Islam in Ethiopia

Last updated
Islam in Ethiopia
Total population
42,362,000 (2022) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Somali (98.4%), Afar (96%), Dire Dawa (70.9%), Harari (69%), Oromia (47.5%), Benishangul-Gumuz (45.6%) [2]

Islam is the second-largest religion in Ethiopia behind Christianity, with 31.3 to 35.9 percent of the total population of around 113.5 million people professing the religion as of 2022. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Islam in Ethiopia dates back to the founding of the religion; in 615, when a group of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia via modern-day Eritrea, which was ruled by Najashi, a pious Christian king. It is agreed by Islamic scholars that Najashi gave shelter to the Muslim refugees around 615–616 at Axum. [6] [7] Bilal ibn Ribah, the first Muezzin, the person chosen to call the faithful to prayer, and one of the foremost companions of Muhammad, was born in Mecca to an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) mother.

Introduction

Distribution of Muslims in Ethiopia (2007) Muslim Demographics of Ethiopia.png
Distribution of Muslims in Ethiopia (2007)
A mosque in Jimma. Jimmamosque.jpg
A mosque in Jimma.

Islam was in 2007 the second largest religion in Ethiopia with over 33.9% of the population. [2] The faith arrived in Tigray, north of Ethiopia, at an early date, shortly before the hijira. [8] The Kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia was the first foreign country to accept Islam when it was unknown in most parts of the world. [9] The kingdom also favored its expansion and making Islam present in the country since the times of Muhammad (571–632). [9] Islam and Christianity are the two major religions and have co-existed for hundreds of years.

History

Many diverse forms of Islam are practised in Ethiopia. Muslim self-identification.jpg
Many diverse forms of Islam are practised in Ethiopia.

Muslims arrived in the Axumite Empire during the Hijarat as early disciples from Mecca, persecuted by the ruling Quraysh tribe. They were received by the Christian ruler of Axum, whom Arabic tradition has named Ashama ibn Abjar (King Armah in Ge'Ez and Amharic), and he settled them in Negash. Located in the Tigray Region. On the other hand, the principal center of Islamic culture, learning, and propagation has been Wello. The Quraysh sent emissaries to bring them back to Arabia, but the King of Axum refused their demands. The Prophet himself instructed his followers who came to the Axumite empire, to respect and protect Axum as well as live in peace with the native Christians. [10] While the city of Medina, north of Mecca, ultimately became the new home of most of the exiles from Mecca, a 7th-century cemetery excavated inside the boundaries of Negash shows the Muslim community survived their departure. [11]

The period of Fasilides (r.1632-1667) gave Muslims a good opportunity to expand their religion throughout the country. Emperor Yohannis (r.1667-1682) created a council of Muslims to establish their own quarters in Addis Alem, far from the Christians in the political commercial capital, Gondar town. [9] Muslims were able to have their own space and the population of Muslims increased because of wider urbanization.

Islam and Christianity have had their conflicts within the country, from the birth of Islam into the 16th century Christians dominated the borderlands where Islam was more prominent. This brought about the settlement of Islam to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. In the Dahlak islands, the first Muslims resided in the 8th century until the 10th century where Islam spread along the Red Sea and Islam was restricted to northern Ethiopia because Christianity was already more dominant in the rest of the country. [9] The port of Zeila allowed Islam to enter through the eastern and central parts of Ethiopia where Christianity had not reached yet. [9]

During the 19th century, Emperor Tewodros II (r.1855-1868) demanded that his Muslim subjects convert to Christianity or leave his empire. [9] Some Muslims converted due to coercion and those who didn't moved to the western parts of the Gojjam near Sudan where they continued practicing Islam. [9] Emperor Tewodros II successor, Emperor Yohannes IV (r.1872-1889) continued to coerce Muslims into converting to achieve religious uniformity by ordering them to be baptized within three years. [9]

A traditional home in Harar with a niche adorned with Islamic calligraphy. Harari Traditions (2202473839).jpg
A traditional home in Harar with a niche adorned with Islamic calligraphy.

