Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on his country’s citizens to learn Arabic, which he said he would ask to be taught in Ethiopian public schools, expressing hope that Ethiopia would enter the Arab League “because it will benefit it.”
During his meeting with leaders of Ethiopia’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the Ethiopian prime minister said that “the classification of Ethiopian Muslims as second-class citizens is outdated,” stressing that his government “considers all Ethiopians to be equal citizens in rights and duties regardless of their religion.”
He said that his government “is proceeding on its reform path as a secular government, standing at the same distance from all religions, and granting it its due right.”
Pointing out his government’s recognition of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and allowing the opening of Islamic banks as “acquired rights of the Muslim community in Ethiopia and should not be thanked for them.”
Abiy Ahmed said that “Islam honored Ethiopia, starting with the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordering his companions to migrate to Abyssinia, secondly by performing the first absent prayer for the deceased on King Negus, thirdly making um Ayman the Abyssinian incubator of the Prophet and his nanny, and fourthly that it made Bilal al-Habashi the muezzin of the Prophet.”
Abiy Ahmed added that his government “gave the Muslim community more than 120 plots of land to build mosques, but this was not done as required,” referring to the great mosque that was built in Algeria, and said that this calls for joy, adding, “O Muslims, save money, make it in the construction of mosques, and build a large mosque that talks about your number and the ancient history of Muslims.”
Abiy Ahmed called on Ethiopian Muslims to “contribute to the renaissance of society, achieve peace, stay away from religious fanaticism and overcome divisions,” and appealed to Muslim community leaders to raise awareness “to get rid of the scourge of khat consumption, because it has nothing to do with Islam or culture, and is destructive to their health and destroys money.”
Abiy Ahmed called on all Ethiopians to learn and master the Arabic language, and said that “the Arabic language digests its right in Ethiopia, and it was considered the language of Muslims only, while Christians in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine speak it,” expressing regret that Ethiopians did not learn Arabic, adding that “this was the damage” caused to us by not learning Arabic.
“Learning and teaching Arabic is a very important issue, and the best example is the Negus, who spoke Ge’ez and Arabic fluently,” the Ethiopian prime minister said, adding that he would ask the Ministry of Education to make Arabic one of the languages taught in public schools.
He also urged all Ethiopians of all religions to learn Arabic “to expand their perceptions and horizons, as it will bring many benefits to Ethiopia, and strengthen its cultural and social cohesion with the Arab world,” stressing that “what unites Ethiopia with the Arab world is more than what divides it, and that if it were not for the tectonic separation of the Red Sea, Ethiopia would have been part of the Arab world.”
The Ethiopian prime minister also expressed his hope that his country would become a member of the Arab League, saying, “If Ethiopia were a member of the Arab League, or an observer member, it could speak for itself, not for others to speak for us.”
Ahmed called on “Muslims and Christians to take this matter into account because it restricts us in introducing the other to us, and transferring our situation ourselves to others, and this raises the status of Ethiopia within the corridors of the Arab League.”
Source : Al Jazeera
