The%20Church%20as%20a%20victim%20of%20religion-based%20violence%20and%20a%20mediator%20in%20conflict%20resolution:%20The%20case%20of%20the%20Ethiopian%20Evangelical%20Church%20Mekane%20Yesus - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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The%20Church%20as%20a%20victim%20of%20religion-based%20violence%20and%20a%20mediator%20in%20conflict%20resolution:%20The%20case%20of%20the%20Ethiopian%20Evangelical%20Church%20Mekane%20Yesus

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Title: The%20Church%20as%20a%20victim%20of%20religion-based%20violence%20and%20a%20mediator%20in%20conflict%20resolution:%20The%20case%20of%20the%20Ethiopian%20Evangelical%20Church%20Mekane%20Yesus


1
The Church as a victim of religion-based violence
and a mediator in conflict resolution The case
of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus
  • Presented on EED Alumni Conference,
    Stellenbosch, SA
  • By Sebilu Bodja

2
Facts about Ethiopia
  • Population- 74 million
  • Size- 1.12 mill. Sq. Kms (three times the size of
    Germany)
  • More than 80 ethnic groups and languages
  • Federal form of government (9 regions, 2
    chartered Federal cities)
  • Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and
    employs about 85 of the population
  • More than 50 of the population living below
    poverty line (1/day/person)

3
Introduction
  • Three major faith groups dominate the
    religious landscape of Ethiopia.
  • Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) 44
  • Muslims 33.9
  • Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians 18.2
  • Historical records show that Christianity was
    introduced to Ethiopia in the early 4th century.
    EOC has the majority of its adherents in the
    Northern and North central part of the country
  • Ethiopia is said to have been first exposed to
    Islam when Muslims persecuted in Saudi Arabia
    crossed the Red Sea and sought a refuge in the
    North Eastern part of the country and were
    favorably accepted by the Habesha King, Nejashi,
    who was not a Muslim himself.

4
Introduction -2
  • Protestantism was brought to Ethiopia principally
    through missionary activities of Germans, Swedes
    and Norwegians in late 19th century
  • Ethiopia prouds itself for religious tolerance
    and no major cases of religion-based violence
    have been witnessed in recent history
  • Violent clashes have been observed in recent
    years in some pockets of the country

5
The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus
(EECMY)
  • It is a Lutheran Church founded by Hermannesburg
    Mission of Germany and the Church of Sweden
    before 110 years.
  • It became a national, indigenous Church
    officially registered by the government in 1959.
  • It had 20,000 members in 1959
  • Today the Church has presence in all regions of
    the country and has more than 5 million members
  • It is the fastest growing Lutheran Church in
    Africa

6
  • Thank you!

7
Problem statement
  • Inter-religious relations are affected by a
    number of factors. Among others, the following
    are few to mention
  • a. Legacy of past relations
  • b. Numerical proportion of faith groups
  • c. Legal frameworks governing religious groups
  • d. Global and national religious developments
    related to local relationships
  • Despite a good history of tolerance and
    co-existence, violent forms of religious
    conflicts have been observed involving Muslims
    and Christians.

8
Problem statement -2
  • The EECMY suffered losses in the recent violence
    that took place in the South western part of the
    country in 2006.
  • It was a major actor in the mediation process in
    the aftermath of the conflict. The study tried to
    see to these roles of the Church and sought to
    answer of the following questions
  • How did the church handle these conflicting
    roles?
  • What were the outcomes?
  • And how did it affect current inter-religious
    relations?