Islam developed more rapidly in the eastern part of the Horn region, particularly among the Somali and Harari. This was challenged by the mostly Christian northern people of Abyssinia, including Amhara, Tigray and north western Oromo. However the north and northeastern expansion of the Oromo, who practiced mainstream traditional Waaqa, affected the growth of Islam in its early days. Historian Ulrich Braukamper says, "the expansion of the non-Muslim Oromo people during subsequent centuries mostly eliminated Islam in those areas." However, following the centralization of some Oromo communities, some of them adopted Islam and today constitutes over 50% of their population. [12]

In the 16th century, Muslims from the Adal Sultanate embarked on a Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash) under the command of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (referred to as Gragn Mohammed or "Mohammed the left-handed" in Amharic).[ citation needed ]

Under the former Emperor Haile Selassie, Muslim communities could bring matters of personal and family law and inheritance before Islamic courts; many did so and probably continued to do so under the revolutionary regime. However, many Muslims dealt with such matters in terms of customary law. For example, the Somali and other pastoralists tended not to follow the requirement that daughters inherit half as much property as sons, particularly when livestock was at issue. In parts of Eritrea, the tendency to treat land as the corporate property of a descent group (lineage or clan) precluded following the Islamic principle of division of property among one's heirs.[ citation needed ]

The First Hijrah

A mosque in Mekelle. ET Mekele asv2018-01 img33 Mosque.jpg
A mosque in Mekelle.

When Mohammed saw the persecution to which his followers were subjected to in Mecca, he told them to find safe haven in northern Ethiopia, Abyssinia, where they would "find a king there who does not wrong anyone." It was the first hijra (migration) in Islamic history. [13]

The persecution his followers suffered was due to polytheists who harmed the weaker Muslims and blackmailed richer Muslims, causing a severe decline in business. [14] The abuse the Muslims endured eventually led people to convert while others held their Islamic beliefs. Abdullah ibn Masud was a new convert and participated in a Muslim group where a member suggested reciting the Qur’an in Masjid al-Haram because the people of the Quraysh never heard it before. Abdullah agreed to do so and the polytheists were so amazed they pounded on him until he bled to prevent the verses from affecting them. [14]

Subsequently, because of the threats early Muslims suffered the verses from An-Nahl were revealed. According to historians, these verses were specifically sent as instructions for the migration to Abyssinia. [14] The threats by the polytheists were so harsh it prompted the Prophet to save his people and have them migrate to Abyssinia to escape the harassment making it the first migration in Islam. [14]

The fourth holiest Muslim city

Ethiopia is home to Harar. According to UNESCO, it is regarded as the fourth holy city of Islam. It has 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, as well as 102 shrines. [15] [16] The city of Harar is located in Eastern Ethiopia and got its role of being an Islamic center in the 16th century AD. [17] Harar is contained by a djugel, a wall built of local Hashi stone bonded together by mud and wood and it was able to protect the city from the invasion of the non-Muslim Oromo in 1567. [17] Harar began to develop the characteristics of an Islamic city with the Shafi‘i school in the 19th century as well as Harar serving as a conduit for the spreading of Islam in the Oromo population during an Islamization campaign under the reign of Amir Muhammad. [17]

Harar, Ethiopia ET-Harar Ethiopia (53).JPG
Harar, Ethiopia

The 82 mosques in Harar have served a religious and social function for society. Once a day men go and pray in the mosque while the women pray at home, though construction has begun to areas where women can pray as well. Mosques would also allow Islamic learning such as the interpretation of the Quran, the Arabic language, and the principles of Islam. [17]

Denominations

Sunni

Muslims in Ethiopia are predominantly Sunni. In Sunni Islam, there are four schools of thought and three of them are located in Ethiopia, the main one is held by the Shafi‘i school. [18] Roughly 98% of Ethiopian Muslims are Sunni, whilst another 2% adhere to other sects.

Shia

Shia Islam is not represented in Ethiopia compared to other denominations. [19]

Ibadism

Ibadis were allegedly seen as the most admirable Muslims to be eligible for the caliphate office and are known for being the earliest sect of Islam. [20] [21] There are about 500,000 Ibadis residing in North and East Africa as well as Oman and Tanzania. [20]

Islamic Orthodox

The Orientalist notion defined Islamic Orthodoxy "as the point of departure that consequently measured other practices and beliefs as syncretistic or pre-Islamic." [22] J. Spencer Trimingham the author of Islam in Ethiopia examined the impacts of Islam in the country and arranged his analysis by a hierarchical typology of different forms of appropriation categorized as an "orthodox system." [22] Institutions of Islamic learning in Ethiopia were maintaining an Islamic Orthodoxy within the community. [22]

