The
ISIS Factor: What Islamic Jihad Means for Ethiopia
and the Rest of Africa
IDEA
Viewpoint
Ghelawdewos
Araia, PhD
September
20, 2014
ISIS
is the latest mystique obscurity of the Islamic
Jihad variety, but Jihad is not novice to Ethiopia
and/or the rest of Africa. The acronym ISIS
actually should read ISIL meaning Islamic State in
Iraq and the Levant (the geographic area that
includes Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Syria, and parts of
Turkey). The geopolitics of ISIS, though
conceptual rather than actual, includes the entire
Middle East, all Horn of Africa countries, all
North African countries, some African countries,
Spain, and countries like Indonesia in South East
Asia.
The
new ISIL Jihad extremists who gained momentum in
destabilized Syria and Iraq have preferred to use
the name ISIS, perhaps inadvertently or by design,
in order to have a catchy name that corresponds to
the ancient Egyptian goddess, Isis (Aset).
Before
I delve into the main message of this essay, it is
imperative that I clarify the meaning and original
intent of Islamic Jihad. After all, what does
Jihad mean? The etymology of Jihad is somewhat
obscure and there is no general consensus on the
definition and meaning of Jihad. If one
investigates the concept of Jihad chronologically,
however, the term conjures up with “struggle”
and with two diametrically opposite meanings: 1)
struggle or resistance from within in an effort to
cleanse oneself and this could correspond to
prayer, meditation, introspection, and altruistic
conduct as preached and practiced by selfless
members of all major organized religions; 2)
struggle with the use and extensive employment of
the sword and hence violence against the infidels
(non-believers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike).
In
either two definitions, the individual person
engaged in such a ritual is known as a Mujahid and
a group of persons engaged in such kind of
struggle are known as Mujahideen. The latter
group, do not necessarily observe or practice the
first definition of Jihad, which is also
alternatively expressed as al Jihad fil sabil
Allah (struggle in the manner of God). On the
contrary, contemporary Jihadists are best fitting
to our second definition of Jihad.
Although
Jihadists like ISIS are the most nascent violent
Jihadists, the Jihad that they preach and promote
had been prevalent for centuries and we can
substantiate our claim by anecdotal examples. The
early Jihadist that came from Arabia around 639
AD, for instance, conquered Egypt by the extensive
use of the sword and by subduing the indigenous
Africans. By 708 AD, they have reached Morocco and
by then they have practically taken over the
entire Northern Africa. By this time, however,
instead of employing incessant violence, they have
opted to peacefully settle among Africans (mainly
the indigenous Berbers), intermarried with the
latter and subsequently forged a hybrid of
cultures known as Afro-Arab (or Afro-Asiatic as
per some linguists), and ever since they were
known as Moors in the annals of history. It is
these Moors, organized under the leadership of
General Tarik (12, 000 of them armed with swords),
who would cross the Gibraltar and overrun Spain in
711 AD.
Initially
the Moors have violently crushed the Spaniards,
but once they managed to consolidate and
peacefully govern Spain, they completely
transformed it by introducing agronomy, the
sciences, mathematics, and medicine, not to
mention the fine Islamic art and architecture. As
a result, Moorish Spain (711-1492) enjoyed a
spectacular civilization in the midst of Dark Ages
in the entire of Europe.
By
contrast, the Jihadists, led by Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim
Al-Ghazi (popularly known as Ahmed Graň),
were extremely destructive and brought
unparalleled havoc and destabilization to the
larger Ethiopian society in the middle of the
sixteenth century. They burned and rose to the
ground hundreds of Ethiopian Orthodox Christian
churches; forced Christian Ethiopians to convert
into Islam, and massacred those who refused to
embrace their religion.
The
two Ethiopian leaders who would be compelled to
encounter the 16th century Jihad were
Emperor Libne Dingil and his son Emperor
Galawdewos. Ahmed Graň, the leader of the
Jihadists in Ethiopia, had a distinct advantage of
muskets provided by the Ottoman Turks. The
Ethiopian combatants, armed with spears and
shields, as well as Shotel (Ethiopian sword
manufactured by Ethiopian cottage industries),
were no match to Graň’s fighting forces
armed with guns. It is for this apparent reason
that Libne Dingil was forced to retreat in the
face of gun-carrying Jihadists. On top of this,
Jihadists from Arabia joined the Jihadists in
Ethiopia, most of whom were extracts from the
Somalia and Adal area.