9
Methodology
  • Both primary and secondary sources were used
  • Primary- Interview with individuals with
    first-hand accounts of the conflict
  • Secondary reports by national and international
    bodies working on religious issues

10
Conflict areas covered by the study
  • Two areas in the South Western part of the
    country Jimma and Illuababora zones of the
    Oromia National Regional State.
  • These are predominantly Muslim areas with a
    sizable EOC believers in urban areas. Evangelical
    protestants are a growing minority.
  • The EECMY has a large presence in the area
    through its diverse social, development and
    spiritual progams

11
Religious freedom in retrospect
  • The EOC remained a privileged faith group in many
    respects in the past. Ethiopian kings made it a
    state religion and in some instances received
    direct budgetary support
  • Muslims were not given as much space as the EOC
    but were not discriminated against.
  • As relatively new entrants to in the religious
    landscape, protestants were largely marginalized
    and suffered serious human rights abuses
  • After the overthrow of the communist regime, the
    new Ethiopian constitution clearly stipulated
    freedom of religion

12
Religious freedom in retrospect -2
  • The constitution clearly separated state and
    religion and presented the Ethiopian state as a
    secular one
  • All religious groups were treated before the law
    equally
  • However, the legacy of the past has tremendous
    influence in the way different religious groups
    exercise their constitutional right

13
Inter-faith relations in the study areas
  • A number of factors come into play to affect
    inter-faith relations.
  • No single factor is solely responsible for
    shaping religious relations
  • For the purpose of this study, the following
    factors are considered
  • Global factors
  • - War on terror- and invasion of Afghanistan
    and
  • Iraq
  • - Perception in local communities that war on
  • terror is a covert war on Islam
  • - Middle east conflict

14
Inter-faith relations in the study areas -2
  • b. National and local factors
  • - changes in the religious demography
  • - Diminishing influence of the EOCs legacy
  • -Religious freedom and competition for converts

15
Circumstances leading up to the conflict
  • Sectarianism among Muslims
  • - The proliferation of Muslim missionaries from
    Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, etc. and the
    divide long sects
  • Wahhabi movement the teaching is rooted in Saudi
    Arabia and imposes strict laws on dressing,
    appearance and other forms of lifestyles.
  • Kawarija movement it is an ultra-fundamental
    teaching originated from Pakistan. The adherents
    of the sect seek to work underground, committed
    to studying the Quoran, envision the entire
    Islamization of Ethiopia, consider all
    non-Muslims as infidel and forbid the payment of
    taxes to a secular government.

16
Circumstances leading up to the conflict -2
  • 2. Weakening legacy of the EOCs influence
  • - As thee areas are predominantly Muslim, the
    new religious freedom and autonomy brought with
    it a big challenge for minority religious groups
    to maintain their historical advantages.

17
Causes and dimensions of the conflict
  • The conflict started as a simple fight between
    individuals on the eve of a Christian Holiday.
    The local Muslims demanded that the ceremony
    place should be changed because it is near the
    Mosque.
  • The fight began in a village and in a short
    period of time covered many villages across
    districts.

18
Causes and dimensions of the conflict
  • The violence involved
  • a. burning down Church buildings and properties
    and immediately converting them into mosques.
  • b. forcing Christians to immediately renounce
    their faith and convert to Islam
  • c. beheading of Christians who refused to convert
    to Islam
  • d. burning down houses and properties belonging
    to Christians a case that occasionally involved
    Muslims who were targeted by Christians also.
  • e. retaliating Muslims who converted to
    Christianity

19
The role of the Church during after the conflict
  1. Emergency assistance
  2. Urging the government to intervene
  3. Organizing peace conferences
  4. Training of trainers

20
Outcomes of the Churchs efforts
  • EECMYs relationship with the EOC and mainstream
    Muslim leaders improved.
  • Government-Church relations have improved.
  • As a result of the successive peace conferences
    and trainings, tolerance and co-existence are
    taking roots.
  • Faith groups have developed a shared interest to
    cooperate in the area of poverty reduction and
    sustainable development.

21
Conclusions
  • The Church deliberately avoided to capitalize on
    its loss. It presented itself as a mediator
  • Its holistic interventions positioned it to have
    a leverage that would be impossible given the
    numerical disadvantage
  • It is premature to say that the approach the
    church used can be modeled and replicated
  • Bringing fundamental elements of the Islamic
    sects on board remains the big task.
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