Muslim land rights

Gojjam, Ethiopia Gojjam in Ethiopia (1943-1987).svg
Gojjam, Ethiopia

Muslims were one of the marginalized groups that were not allowed access to land until the 1974 revolution. [9] The revolution brought forth major changes to the socio-political and religious position of Ethiopian Muslims. In Gojjam, most Muslims did not have access to land, but had ways to get around it. [9] They could rent, buy land, or enter in a crop sharing verbal agreement with the landowner. Muslims did not have the right to own, administer, or inherit land they simply were only allowed to live as tenants. [9] If a verbal agreement was not an option, another way Muslims were able to acquire land was by clearing out unoccupied land and settling there, but only if they were able to offer some type of service to the balebat. Muslims were marginalised in Ethiopia, but particularly in Gojjam. [9]

Rise of Salafism/Wahhabism

Salafism/Wahhabism is derived from al-salaf, signifying a link back to what is known as pure and authentic Islam. [23] The main aspect of Salafism is the emphasis on the idea that there is only one God. [24] In Ethiopia, the concept of Salafism applies to the resistance of pilgrimages to local shrines, celebration of the Prophet's birthday and other practices. [24] Saudi Arabia is known for the rise of Salafism in Ethiopia, but the arrival of Salafism in Ethiopia is due to the Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. [23] Many Ethiopians were making their way to hajj when they were subsidized by the Italians and introducing Salafi teachings to the town of Harar, before spreading to other parts of the country. [23]

The Wahhabism movement began to spread in the 1990s due to the political transition in 1991 and the arrival of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). [23] The EPRDF promised a change within Ethiopia's religious groups through decentralizing the structure of ethnic federalism to enable Salafi's to raise their activities. [23] During this period, a new generation of Salafi's emerged. Salafi teachings became widespread due to organizations in Ethiopia like, World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY). the Islamic Da'wa and Knowledge Organization, and the Awolia College. [24] Besides the organizations the Salafi movement was led by Oromo scholars who were developing the Salafi ideology in Ethiopia. [24] The youth became involved in the movement and began to call people to align with the obligatory practices of Islam with strict Salafi teachings.

In January 2012 to August 2013, the city Addis Ababa was swarmed with protests by Muslim demonstrators because of the alleged government enforced al-Ahbash campaigns that they Muslims viewed it as an interference in religious affairs by the regime. [23] The protests sparked concern within the regime of what looked like “extremism,” a concept that is accredited with the Salafi movement. Within the regime, local, and international observers are claiming that Wahhabism “extremists” are wanting to gain political power to turn Ethiopia into an Islamic State. [23] Others have argued that Ethiopian Wahhabism are reluctant and opposed to getting involved in politics. [23] Due to the expansion of the Wahhabism movement it has brought up intense debates over religious symbols and rituals, intrinsic to Ethiopian Islam.

Sharia Court

All around the world, Sharia courts are designed to question and make decisions regarding Muslim law. [18] Sharia courts have existed in Ethiopia since the country accepted Islam and the influence of the religion in the coastal areas that is surrounding the country. The courts became officially recognized by the state in 1942 when the Proclamation for the Establishment of Khadis Courts was issued. [18] The Proclamation defined the authority of the courts, but was repealed in 1994 by the Khadis and Naiba Councils Proclamation, providing a three set of courts: the Supreme Court of Sharia, the High Court of Sharia and the First Instance Court of Sharia each with its own judges and necessary number of Khadis. [18] The Khadis and Naiba councils decide on any questions surrounding marriage such as divorce and guardianship of children all that must be related to Mohammedans law or all the parties are Muslim. [25] Also, the councils decide on any questions about wills or succession given that the donor or deceased was a Muslim. [25] Lastly, the courts decide on any questions regarding payments of the cost incurred by the aforementioned decisions. [25] The provisions provided by the courts made the Ethiopian Muslim courts similar to ones Sudan, Nigeria and other Africa countries where Sharia courts exist to handle the personal laws of the Muslim population. [25]

In terms of gender equality, sharia law has a different approach to tackling gender equality. Islamic law contains different ways to treat women that can be applied to courts for example, divorce, partition of property, inheritance and many more. Final decisions made by the Sharia court are treated as an exception to the constitutional standard of Article 9(1), which states “The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All laws, customary practices, and decisions made by state organs or public officials inconsistent therewith, shall be null and void.” [18] [26] It raises a question about Ethiopia's commitment to human rights because personal status laws, which are under Ethiopia's jurisdiction of sharia courts are considered an area of law which discrimination on the basis of gender is established.

