Africa Today - Ethiopia's marginalized Muslims




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All over Africa governments are considering how to respond to the security threat posed by Al-Shabaab and other Al Qaeda-affiliated organizations.But is Ethiopia using this as an excuse to crackdown on its significant Muslim minority, which has been protesting against alleged government oppression for the last two years. In one of the most violent incidents several people were killed with hundreds more tear-gassed and arrested by police on August 8th, the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The people have been demonstrating against the government's attempt to influence last year's Islamic Council elections, and its policy of promoting a liberal, officially approved form of Islam called al-Abhash. The movement has been intimidated since the crackdown, but Islamic leaders say they still have three key demands: for the government to stop meddling with religious affairs; the right to elect the members of the High Islamic Council; and for their leaders, who have been jailed for over a year under "trumped-up" charges, to be released.

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