Finally,
after much destruction, Ethiopians reorganized
themselves under the leadership of Emperor
Galawdewos – this time armed with guns granted
by the Portuguese – and counter attacked and
defeated the Jihadists by first killing Ahmed Graň,
and then pursued them all the way to where they
came from. Unfortunately, in spite of the advice
extended to him by his counsel not to continue the
skirmish with the Jihadists who were in disarray,
Galawdewos made a fatal decision to go to Harar
and fight the Graň remnant forces on their
turf. He was struck and beheaded there on
Ethiopian Good Friday. But, his brave soldiers
managed to successfully recover his head and body
and they carried it to the highlands in order to
give him the homage and respect he deserves.
Three
centuries and three decades after the martyrdom of
King Galawdewos, another great Ethiopian leader by
the name Emperor Yohannes would be the target of
the Sudanese Dervish Mahdist Jihadists. It should
be known that the Dervish were first led by
Mohammed Ahmed, who claimed his own version of
Jihad by assuming the prefix of ‘Mahdi’ (the
Guided One). As his title suggests, thus, he would
declare war on Ethiopia and his successor Khalifa
would exhibit insolence against Ethiopians and to
the extent of even extending overweening warning
to Christian Ethiopians and their king to convert
to Islam or else would be the victims of the
sword.
When
the Dervish Jihadists came to wage war on
Ethiopians in March 1889, the forces that led the
way, as scouts were Ethiopian Muslims who had
sought sanctuary in Sudan. The Battle of Metema
ensued, but despite the initial victory of the
Ethiopians, a bullet struck Emperor Yohannes.
Wounded and bleeding, he was taken to a relatively
safe place and had at least enough time to express
his will before his last breath. The Mahdist
forces, emboldened by the retreating Ethiopian
army, managed to get hold of the Emperor’s body
and severed his head in order to demonstrate their
Jihad ritual of victory.
Ethiopia,
thus, have had encountered several Jihad
encounters and wars in its past history but it is
still important to study the current Jihadists,
rallied around the Wahabi denomination of Islam
that consolidated in the Arabian Peninsula in the
18th century. The Wahabi sect served as
the flagship to modern Jihadists, not only in the
Middle East but elsewhere in the world where
genuine Islam is hijacked by terrorists Muslims
like the ISIS group that we have discussed in the
context of our second definition of Jihad.
However, the latter should not be confused with
the nationalist Jihad movements aimed at deterring
and defeating colonial forces.
Nationalist
Jihad movements in Africa are best exemplified by
the Algerian resistance, led by Abd al Qadir,
against the French in 1832-1847; the Samori Ture-led
resistance against the French in 1882-1889 in the
Guinea-Futta Jallon area of West Africa; the
Somali Dervish resistance, led by Said Mohammed
Abdullah (the British called him “Mad
Mullah”), against the British and Italians
between 1896 and 1920; and the Sanusi resistance
in Libya against the Italian colonial forces in
1912. To some extent, the Fulani Wars of 1804-1810
and the Al Hajj Umar
(aka El Hadj Umar Tall; Senegalese and
founder of the Tukulor Empire 1852-1864) Jihad
wars could fit into the nationalist Jihad
movements, but these latter two Jihads were
directed against Muslim Africans due to contest of
power and struggle for hegemony in their
respective areas.
The
current Jihad, unlike the nationalist Jihads, and
contrary to Prophet Mohammed’s appeal “not to
kill women and children”, have been engaged in
indiscriminate killings of “infidels”,
including Moslems considered to be “impure”.
