Ethiopia: Calm returns after thousands of Muslim students protest

Jimma Times

A Jimma University official told Jimma Times that the religious tension around Ethiopian universities has calmed since the protests staged the last few days. However, dozens of Ethiopian Muslim students arrested in several colleges have not appeared in court while more students have been suspended from schools this week for wearing the Islamic Hijab clothing.

The detainment of Muslim students came after police gave a strong warning to the students for organizing an unauthorized demonstration. The students complained about the delays and government bureaucracy that are common when organizations try to get official authorization. The protest in Addis Ababa by the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) opposition party supporters two weeks ago was one of the rare cases of government approval.

Since last year, Muslims have staged several unauthorized demonstrations in Ethiopia but there have been no problems due to the peaceful nature of the protests. The Muslim students shouted “Islam is Peace,” "No Hijab, no school" and “Allahu Akbar” during this week’s protests. On Friday, tens of thousands of University students held rallies nationwide in solidarity with Muslim students who were expelled from universities for wearing the Hijab.

According to sources in Ethiopia, big and small scale Muslim student demonstrations were held at Jimma University, Addis Ababa University, Kombolcha University, Gondar University, Dese University, Bahir Dar University, Tepi University, Mekele University and Haramaya University.

While some protestors also accused Ethiopian university officials of banning the Salat – the five times a day Muslim prayer – there was no evidence backing their allegation. However, Mekele University in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray was caught up in a larger controversy over restricting Muslim students’ praying rights inside the campus.

• Global Debate

The controversy over the Hijab and Niqab clothing in colleges and universities has been a global issue in recent years, with some secular and European countries taking severe political and legal steps to ban the Hijab.

France has banned all religious clothing that represent an “ostensible religious symbol” from all government-run educational institutions while Britain is proposing a ban for security reasons. Some regional states inside Germany have also banned it while the Netherlands outlawed the Muslim clothing, saying that educational necessity of eye contact and communication within the school building overrode the religious-freedom aspects.

Even in predominantly Muslim countries like Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco, the Hijab is either discouraged or banned in government institutions and some public places. The country of Turkey is likely to be a precedent for Ethiopia since both their governments are secular while the countries have a substantial Muslim population.

The dominant reasoning mentioned by people opposed to Hijab in schools and public areas is the value of face-to-face communication for learning and the obstacles in identification for fight against crime. And many governments justify banning Hijab in government institutions to protect secularism and the neutrality of the state. Supporters of the Hijab in educational institutions say banning the clothing is against religious freedom.

• History of tension

In 2008, many Ethiopian Muslims accused some Ethiopian Christians who were labeling Ethiopia as an “Island of Christianity” after the Census publication which indicated Christians make up 62% of the country’s population. 

Meanwhile, sources in Ethiopia say that some opposition groups and Muslim extremists have been trying to capitalize on the tension by spreading rumors and false information that the Ethiopian government is planning to outlaw the religion of Islam.