Ethiopia reflects on its unique place in the Islamic word
In Addis Ababa, turnout at mosques was so high that main streets had to be closed to make way for worshippers
By Addis Getachew
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan was welcomed with great spiritual and religious zeal in Ethiopia.
In the capital, Addis Ababa, the turnout at mosques was so high that main streets had to be closed to make way for the worshippers.
“Ethiopia has a prominent place in the religion both of Islam, Christianity and Judaism,” Assistant Professor Mohammed Zekeriya told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.
Zekeriya works as a special adviser at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University.
“The Qur'an and Hadith form the basis of Islam, and in both Ethiopia has been mentioned as a place of justice and refuge,” he said. “The first person who chanted the first takbeer (chanting "Allah is the Greatest") in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, was Bilal, an Ethiopian.”
Zekeriya said that this attested to the close people-to-people relations that existed between Ethiopia and the Middle East.
“The Ethiopian King was hospitable to the first Muslim refugees who went to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) upon the order of the Prophet Mohammed,” he said.
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