This portends to omen anticipating destructive
political culture perpetrated by prominent Jihad
leaders such as Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, credited for
being the father of the new global Jihad. The
Palestinian Azzam masterminded organized Jihad
against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and
he targeted countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,
Bosnia, Somalia, and Eritrea as potential
springboards for Jihad. Azzam’s agenda of Jihad,
thus, would assume a global dimension
characterized by guerrilla warfare against regimes
in power and terrorizing the general public.
Following
Azzam’s global Jihad agenda, thus, the Somali Al
Shabab Jihadists, would attack Tanzania, Kenya,
Uganda, and Ethiopia, and also its own Somalia
that had already committed suicide long before Al
Shabab came into being. By the same token, the
Boko Haram of Nigeria, known for its notoriety of
kidnapping young girls, is geared to destabilizing
Nigeria and attacking neighboring Niger, Cameroon
and Mali. In 2009, the Nigerian Government
launched a military attack against Boko Haram, in
which the leader of the Jihadists, Mohammed Yusuf,
was killed and the rest of the criminal gangs fled
to neighboring countries. But soon after, they
regrouped and reorganized themselves in such a way
to have become a formidable challenge to the
Nigerian Government in the North Eastern part of
the country.
In
Ethiopia, the Jihadists were unable to gain a
foothold from which they could operate and launch
their attacks, and as a result they were unable to
gain momentum. However, in isolated incidents and
locale, they managed to terrorize and kill
innocent Ethiopians. Two decades ago, unknown
militant Islamists in the Arsi area of southern
Ethiopia slaughtered priests of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church. Some priests who escaped the
massacre testified then, “they have never seen
those Muslims before and they had no quarrel with
their neighbor Muslims whatsoever.” In 2011, in
remote South Western Ethiopia, especially in the
Asendabo and Besheno areas, the Jihadist
terrorized the people and burned close to fifty
churches; in 2013, Shiek Nur Imam was murdered in
Wollo by unknown gunman (gunmen); also in 2013, an
attempt was made by other Jihadists (or they could
be the same group responsible for other atrocities
carried out in the name of Jihad) to explode a
bomb in the Addis Ababa stadium when Ethiopia and
Nigeria soccer teams were ready to play and when
the stadium was filled to capacity. This attempt
was foiled in large measure due to high alert of
the Ethiopian intelligence service; and recently,
Ambo, a city in west Ethiopia, witnessed its
businesses wantonly destroyed by unknown
terrorists and as a result, several people,
including students, were killed.
While
the Ethiopian Government managed to get hold and
apprehend the Jihadists associated with the
Stadium incident, the Ambo predicament remains a
mystery, because, to this day, the perpetrators
are unknown and unaccounted for their criminal
acts.
One
other Jihadist Ethiopian group that should be
followed closely with eyes wide open on the part
of the people and the Ethiopian Government is the
Oromo Islamic Liberation Front. This front is
minuscule by all measure and has no support from
other Oromo political groupings, but it could be a
potential rallying cry for fanatic Wuhabists, who,
in turn, could cause damage to the larger
Ethiopian society if underestimated and ignored.
Another group within Ethiopia that should be under
the radar and constantly watched is the Salafi
Muslim group that was engaged in creating
unnecessary nuisance and disturbance in the Addis
Ababa Merkato Mosque. They deliberately provoked
members of the Mosque by a bizarre demand of using
the facility of the Mosque for their own Salafi
agenda instead of finding a mosque of their own.
That may sound like an insignificant problem if
one views the infantile conduct of the Salafi
group. What is important to know is, in order to
promote true Islam, the Salafi version of Islam
advocates the use of the sword and violence. That
is why Salafis should be followed and their
activities scrutinized.
The
ISIS factor should not be underestimated either.
Nevertheless, ISIS is not as formidable as some
media outlets portray it. As indicated at the
beginning of this essay, ISIS is the newest
version of the global Jihad organizations and
movements, but it has emerged as relatively strong
and destructive force in Syria and extended its
tentacles into Iraq only because the two states
were weakened by continuous civil wars, unrest,
and fratricidal politics. ISIS established itself
in the weakest link of the Middle East, so to
speak. By the same token, the Al Shabab that
became the unchallenged Jihad force in the wake of
fragile and fragmented Somalia, is now weak and in
disarray (if not vanishing from the Somalia
horizon) thanks to the involvement of African
Union (AU) forces, as well as Ugandan, Kenyan, and
Ethiopian contingents whose mission is to
reinforce the AU mission against Jihad forces and
also stabilize the Mogadishu-confined Government
of Somalia.
