ETHIOPIA: COMBATING EXTREMISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ADDIS ABABA 000217 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2015 TAGS: PTER PGOV ET SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: COMBATING EXTREMISM REF: A. STATE 159129 ¶B. ADDIS ABABA 3984 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES A.I. VICKI HUDDLESTON. REASON: 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary and Background: Ethiopia has a long-standing tradition of religious tolerance between Christian and Islamic communities. Christian and Muslim religious leaders are quick to point out that intermingled communities attend each others weddings, births, deaths, etc., although there have been limited frictions as well. Ethiopia's population of 73 million is roughly evenly split between followers of Islam and Orthodox Christianity. Islam is most prevalent in Ethiopia's eastern and central regions of Afar, Somali, and Oromiya. The prevailing attitude among the bulk of Ethiopia's Muslim population is that "Wahabism" is "foreign," and things foreign continue to be viewed with great caution and suspicion. However, Saudi-backed NGOs have financed the construction of mosques and schools throughout the country, particularly in Oromiya region. Some Muslims have complained recently that the Government of Ethiopia has made it more difficult to construct Islamic schools or for Islamic charities to operate. A recent survey of Muslim youth groups in three key urban areas-- Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Harar-- indicate that most Ethiopian Muslim youth remain moderate in their practice of Islam. In all three cities, the majority of youth described Islam as a tolerant, moderate faith. In Addis Ababa, however, some Muslim youths stated that they view Islam as being under threat from Westerners and Christians. (Note: Those interviewed were exclusively male. End note) ¶2. (C) The Ambassador, Emboffs, and senior USG visitors routinely seek calls on Muslim leaders, along with other religious group leaders. Muslim participants are sought out for receptions, conferences, seminars, etc. Through USAID, assistance is directed toward Muslim regions, including areas in the east and west. The Embassy and other USG agencies have also sought to encourage Muslim NGO participation in programs such as HIV/AIDS. USAID support is building the capacity of the Ethiopian Muslim Development Association (EMDA) to carry out development programs. A number of grants through the Ambassador's Self-Help Fund and Democracy and Human Rights Fund have been awarded to groups in predominately Muslim areas. Through the East Africa Counter-terrorism Initiative, the USG has supported training of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and implemented civil affairs projects (inoculations, bridge and school repairs, etc.) through the Combined Joint Task Force for the Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) in predominately Muslim regions. These programs are key in changing perceptions of the USG and have countered efforts by Islamic radicals to subvert moderate Ethiopian Islam. End summary and background. PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADVOCATES MUSLIM INCLUSION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In all of its cultural and educational activities, the Public Affairs Section (PAS) is conscious of including Muslim participants. For example, in early 2005 PAS hosted sixteen screenings and discussions of films with high school and university students during Black History Month. Several Muslim schools were included in the screenings, as well as one university in the predominantly Muslim town of Adama. PAS is also actively seeking to recruit a Muslim as its educational advisor, a highly visible program which advises youth on study in the U.S. ¶4. (SBU) PAS staff have been working to strengthen relationships with Muslims in business and public service in Ethiopia. Ethiopia was recently added to the list of countries participating in the English ACCESS Microscholarships Program, a new Department of State initiative for underprivileged youth in predominantly Muslim countries around the world. This program, which was launched in November, will provide part-time English study using U.S. books and materials for approximately 80 high school students selected from Muslim communities in Addis Ababa. An advisory board composed of Muslim business and community leaders will serve to guide the program's implementation and as mentors and positive role models for scholarship recipients. ¶5. (SBU) The FY2006 Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) awarded a grant to the Bureau of Youth, Culture, and Sports of the Oromiya Regional State for the conservation and structural consolidation of a 13th century Muslim shrine, called the Sheikh Nur Hussein Shrine. On September 28, Public Affairs hosted several members of the Addis Ababa Muslim community for a luncheon. Among those who attended were Sheikh Elias Redman, Vice President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Mrs. Bedria Mohammed, head of the Muslim Women's