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

2 4 4Islam i n World Cult u r e sdeeper emotions and an underlying sense of satisfaction with the present nationalsystem. 6They explained that during Haile Selassie’s reign and that of the subsequentmilitary dictatorship, being Ethiopian meant not being permitted to enjoyan ethnic identity, or rather, being permitted only an Ethiopian nationalistone. This Ethiopian nationalist identity was then made up of speakingAmharic and prioritizing the development and well-being of the country as awhole rather than just one’s own area. It meant seeing history in terms of theentire nation and in terms of interpretations dominated by the center, a viewpointthat incorporated the periphery only as it played a positive role in centristpolicies. Although lip service was paid to other religions, being Ethiopianalso inherently meant being associated with an Orthodox Christian identity,even though much of the country was Muslim and other religions were practicedtoo.According to many Harari and other Muslims in eastern Ethiopia, beingEthiopian today means different things. Primarily, it means having the legalfreedom to acknowledge, to be proud of, and to develop local cultures andlanguages. It means being able to give ethnic identities priority over the nationalone and being able to write one’s own history with one’s own interpretation,or, as it is commonly or popularly put, to write the “truth.” It means beingable to reject the old, standard, nationalist history claim that only positive influencesradiate from the center. Even more important, being Ethiopian todaymeans having the freedom to practice religions other than Orthodox Christi a n i t y, including Islam. When I pushed Harari, Somali, and other people onthese points, I was told that in the new Ethiopia, the group identity that is prioritizedis an ethno-linguistic one. People associate this shift with freedom andwith making up for past oppression. 7 As such, many Muslims in Ethiopia todayappreciate the present central government, which implements and continuesto support these policies.Concluding RemarksE t h i o p i a ’s new political system has opened further possibilities for the country ’s diverse peoples, including large numbers of Muslims who had been sidelinedby governments in the past. As a result, the Muslims of Harar have becomemore willing to accept and support the Christian-dominated nationalgovernment. Their political awareness and involvement is considerable, andthough they have embarked upon a quest to recapture and build up theirc o m m u n i t y ’s ethnic and religious pride, they also readily emphasize that theyare nevertheless also “Ethiopian.”Government policies have succeeded for the most part in subsuming reli-