(Tuesday, July 24, 2012, KAMPALA, Uganda, The Washington Times )--Clashes between Islamic protesters and riot police over the weekend in Ethiopia
have raised fears that Muslims are becoming increasingly radical in a
predominantly Christian country that has been a key U.S. ally in
combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
Muslims on Saturday blocked police from entering the Anwar Mosque in the west of the capital, Addis Ababa, a week after a mass protest at an African Union summit in the city led to 71 arrests. Muslims accuse the government of illegally interfering in Islamic affairs by closely monitoring their activities at mosques and forcing clerics to practice Al Ahbash, an apolitical Lebanese-born sect of Islam. Ethiopia’s constitution bans government meddling in religious practices.
The government accuses agents from Saudi Arabia and neighboring Sudan and Somalia of promoting Salafism and Wahhabism, which are extremist forms of Islam. In April, four Muslims were killed after police arrested an Islamic cleric accused of preaching Salafism in the town of Asasa. A month later, the government deported two Arabs of unknown origin, saying they incited violence outside Addis Ababa’s largest mosque. Read more from The Washington Times »
Muslims on Saturday blocked police from entering the Anwar Mosque in the west of the capital, Addis Ababa, a week after a mass protest at an African Union summit in the city led to 71 arrests. Muslims accuse the government of illegally interfering in Islamic affairs by closely monitoring their activities at mosques and forcing clerics to practice Al Ahbash, an apolitical Lebanese-born sect of Islam. Ethiopia’s constitution bans government meddling in religious practices.
The government accuses agents from Saudi Arabia and neighboring Sudan and Somalia of promoting Salafism and Wahhabism, which are extremist forms of Islam. In April, four Muslims were killed after police arrested an Islamic cleric accused of preaching Salafism in the town of Asasa. A month later, the government deported two Arabs of unknown origin, saying they incited violence outside Addis Ababa’s largest mosque. Read more from The Washington Times »
No comments:
Post a Comment