Shagar Masjid Destruction – English

From Harari Alliance for Justice and Equality (H.A.J.E)
H.A.J.E’s Press Release:
Date: May 30, 2023

OUTRAGEOUS ACTIONS OF THE OROMIA REGIONAL GOVERNMENT IN SHEGER-CITY AGAINST MUSLIMS AND OTHERS

It is with great shock and dismay that HAJE has to recount here on the recent events that have transpired in Sheger-City, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia against Ethiopian Muslims and their places of worship. In the Sheger sub-district of the Oromia region, which is adjacent to Addis Ababa, hundreds of private Muslim properties and upwards of 23 Muslim places of worship (Musalla) were demolished by the decision of the regional administration without any regards to the welfare of the residents or the significance and long-term impact of these actions not only on the residents of Sheger City, but in fact on all Ethiopian Muslims and Muslims worldwide.  These atrocious and shameful to the extreme actions were undertaken by the regional government authorities without prior notice on the pretext that these residences and places of worship were built without the proper permits, even though many of them were receiving government managed water and electrical services for many years!  It is claimed by the authorities that these structures had to come down to fulfil the promise of the great Sheger City Mega Project, to make way for strip-malls, private residences for members of the elite and diaspora.  This is no less than yet another illegal land grab by the members of the connected Prosperity party to line their pockets for future projects.  Let us not hesitate to call a spade, a spade.

These places of worship, including upto 23 mosques and the hundreds of demolished residences were built over many years by the Muslim population of the district yet in only a few days mechanized demolition crews, without any prior notice razed these structures to the ground. When the planned demolition of the mosques started in earnest, the regional Oromia Islamic Affairs Council repeatedly asked the regional government to desist in such an action, but it was deliberately ignored and destruction continued. We have learned that some of the mosques were destroyed while worshippers were still inside praying. Other mosque properties including thousand books of the holy of Quran were destroyed with wanton disregard for the followers of Islam. This was all done under the pretext that the mosques were built without permit. Following the destruction of these mosques, large crowds of Muslims held demonstrations at Anwar Mosque, the preeminent place of worship situated in the heart of the commercial district to Addis Ababa, and the largest mosque in the country.  But sadly, these protesters were met with live bullets, and so far, three individuals have lost their lives as a result.

There were so many atrocious and hard-to-believe events that happened in Ethiopia in the last five decades that it comes as no surprise to continue to hear and expect the worst. Both the regional Oromia Islamic Council and The Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC) took a firm stand on the events of recent weeks and have in no uncertain terms expressed how to right the wrongs unleashed on Muslim Ethiopians. We, the Harari Alliance for Justice and Equality (HAJE) strongly support the stands taken by the EIASC on the current atrocities and demand that the Federal Government should take control of the situation and bring an immediate resolution to the matter by taking the following steps.

1.​The Federal Government should immediately allocate funds and rebuild the demolished mosques as soon as possible. At present, Ethiopia is facing myriad of problems and the government should not watch idly while new and avoidable problems emerge.  Anger is over-flowing within the Ethiopian Islamic community and immediate remedies have to be taken to bring this under control. The government should be careful not to disregard the feelings of Muslims which comprise more than half population of the nation.

2.​The Federal government should pay proper compensation to the families of the Muslims who died in the protest against this injustice, and immediately release any imprisoned as a result of demonstrating based on standing for their religious rights and freedoms.

3.​The Federal government should take strong steps to uphold the spirit and the letter of the Ethiopian Constitution by guaranteeing the rights of its citizens to live in peace and exercise their equal rights, including their rights to gather and worship.  There are documented reports of as many as 1500 female students being dismissed from a single public school for wearing a hijab (a head-scarf that is an obligation of the faith) in the Gurage zone.  This over-reach by the authorities, and PUBLIC schools has to halt immediately and transgressors have to be accountable under the law.

4.​Sheger district residents have spent many years of labor to accumulate the funds to build their houses that were demolished in the last several weeks and were left homeless. Even though the excuses that are given by the Oromia regional government is that the residents did not get permit to do so, many of the properties have the proper permit from the authorities to do so. Therefore, we demand that the Federal government should take the lead and properly compensate and rebuild their houses and cover other expenses to to compensate the injustice they suffered.

5.​The injustices inflicted upon Ethiopian Muslims whose number is more than half of 110 million of the total population of the nation is too many to list here. The main purpose of the establishment of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council by decree is to uphold and protect the rights of the Muslim population and that of Ethiopians as a whole. Injustices inflicted upon anyone, regardless of nationality or religion is a harm done to all. In what has unfolded in the Sheger district, the repeated request of both the Oromia Islamic Council and EIASC were ignored by the regional administration.  Any government action that affects the lives of so many Muslims should have proper consultation and close working relationship with EIASC. But to the contrary, the government treats EIASC as a rubber stamp entity to do its bidding. HAJE demands that EIASC should be allowed to function and carry out its duties in accordance to the rules as stipulated by the constitution.

In these trying times, HAJE calls upon all Ethiopians to stand together and fight and challenge the injustices inflicted upon Ethiopian Muslims. We ask Ethiopian Muslims to pull their efforts together and speak as one voice to right this wrong and fight for their faith and identity.

Harari Alliance for Justice and Equality (H.A.J.E)
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