Muslims in contemporary Ethiopia

A mosque in Bahir Dar. Mesita v Bahir Daru.jpg
A mosque in Bahir Dar.

Much as the rest of the Muslim world, the beliefs and practices of the Muslims in Ethiopia are essentially the same: embodied in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. There are also Sufi brotherhoods present in Ethiopia such as the Qadiriyyah order in Wello. The most important Islamic religious practices, such as the daily ritual prayers ( Salat ) and fasting (Arabic صوم, Sawm , Ethiopic ጾም, S.om or Tsom - used by Christians during their holy days as well) during the holy month of Ramadan, are observed both in urban centers as well as in rural areas, among both settled peoples and nomads. Numerous Muslims in Ethiopia perform the pilgrimage to Mecca every year.[ citation needed ]

In Ethiopia's Muslim communities, as in neighboring Sudan and Somalia, many of the faithful are associated with, but not necessarily members of any specific Sufi order. Nevertheless, formal and informal attachment to Sufi practices is widespread. The emphasis seems less on the contemplative and disciplined mysticism, and more on the concentration of the spiritual powers possessed by certain founders of the orders and the leaders of local branches. [27]

Muslims in contemporary Ethiopia have become actively engaged in challenging their political marginalization through the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. [28] They are persistent in wanting to engage with the EPRDF's basis of political legitimacy and challenging their forceful secularism that limits religion to the private domain. [28] In the context of electoral politics, Muslims have become increasingly involved in voting blocs. Their demands include expanding into Western financial institutions, consolidation with other parts of the Islamic world and the right to religious expression freely. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromo people</span> Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa

The Oromo people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population. Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 45,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wahhabism</span> Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement

Wahhabism is a reformist religious movement within Sunni Islam, based on the teachings of 18th-century Hanbali cleric Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. The movement was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and is today followed primarily in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, ḥadīth literature, and sunnah, the history of Islam, and elements of political movements outside Islam. Traditional political concepts in Islam include leadership by elected or selected successors to Muhammad, known as Caliphs in Sunnī Islam and Imams in Shīʿa Islam; the importance of following the Islamic law (sharīʿa); the duty of rulers to seek consultation (shūrā) from their subjects; and the importance of rebuking unjust rulers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salafi movement</span> Sunni Islamic reformist movement

The Salafi movement or Salafism is a revival movement within Sunni Islam, which was formed as a socio-religious movement during the late 19th century and has remained influential in the Islamic world for over a century. The name "Salafiyya" refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors", the first three generations of Muslims, who are believed to exemplify the pure form of Islam. In practice, Salafis maintain that Muslims ought to rely on the Qur'an, the Sunnah and the Ijma (consensus) of the salaf, giving these writings precedence over later religious interpretations. The Salafi movement aimed to achieve a renewal of Muslim life and had a major influence on many Muslim thinkers and movements across the Islamic world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adal Sultanate</span> 1415–1577 Muslim sultanate in the Horn of Africa

The Adal Sultanate also known as the Adal Empire, or Bar Saʿad dīn was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III on the Harar plateau in Adal after the fall of the Sultanate of Ifat. The kingdom flourished c. 1415 to 1577. At its height, the polity under Sultan Badlay controlled the territory stretching from Cape Guardafui in Somalia to the port city of Suakin in Sudan. The Adal Empire maintained a robust commercial and political relationship with the Ottoman Empire. Sultanate of Adal was alternatively known as the federation of Zeila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Somalia</span> Religion in Somalia And Somaliland

Practitioners of Islam first entered Somalia in the northwestern city of Zeila during prophet Muhammad's lifetime whereupon they built the Masjid al-Qiblatayn; as such, Islam has been a part of Somali society since the 7th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Saudi Arabia</span> State religion

Sunni Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is called the "home of Islam"; it was the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who united and ruled the Arabian Peninsula. It is the location of the cities of Mecca and Medina, where Prophet Muhammad lived and died, and are now the two holiest cities of Islam. The kingdom attracts millions of Muslim Hajj pilgrims annually, and thousands of clerics and students who come from across the Muslim world to study. The official title of the King of Saudi Arabia is "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques"—the two being Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina—which are considered the holiest in Islam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic schools and branches</span> Overview of sectarian divisions within Islam

Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or ʿaqīdah (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves there may be differences, such as different orders (tariqa) within Sufism, and within Sunnī Islam different schools of theology and jurisprudence. Groups in Islam may be numerous, or relatively small in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultanate of Ifat</span> 1275–1415 Muslim state in the Horn of Africa

The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, or the Kingdom of Zeila was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around eastern Shewa in Ifat. Led by the Walashma dynasty, the polity stretched from Zequalla to the port city of Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what are now Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashid Rida</span> Salafi reformist scholar and theologian (1865–1935)

Muhammad Rashid Rida was a prominent early Salafist Sunni Islamic scholar, reformer, theologian, and Islamic revivalist. As a Salafi scholar who called for the revival of hadith studies and a theoretician of an Islamic state, Riḍā condemned the rising currents of secularism and nationalism across the Islamic world following the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate and championed a global pan-Islamist program aimed at re-establishing an Islamic caliphate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Africa</span> Muslim religion in Africa

Islam in Africa is the continent's second most widely professed faith behind Christianity. Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from Southwest Asia, during the early 7th century CE. Almost one-third of the world's Muslim population resides in Africa. Muslims crossed current Djibouti and Somalia to seek refuge in present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia during the Hijrah ("Migration") to the Christian Kingdom of Aksum. Like the vast majority (90%) of Muslims in the world, most Muslims in Africa are also Sunni Muslims; the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the various schools of thought, traditions, and voices in many African countries. Many African ethnicities, mostly in North, West and East Africa consider Islam their Traditional religion. The practice of Islam on the continent is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic, and political conditions. Generally Islam in Africa often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems forming Africa's own orthodoxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Ethiopia</span>

Religion in Ethiopia consists of a number of faiths. Among these mainly Abrahamic religions, the most numerous is Christianity totaling at 67.3%, followed by Islam at 31.3%. There is also a longstanding but small Ethiopian Jewish community. Some adherents of the Baháʼí Faith likewise exist in a number of urban and rural areas. Additionally, there is also a substantial population of the adherents of traditional faiths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic extremism</span> Extreme or radical form of Islam

Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism or radical Islam refers a set of extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideology within Islam. These terms remain contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations to the notion that all ideologies other than Islam have failed and are inferior. Furthermore, these terms may extend to encompass other sects of Islam that do not share such extremist views.

Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge," attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality, and progress. It featured a "critical reexamination of the classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence", and a new approach to Islamic theology and Quranic exegesis (Tafsir). A contemporary definition describes it as an "effort to re-read Islam's fundamental sources—the Qur'an and the Sunna, —by placing them in their historical context, and then reinterpreting them, non-literally, in the light of the modern context."

In the context of political aspects of the religion of Islam, political quietism has been used to refer to the religiously-motivated withdrawal from political affairs or skepticism that mere mortals can establish a true Islamic government. It is the opposite of political Islam, which holds that the Islamic religion and politics are inseparable, and Muslims should be fighting to establish true Islamic government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makhzumi dynasty</span> 896–1286 Muslim kingdom in modern Ethiopia

The Makhzumi dynasty also known as Sultanate of Shewa or Shewa Sultanate, was a Muslim kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. Its capital Walale was situated in northern Hararghe in Harla country. Its territory extended possibly to some areas west of the Awash River. The port of Zeila may have influenced the kingdom. The rise of the Makhzumi state at the same time resulted in the decline of the Kingdom of Axum. Several engravings dating back to the 13th century showing the presence of the kingdom are found in Chelenqo, Bale, Harla near Dire Dawa and Munesa near Lake Langano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salafi–Sufi relations</span> Relations between two major Islamic schools of thought

Salafi–Sufi relations refer to the religious, social and political relations between Salafis and Sufis, who represent two major scholarly movements which have been influential within Sunni Muslim societies. The debates between Salafi and Sufi schools of thought dominated the Sunni world since the classical era, splitting their influence across religious communities and cultures, with each school competing for scholarly authority via official and unofficial religious institutions. The relationship between Salafism and Sufism – two movements of Islam with different interpretations of Islam – is historically diverse and reflects some of the changes and conflicts in the Muslim world today.

The Sultanate of Bale was a Somali Muslim sultanate founded in the Bale Mountains of the southern Ethiopian Highlands and Horn of Africa. It corresponds roughly to the modern Bale Zone of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia.

Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, Salafism and Wahhabism — along with other Sunni interpretations of Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies — achieved a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam."

The Gaturi, also spelled as Gatouri are an extinct ethnic group that once inhabited present-day eastern Ethiopia.

References

  1. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "2007 Ethiopian census, first draft" (PDF). Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  3. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  4. "Ethiopia", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2021-12-14, retrieved 2021-12-16
  5. "Ethiopia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency . Retrieved 24 September 2022.  (Archived 2022 edition.)
  6. M. Elfasi; Ivan Hrbek (1988). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. UNESCO. p. 560. ISBN   9789231017094.
  7. Ibn Ishāq (2004). Sīratu Rasūlillāh (tr. Alfred Guillaume). Oxford University Press. pp. 150–153.
  8. J. Spencer Trimingham. 1952. Islam in Ethiopia. Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, p. 44
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Baye, Temesgen Gebeyehu (2018-06-04). "Muslims in Ethiopia: History and identity". African Studies. 77 (3): 412–427. doi:10.1080/00020184.2018.1475634. ISSN   0002-0184. S2CID   149879228.
  10. Ofcansky, Thomas P.; LaVerle Berry (1991). "Ethiopia and the Early Islamic Period". A Country Study: Ethiopia. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress . Retrieved 2007-09-25. According to Islamic tradition, some members of Muhammad's family and some of his early converts had taken refuge with the Aksumites during the troubled years preceding the Prophet's rise to power, and Aksum was exempted from the jihad, or holy war, as a result.
  11. Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 43.
  12. Ulrich Braukamper, Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia (2003)
  13. "the first hijrah to Abyssinia". Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Migration to Abyssinia". 10 August 2016.
  15. "Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town". World Heritage List. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 6 August 2009. It is considered 'the fourth holy city' of Islam, having been founded by a holy missionary from the Arabic Peninsula.
  16. "Five new heritage sites in Africa". 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Insoll, Timothy; Zekaria, Ahmed (2019-07-29). "The Mosques of Harar: An Archaeological and Historical Study". Journal of Islamic Archaeology . 6 (1): 81–107. doi: 10.1558/jia.39522 . hdl: 10871/39031 . ISSN   2051-9710. S2CID   204480640.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Abdo, Mohammed. "Legal Pluralism Vs. Human Rights Issues: Sharia Courts and Human Rights Concerns in the Light of the Federal /constitution of Ethiopia" (PDF).
  19. "Religious Identity Among Muslims". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  20. 1 2 "Funk, Isaac Kaufman, (10 Sept. 1839–4 April 1912), author; President Funk & Wagnalls Company; Editor-in-chief of the various periodicals of Funk & Wagnalls Company; Editor-in-chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, new edition revised 1903; Chairman of Editorial Board that produced Jewish Encyclopædia", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u186193
  21. Crone, Patricia. (2005). From Kavad to al-Ghazali : religion, law, and political thought in the Near East, c. 600-c. 1100. Ashgate. ISBN   0-86078-956-X. OCLC   238685639.
  22. 1 2 3 Desplat, Patrick Østebø, Terje (2016). Muslim ethiopia : the christian legacy, identity politics, and islamic reformism. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1-349-45931-5. OCLC   959700860.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Østebø, Terje (2014-05-01). "Salafism, State-Politics, and the Question of "Extremism" in Ethiopia". Comparative Islamic Studies. 8 (1–2): 165–184. doi:10.1558/cis.v8i1-2.165. ISSN   1740-7125.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Ostebo, T. (2013-10-28). "Islam and State Relations in Ethiopia: From Containment to the Production of a "Governmental Islam"". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 81 (4): 1029–1060. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lft060. ISSN   0002-7189.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Mustafa, Zaki (1973). "The Substantive Law Applied by Muslim Courts in Ethiopia". Journal of Ethiopian Law. 9: 138.
  26. "Ethiopian Constitution". www.africa.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  27. Mekonnen, Yohannes K. (2013). Ethiopia: The Land, Its People, History and Culture. New Africa Press. p. 231. ISBN   9789987160242.
  28. 1 2 3 Feyissa, Dereje; Lawrence, Bruce B. (July 2014). "Muslims Renegotiating Marginality in Contemporary Ethiopia". The Muslim World. 104 (3): 281–305. doi:10.1111/muwo.12056. ISSN   0027-4909.

Further reading