Marginalization of the Amharic speaking majority in cities across the Oromia region of Ethiopia

By Mikael Arage  “One of the most important reasons for the protests across the cities in Oromia regional state – reclamation of linguistic rights – is cunningly ignored by the regional as well as the federal government of Ethiopia.” Nazreth (Adama) Alemu’s grandfather was born in Nazreth. Alemu’s close friend—Tenkir—and over 60% of the natives,…

Orthodox Christians and 21st Century Arguments

By Jeff Diamant Pew Research Key takeaways about Orthodox Christians BY JEFF DIAMANT A woman lights a prayer candle at an Orthodox church in Moscow. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)                     Orthodoxy is the third-largest branch of Christianity, after Catholicism and Protestantism. Today, there are approximately 260 million Orthodox Christians in…

WHY THERE’S A STATUE OF BOB MARLEY IN ETHIOPIA?

Fun fact: the Rasta movement arose in Ethiopia, not Jamaica. By Bill Wiatrak |Houstoniamag WHEN YOU THINK OF JAMAICA, you’re likely to conjure a mental picture of Bob Marley before you think of anything else. There’s no other country in the world where one musician seems to represent the embodiment of an entire culture like Marley is to Jamaica.…

How long can Ethiopia state of emergency last?

Aljazeera A decade of development in Ethiopia, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is at risk if the country continues to ban political opposition and muzzle the media, the UN has warned. Ethiopia is now in its eighth month of emergency rule, which was imposed in October last year to crush its biggest protests…

Ge’ez and Early Islam

By NANCY JOSEPH PERSPECTIVES NEWSLETTER It’s an important language for the study of late ancient Christianity and early Islam. It’s the language of some of the earliest Judeo-Christian writings.  Its vocabulary can be found throughout the Quran.  Yet the classical language Ge’ez is little known beyond the Horn of Africa and taught at just two…

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

The disciplining of a professor raises an old philosophical question The conundrum of whether Christians and Muslims revere the same God By Erasmus, Economist EVERY so often a question that seems purely abstract and philosophical passes into the realm of hard reality where people’s lives and destinies are determined. One such conundrum is whether or not Christians…

“We Can’t Protest So We Pray”

“We Can’t Protest So We Pray”: Anguish in Amhara During Ethiopia’s State of Emergency By James Jeffrey, IPS Woman and child outside a Gonder church with crosses marked in ash on their foreheads. Credit: James Jeffrey/IPS BAHIR DAR, Apr 17 2017 (IPS) – As dawn breaks in Bahir Dar, men prepare boats beside Lake Tana to…

Ethiopia park tries to relocate settlers to protect wolves

Michael Atsbeha | AP SIMIEN MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, Ethiopia — Thousands of Ethiopian wolves once roamed much of this country’s mountainous north but their number has fallen dramatically as farmers encroach on their habitat and introduce domestic dogs that carry rabies. Only 120 wolves are estimated to remain in this national park and they are…