Issue No. 182

Striking a Balance: Urban Development and Religious Coexistence in Ethiopia
 

Addis Ababa is a city in which land is deeply contested, each new development is analysed, and inter-communal relations are often polarised. The city has undergone several transformations since its establishment as the capital under Emperor Menelik II at the end of the 19th century. Italian occupation, imperial rule, communist dictatorship, and ethno-federalism have all influenced the city’s urban space and made it what it is today. The diverse, international capital and its surrounding areas hold particular importance to ethnic and religious groups, particularly Oromo, who call the city ‘Finfinne.’ Addis is a city with a deeply complex history of development. Grandiose projects have displaced the urban poor, and many communities are therefore spread within and beyond its borders. 
 
Today’s saga is little different. The latest controversy surrounds the development of the vast Sheger City, a newly formed administrative area adjoining the capital. Since March, Sheger authorities have pulled down hundreds of buildings as part of an urban renewal campaign. Displacing thousands, these clearances have proved deeply controversial, particularly among Muslims. Epecially contentious has been the demolition of several mosques, which has inflamed long-standing concerns over freedom of expression and religion. Others have also been badly impacted by the demolitions. The clearing of ‘Moon Houses’--buildings illegally constructed at night-- in the Legetfao Legedadi sub-city has been displacing thousands, with little support offered to the displaced. Jawar Mohammed, a well-known Oromo activist, has criticised such displacement in a country where millions are already in dire need of housing. 
 
In mid-May, allegations that mosques had been destroyed began to spread online. Sheger’s urban renewal was presented as discriminatory, with misleading photos of damaged mosques all over social media. Escalating alarm led to widespread protests in Addis, most notably around the city’s Grand Anuwar Mosque on Friday 26 May. Heavy-handed policing of these protests claimed the lives of at least four civilians and saw dozens more injured, inflaming tensions further still. Responses to the protests were deemed insensitive, particularly that of Somali Region President Mustafe Omer who dismissed the protests as an “isolated incident.” The Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council strongly criticised Oromia’s Communication Bureau for comments issued over the mosque clearances.
 
Oromia authorities have framed the mosque demolitions as wider redevelopment, claiming to be demolishing “illegal buildings” in a “constitutional and legal” process. But the lack of sensitivity of Sheger officials towards the Islamic community, as well as others recently displaced, speaks to a troubled history of conflict between Muslims and Ethiopian authorities.
 
Traditionally perceived as an anti-establishment religion, Islam has served as a kind of sanctuary for the Oromo in the face of Amhara nationalism and Orthodox Christianity. The 20th century scholar on Islam J.S. Trimingham, known for his infamous comment that Ethiopia is a “beleaguered [Christian] fortress in the midst of the sea of Islam,” represented the view that freedom of expression among Muslims should be repressed. Despite its standing as the second-largest religion in the country, Islam has faced marginalisation throughout Ethiopia’s history, particularly during the imperial era. There are just over 100 mosques in the capital, far fewer than the number of Orthodox churches, a legacy of repression. One powerful example of this history is the conversion of the Sheikh Bazikh Mosque into the Medanialam Church under Emperor Haile Selassie. While some lessening of repression took place under both the Derg and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Muslims still face pressure from various authorities in Ethiopia today. Post-9/11, the EPRDF particularly clamped down on what it viewed as ‘non-Ethiopian Islam’, instead promoting a specific branch of Sufi Islam known as ‘Al-Ahbash.’
 
There has been little suggestion that recent mosque demolitions are part of a wider campaign against Islam in Ethiopia’s capital. Rather, uneven development has triggered religious and cultural fault lines. Such actions have proven profoundly destabilising in the past. Indeed, the EPRDF ‘master plan,’ which promised to absorb Oromo farming land into the capital helped drive the Oromo protest movement that eventually toppled its administration.
 
President of Oromia Shemel Abdisa has attempted to soothe tensions in recent days. Meeting with Sheikh Haji Ibrahim Tuhfa, Head of the Ethiopian Islamic Supreme Affairs Council, Abdisa stated that future demolitions of religious buildings, including mosques, would be set aside. He also suggested that land could be set aside for the construction of an Islamic university in Addis. Negotiations are also ongoing between the Ethiopian Islamic Supreme Affairs Council and Oromia authorities to propose a way forward. Such conciliatory gestures should be welcomed. But much more must be done to fully realise freedom of expression for Muslims in Addis Ababa, and across the country. 
 

Progress and religious expression should not be considered mutually exclusive. Moving forward, transparent and inclusive discussions between authorities handling development and those affected by demolitions will be critical. Rather than imposing sweeping structural change with little warning, a community-oriented approach would help establish more sustainable urban development.