BY DAWIT FANTA

The Germans have a proverb “Erst denken, dann lenken” which means “First think, then Steer” or equivalently to say: “Look before you leap”.

Particularly it sounds great for those at the calibre of governance. A government with myopic insight and negligent approach will leave a nation into cataclysmic disintegration.

Look, some 15 years ago many concerned Ethiopians were urging the Zenawi administration to take action since Islam was transforming into a Political Islam in Ethiopia by the influence of external interest groups. But the response was just silence, if not to call them CHAUVINIST. From then on, by the money of Saudi Arabia and by the ideology of Political Islam called “Wahabiya” they were flourishing from the grass root level which is unlike the Iranian approach which was from top-to-bottom. Mosques were booming here and there which are irrationally excessive, i.e. for example in the capital Addis Ababa Muslims represent 13.4% of the total population but they have built 160 Major Mosques and more than 75 Quran School but there are only 114 churches for 86.4% population of Christians. Besides, whenever they denied some public places for Mosque, they simply erect a minaret on the roof of someone house and then claim it as a Mosque and such number is countless. Secondly, an Islamic Printing House called Nejashi Printing House which has a close relationship with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in1928 by Hassan Al-Banna and expanded by his successor Dr. Ramadan Seid who played a major role in building the historical Mosque in Munich, Germany) is still presenting provocative and militant tabloids, magazines and audio and visual records which seriously endanger tolerance among the society; for example every Friday there are tabloids called Al-Kudus and Selefia which have no any theological thoughts rather they are filled with their militancy lectures by praising fundamentalism. Thirdly, in every pocket of the city a militant-hatching Taekwondo Training Centres are managed by those organized underground groups in order to spawn a quasi-military force. But during all this progression what measures did the Zenawi regime take? Nothing!!!! After the time is run the Zenawi regime is blindly and desperately putting its effort to neutralize Political Islam by imposing a strange thought called Ahbash by force and by appealing Islamophobia Psyche on the Christians. I don’t think such absurd strategy could work any longer; because from the severity of the fundamentalist idea and their support from neighbourhood and Middle East countries, neutralization could not be workable. It is out of time to bring a full package solution by imposing a counter balance ideology and by abusing the Christians by appealing to fear and panic; rather it will clearly disturb the trend of tolerance between the two classes and leave them to see each other into doubt. The solution was to nip it in the bud at its infancy 15 years ago. However, due to the negligent and irresponsible administration of Zenawi, our country is facing a new challenge called Political Islam in addition to Ethnic Conflict, Poverty, Famine, Dictatorship, Political partiality and Corruption. And this is a clear indication how the Zenawi regime is passive to tackle threats in advance and how it is myopic in terms of the future of the nation.

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