If
States are strong and the people exhibit
determination and resolve, Jihadists could easily
turn into paper tigers. A strong state and
decisive people can defeat all kinds of terror
unleashed by the Jihadists. The current coalition
of some Arab countries, Iran, some European
countries including France, as well as the United
States could dialectically reveal new
opportunities in fostering a lasting peace in the
Middle East and Africa. However, the people in
general and the Coalition in particular should
seriously study the conventional mold of thinking
of the terrorist groups and their global
networking. It should also be quite apparent that
militant Islamists conveniently use Muslim
Brotherhood all over the world. Ethnic and/or
linguistic differences are immaterial for Muslims
worldwide, and it is for this reason that Muslims
from Bosnia to Indonesia could easily forge a
sense of solidarity insofar the diverse Muslims
with various ethnic backgrounds are Muslims. The
militant Muslims carefully nurture the latter
sentiment for their own global Jihad agenda. A
good example of Moslem Brotherhood in whose cocoon
extreme Jihad could flourish is the Movement for
Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), also
known by its French acronym, MUJAO. The MOJWA
group is a splinter Jihadist group that severed
relations with Al Qaeda in 2011 and that recruited
Muslims, irrespective of their nationalities, from
all West Africa.
Once
a clear distinction is made between genuine
Muslims and terrorist Jihadists, the best way to
defeat the terrorists is to mobilize moderate
Muslims against the extreme Jihadists. This kind
of strategy would have two advantages: 1) Islam
would cleanse itself from the monster Jihadists
and moderate Muslims would comfortably and
confidently live anywhere among Christians, Jews,
Hindus, and Buddhists; 2) global peace would reign
and countries (especially emerging economies)
would not be distracted from a pressing
development agenda and would enjoy a moment in
history to fulfill their mission in overcoming
underdevelopment, hunger, illiteracy, and the
vagaries of poverty.
If Ethiopia is going to meet the development
agenda, it should at any cost systematically and
craftily deter the contagion of Islamic Jihad.
Ethiopia is the pride and promise of all Africans;
it is also the cradle of humanity (home of
Denknesh or Lucy) and ancient as well as medieval
civilizations, and as such must be protected from
Jihad anomalies, violence, and destruction. The
Ethiopian Government has an historic obligation to
protect the larger Ethiopian society from the
dangers of Islamic Jihad, but this historical
mission should not be left to the Government
alone. The Ethiopian people should also jealously
guard their respective districts by organizing
militia-type cadres in cooperation with local
government authorities. The current consciousness
and alertness of Ethiopian religious leaders,
including the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ethiopian
Muslims, Ethiopian Catholics, and Ethiopian
Evangelical denominations is admirable and it
should be sustained.
As
has been discussed in this essay, Ethiopia have
had the brunt of Jihad attacks and destruction in
its past history as well as in its most recent and
contemporary history, and this is a very good
example where we can fuse the past and the
present. The Jihad encounters in Ethiopia are not
necessarily identical, but they are certainly
analogous from which we can learn lessons. This
might sound a convenient simplification of the
Ethiopian experience in the context of Jihad
movements, but it is in fact a universal truth
that people learn from history’s broadest
patterns. While we learn from history, however, as
indicated earlier, the most crucial objective
against Jihadists is to study them very much like
cultural anthropologists do. The current global
Jihad á la ISIS is composed of fanatic, obdurate,
cruel, and dehumanized groups and they have
nothing to contribute to civilization. The only
language they understand is violence, and whether
we like it or not they must be counter attacked
with violence, and I believe the Biblical adage Those
Who Live by the Sword, die by the Sword is
quite a fitting to ISIS and other Jihadists.
All
Rights Reserved. Copyright © Institute of
Development and Education for Africa (IDEA). For
Educational and constructive feedback, Dr.
Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
|