Meles upsets the Muslims

The Indian Ocean Newsletter N°1332 12/05/2012

The Prime Minister is upsetting a large number of Muslims through the excesses of his campaign against Wahhabism.

There is a risk of strong tension throughout the country as worshipers leave the mosques on 11 May. There could be demonstrations, comparable with the one in Addis Ababa on 4 May which gathered a crowd of several thousand.

This movement is protesting against the government's Ahbashism campaign that uses Lebanese Muslim clerics to fight against Ethiopian preachers considered too close to Wahhabism (ION 1329). However, these reactions were fuelled by the brutal repression, resulting in deaths, of other demonstrations last week in the town of Assasa.

The government, for its part, is arguing that it is only campaigning against preachers who have links to the al Qaeda terrorist movement. On 4 May it expelled two of them from Arab countries who were allegedly calling for jihad in front of the Anwar grand mosque in Addis Ababa.

Many Muslims place little credence on this story, which is too convenient for the government, looking much as if it has been devised specifically to confirm the administration's line. In the run up to May 11, the State media portrayed future demonstrations as actions manipulated by the opposition.

Meles Zenawi takes on Wahhabism

The Indian Ocean Newsletter Nº1329 - 24/03/2012

With the active support of the Minister for Federal Affairs, Shiferaw Teklemariam, the Ethiopian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (or Majlis) has launched an ideological attack on the spread of Wahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Islam based on the Saudi model, among Ethiopian Muslims. (...) [188 words] [€5]

But Ala Moudi is a friend of TPLF, he is the one financing them in many projects while TPLF is shipping the money out of the country. Given the amount of investment he has in Ethiopia, Ala Moudi is giving them the stamp of approval for TPLF to operate as they like, if it means closing down a few Mosques, so be it. Besides Ala Moudi, Saudi Arabia where whabism is the state religion, they buy lands in Ethiopia. As a matter of fact they were able to transport several thousand ton of wheat while USAID imported the same amount to Ethiopia. Saudi Arabia fills their whear quota from Ethiopia while Ethiopia fills the quota from USAID and other generous donors.

I agree with YeSat-Nebelbal . The EPDRF Government and officials are doing what we call “a cat and rat games”, which open-closed movements to different directions, but with two aims and one direction”. Is the government with the religious and community tolerance and dialogue or against that? The Wahhabism is from Saudi Arabia, while “Al-Ahbaash” “like Al-Shabaab” is from Lebanon and they come with ERDF socialists like Meles.

Meles government says “we are against the Wahhabism, but have a good relationship with Saudi Arabia and Al-Amudi”. If so, this is a clear lay and Woyane game, and their agenda is to kill many Muslims by using this political tool, especially in Amhara and Oromiya Muslims. The game started many years ago, and Woyane will use this grubby political tool against the Ethiopian Christians and there were cases in Jijiga last years, were Woyane arrested Ethiopian Christians and accused them they are Wahhabism.

Ethiopia was not place for devils and religious fighters, but EPRDF is bringing more Al-Ahbaash” and “Al-Shabaab” fighters to disturb the regional peace and integration efforts. People should aware the Woyane games.