Leader in Christian-Muslim relations accused of ‘malicious' distribution.
ADDIS ABABA, September 15 (CDN) -
A
convert from Islam who has led a push for Muslim-Christian
understanding in Ethiopia has been in jail for nearly four months since
his arrest for "malicious" distribution of Bibles.
Christian
sources in Ethiopia said that, contrary to Ethiopian law, 39-year-old
Bashir Musa Ahmed has not been formally charged since his arrest on May
23 in Jijiga, capital of Somali Region Zone Five, a predominantly
Muslim area in eastern Ethiopia. Zonal police arrested him after he was
accused of providing Muslims with Somali-language Bibles bearing covers
that resemble the Quran, the sources said.
An Ethiopian national, Ahmed
is known as a bold preacher of Christianity and is credited with
opening discussion of the two faiths between Christian and Muslim
leaders. He is well-known in the area as a scholar of Islam, but his
case has gone largely unreported in Ethiopia.
A source who
requested anonymity said authorities likely are secretly planning to
transfer Ahmed from his Jijiga cell to Ghagahbur jail some 200
kilometers away near the Somali border, in part to prevent other
Christians from visiting him and in part because he has not been
charged.
The source told Compass that Ahmed's own relatives
and tribe instigated the arrest with the intent of stopping him from
spreading Christianity in the region, whose 5 million predominantly
Muslim inhabitants are mainly of Somali origin.
"The
Ethiopian constitution allows for religious tolerance," said the
source, "but to date Ahmed has not been taken to court. He is still in
the cell now, going on the fourth month, which is quite unusual for an
Ethiopian nationality and the constitutional requirements."
For
providing Bibles with cover pages resembling the Quran, Ahmed is
accused of "maliciously" distributing Bibles and trying to convert
Muslims to Christianity, although conversion and manifesting one's
faith are not illegal in Ethiopia. At issue is whether the Bibles with
covers resembling the Quran violate copyright issues and disrespect
Islam.
Christian converts in the area said the kind of Bible
that Ahmed distributed is widely available on the market in Ethiopia
and is commonly used by Somali Christians inside and outside of the
country.
Following a recent visit to Ahmed, the source said
he looked strong in faith but seemed to have lost weight and was in
need of clothes.
"I am doing fine here in prison, but it is a
bit unfortunate that some of my close friends who claimed to advocate
and serve the persecuted Christians have not come to see me," Ahmed
told the source. "I am thankful for those who have taken their time to
come and see me as well as advocate for my release."
Sources
said hostility toward those spreading faith different from Islam is a
common occurrence in Muslim dominated areas of Ethiopia and neighboring
countries. Christians are subject to harassment and intimidation, they
said, to stem a rising number of Muslim converts.
"In God's
own time I know I will be set free," Ahmed told the source. "Continue
praying for me. I know it is God's will for me to be here at this time
and moment in life."
Ethiopia's constitution, laws and
policies promote freedom of religion, but occasionally local
authorities infringe on this right, according to the U.S. Department of
State's 2008 International Religious Freedom Report. An estimated 40 to
45 percent of Ethiopia's population belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church, evangelical and Pentecostal groups make up an estimated 10
percent of the population and about 45 percent of the population is
Sunni Muslim, according to the report.
In Ethiopia's federal
state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most
of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are
Muslims.
END
