almost all jumped up and down, smiling broadly, clappingand singing loudly with the prayer leader. Most adults were chewing q a t , a leafthat produces narcotic-like effects and is often used in conjunction with religiousstudy and other activities. 4 N o t a b l y, the attendees included not only Muslimsbut also Christians, two of whom flanked the s h a y k h .Harari Identity and Ethiopian Nationalism in HararSocial scientists have often found that social or political conflict exposes underlyingissues and emotions that are otherwise difficult to discern. On May 6,1998, a border dispute erupted into war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, bothof whose central governments are dominated by Tigrinya-speaking Christians.In the immediate wake of the conflict, however, a broad base of support ralliedin Ethiopia around the central government. Surely, many observ e r sthought, smoldering resentment against Eritrea, which had attained its independencefrom Ethiopia in 1993, contributed to this support, as did more recentanger at Eritrea’s having rejected the birr, Ethiopia’s currency, so that itcould print its own money. 5 But the two sides failed to reach a peaceful settlement,and my conversations with Harari and other Ethiopians revealed much