Development Association. During a discussion about sites of religious and cultural importance to Ethiopian Muslims, Sheikh Elias revealed that the President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs is in fact a direct descendant of Sheikh Nur Hussein, a thirteenth-century Ethiopian Sufi saint, revered by thousands of Ethiopian Muslims in an annual pilgrimage to the site where he lived and taught Islam in the Bale Region. Upon learning of the AFCP grant and proposed conservation work, Sheikh Elias expressed his enthusiasm, saying that he had tried for a number of years to persuade UNESCO to consider the Sheikh Nur Hussein site for inclusion on its list of World Heritage Sites. PAS enlisted the help of the Supreme Council of Ethiopian Islamic Affairs in publicizing the AFCP project and in enlisting local community support. EMBASSY OUTREACH STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIPS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Meetings with religious leaders are included in many front office and political/economic in-country travel. An April 2005 Ambassadorial visit to the regional capital of Bahir Dar, a religiously diverse city, serves as a case in point: The Ambassador, accompanied by POL and PA staff, visited with senior members of the local community at a newly built mosque, discussing the Muslim community's development and education programs, reviewing how the U.S. mission had and can continue to work with the community, and toured the impressive new facility. During the tour, the Mosque's intense young Imam (speaking privately and in Arabic with a PA officer) expressed strong thanks for the visit; he reiterated the community's discomfort with outside ("Arab") influence, their wish to be clear that the building's construction was made possible by community and not "outside" funding, and his own wish to ensure we understood he stood firm against extremist influence, saying it was "not part of Ethiopian culture." He noted proudly that his education locally and in Sudan (and pointedly not in Saudi Arabia) as one that gave him tools to be an intellectual and religious - not a political- leader for his congregation. ¶7. (SBU) Representational events have proven another avenue of approach to influential members of the Ethiopian Muslim community. For example, Ambassador Huddleston hosted an Iftar dinner during Ramadan, which proved an excellent chance for Emboffs to engage with a broad range of Muslim religious, business, academic, cultural, and community figures including the newly installed Minister of Culture, Minister of Transport and Communication, leaders of the Islamic Supreme Council, leaders of prominent Addis Ababa mosques, and the leadership of the Muslim Women's Association. In the weeks following the event, attendees repeatedly thanked Embassy contacts for the dinner, noting that it exceeded in both scale and attention to consideration of local Muslim customs anything attempted by any other foreign presence in Addis. HELPING ETHIOPIANS IMPROVE THEIR LIVES WHILE CHANGING PERCEPTIONS -------------- ¶8. (C) CJTF-HOA, USAID, and the Embassy have all implemented programs in predominately Muslim areas. Many of these areas are both underserved by Ethiopian government institutions and are food-insecure, thus increasing the local population's vulnerability to more extreme forms of Islam. In 2005, the Embassy awarded two 2005 Democracy and Human Rights Fund grants to NGOs working in the predominately Muslim Somali region. These projects will focus on women's rights and the consequences of female genital mutilation. CJTF-HOA is working to counter terrorism and extremist activities in the region through civil affairs missions and military-to-military training. For example, CJTF-HOA recently funded renovations to a primary school in Somali region. By utilizing local contractors in the renovation project, there was a greater sense of community involvement and partnership with the USG. USAID is actively engaged in a number of development assistance and humanitarian programs that are targeted directly at Muslim communities and predominately Muslim areas. Recognizing that children in many Muslim, pastoral, and remote areas lack access to adequate education opportunities, USAID is initiating a program aimed at enhancing the quality and equity in primary education. USAID supported a radio education program for pastoralist children in the Somali language that was so successful it is now being used in Somalia. USAID is also supporting literacy training for adults in these regions through local NGOs. To improve the lives of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in Afar, Somali and Oromiya regions, USAID is implementing a $29 million pastoralist livelihoods initiative focused on livestock. Other USAID programs are designed to improving access to health and education, and enhancing traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. By directly involving and improving the lives of local communities, all of these programs have created a more positive view of the United States and are creating more stable and prosperous environments. HUDDLESTON