Ethiopia’s Muslim Christian War and Present Day Analysis

Islam was introduced to Ethiopia in 615 AD when the followers of Prophet Mohammed sought refuge in Aksum. The king of Aksum welcomed them to the country and not only respected their religion but offered them protection. The followers of Mohammed then later settled in Negash, east of Tigray, which has since become one of the most important places for the Islamic faith in Ethiopia. Because of this great kindness and respect, the Prophet Mohammed ordered his followers to not harm Ethiopians. Islam spread to the east of the country. It was mainly in the Harar region, a region which was established by the Sultan Abu Beker Mohammed in 1520 and it soon became the Holy City for the Muslims. Harar also became an important city for trade, and is famous for its Islamic architecture such as the City Walls and a centre of Muslim scholarship.

Unfortunately Prophet Mohammed’s order to not harm Ethiopians did not prevent Ahmed Gragn, a Muslim leader, from sweeping his forces across Ethiopia from Harar in the east of the country and then he and his forces threatened the complete destruction of the Ethiopian Christendom in 1528. Ahmed Gragn destroyed many churches by occupying Shewa, Gonder, Wollo and part of Tigray. At that time Lebna Dengel was the Emperor and he requested help from the Portuguese to combat Ahmed Gragn’s advancing forces. The Portuguese assistance did not arrive in time and Emperor Lebna Dengel was exiled to the Debra Damo monastery, in Tigray. Emperor Lebna Dengel died in exile and Ahmed Gragn continued his campaign of destruction of Christian churches.

In 1543, Emperor Galawdewos took the throne and defeated and with the Portuguese killed Ahmed Gragn in a Battle near Lake Tana. After the defeat of Ahmed Gragn, Galawdewos attempted to rebuild the churches that had been destroyed and restore the peace but he was unsuccessful. His failure was largely due to constant raids by Ahmed Gragn’s followers. These followers were led by Ahmed Gragn’s widow Bati Del Wambara.

In 1559, Emperor Gelawdewos marched on Harar with the aim to eradicate the constant religious sectarian violence taking place. Gelawdewos was killed in a battle and his head was paraded around the city on a stake.

Erich Marquardt wrote an article on the violence in the Middle East (published on Jamestow.Org) in which he wrote “Like many African countries, Ethiopia is impoverished and under-developed. With an ethnically diverse population numbering just over 70 million, it is also one of Africa's largest states. Despite being religiously split between Christian and Muslim, historically there has been little animosity between the two major religious factions. But because the country contains a large poor and illiterate Muslim community, it has the potential to become a prime breeding ground for Islamist militant groups. Though the potential for Muslim extremism exists, Ethiopians have largely remained exempt from the religious violence that plagues some countries on the African continent. Muslims in Ethiopia tend to identify more strongly with their ethnic and tribal roots than Islam...”