Bekalu Atnafu Taye

Islamic Fundamentalism in East Africa: Ethiopia in Focus Bekalu Atnafu Taye

Attached with the political turmoil, Islamic fundamentalism is a global concern; owing to this, the rising tide of the fundamentalist movement came into East Africa. Christianity and Islam have peacefully co-existed in Ethiopia for centuries but nowadays the relationship has been vinegary particularly in those areas where the conflict broke out. Over the years, there have been religious disputes in Jimma, Bale-Robe and Kemmise. Due to the conflict, Christians were killed and persecuted; they were either expelled or converted forcibly to Islam. This study has tried to see the prevalence of this conflict, its causes and major players of the conflict. It is also the purposes of the study to look into the role of religious and local government officials and the current Muslim-Christian relationships. In this regard, this book is an insightful and provocative work. It is the first stimulating research work published in the area of Islamic fundamentalism in Ethiopia. The meticulously researched, skillfully narrated research account offers a nuanced look at the movement of Islamic fundamentalism in Ethiopia.