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Christian Jailed in Ethiopia Accused of Desecrating Quran
Compass DirectNews:-A Christian in Ethiopia’s southern town of Moyale has been languishing in jail for two months after his Muslim business partner accused him of writing “Jesus is Lord” in a copy of the Quran, local church leaders said.
A church leader who requested anonymity told Compass that Christians in Moyale are concerned that Woldegorgis, a married father of two from Hagarmariam village, has not been granted a trial after two months in jail. He said that two days after Woldegorgis was arrested, two friends inquired about him at the Moyale police station; authorities responded by jailing them for two weeks.
A church leader who requested anonymity told Compass that Christians in Moyale are concerned that Woldegorgis, a married father of two from Hagarmariam village, has not been granted a trial after two months in jail. He said that two days after Woldegorgis was arrested, two friends inquired about him at the Moyale police station; authorities responded by jailing them for two weeks.
Woldegorgis returned from a break one morning to find that the inscribed words had been cut out of the piece of cloth, the sources said. He then had the words set in the machinery of their tailoring business for inscription on clothing material, only to find later that the inscribed plates were removed from the machinery as well, they said.
The Muslim associate, whose name has not been established, then went to a nearby mosque with the accusation that Woldegorgis had written “Jesus is Lord” in the Quran itself, sources said. Angry sheikhs at the mosque subsequently had Woldegorgis arrested for desecrating the book sacred to Islam, they said.
Other sources said, however, that Muslims accused Woldegorgis of writing “Jesus is Lord” on a piece of wood, on a minibus and then on the wall of a house. As he has not been brought to court, the exact charges against him are not yet known. Woldegorgis denies all accusations, and area Christians insisted he is innocent.
A church leader who requested anonymity told Compass that Christians in Moyale are concerned that Woldegorgis, a married father of two from Hagarmariam village, has not been granted a trial after two months in jail. He said that two days after Woldegorgis was arrested, two friends inquired about him at the Moyale police station; authorities responded by jailing them for two weeks.
A church leader who requested anonymity told Compass that Christians in Moyale are concerned that Woldegorgis, a married father of two from Hagarmariam village, has not been granted a trial after two months in jail. He said that two days after Woldegorgis was arrested, two friends inquired about him at the Moyale police station; authorities responded by jailing them for two weeks.
“The Ethiopian constitution allows for religious tolerance,” said the church leader, “but to date Woldegorgis has not been taken to court. He is still in a police cell, which is quite unusual for an Ethiopian national, and given constitutional provisions.”
Jijiga, capital of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, has the largest court in eastern Ethiopia, and Christians fear that Islamic principles govern it. In Ethiopia’s federal state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are Muslims.
“We fear that our brother might be taken to Islamic court in Jijiga for trial, which will further threaten his life,” the church leader said. “Where is justice for our brother being in prison without been tried?”
Sources also said that authorities are offering to release Woldegorgis if he will convert to Islam. Woldegorgis is physically weak but strong in his faith, the church leader said, adding that he needs food and other material assistance, as well as an attorney.
Sources also said that authorities are offering to release Woldegorgis if he will convert to Islam. Woldegorgis is physically weak but strong in his faith, the church leader said, adding that he needs food and other material assistance, as well as an attorney.
Sources said Woldegorgis has been jailed in Zone Five of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, a predominantly Somali area. Moyale, located on Ethiopia’s border with Kenya, is divided between the predominantly Muslim Zone Five and Zone Four, which is populated mainly by ethnic Oromo, with each zone having distinct administrative and judiciary systems. Preaching non-Muslim faiths is not allowed in Zone Five, in spite of provisions for religious freedom in Ethiopia’s constitution.
Hostility toward those spreading faiths different from Islam is a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia and neighboring countries, they said. Christians are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
Ethiopia’s constitution, laws and policies promote freedom of religion, but occasionally local authorities infringe on this right, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2009 International Religious Freedom Report. According to the 2007 census, 44 percent of Ethiopia’s population affiliate with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 19 percent are evangelical and Pentecostal and 34 percent are Sunni Muslim.
Source:- Compass Direct News
This entry was posted on October 8th, 2010 at 08:34:22 pm by admin and is filed under News, Church, Persecution.
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1 comment
It is so simple in Ethiopia, may be anywhere in the world, to bribe a few con artists to conspire against any Chrisitan movement, group or person. Many of the older Christians have faced or witnessed this kind of accusations many times in their life. I, personally have been attacked and put in jail a few times for sharing the gospel, didtributing tracts or holding "illegal" meetings. In most cases the innocent mob was agitated by ill-informed politicians, local administrators or religious zealots. I hope the government would look into into the matter intently to see if this is a traditional resistance or verifiable incident. Further, I would like to suggest that the local elders from both the Chrisitan and Muslim communities should resolve the matter amicably. In such case, the governement should facilitate the elders efforts. In any case, the individual should be treated fairly and with due respect, and never left to brutality. As Christians, we need to pray for the unstoppable furtherance of the gospel and the likelihood of persecution of believers anywhere in the world.
Finally, let me this: it is not Christ-like to burn or desacrate any object of other religions. Remember, the incident where the Lord Himself turned the tables of merchants in the temple. The Jewish temple was a common domain where He taught and attended services before the beginning of His public ministry. If the defendant did in fact desacrate the Kuran with the intention to provoke distubance or to express an incidental frustration or anything related thereto, he should apologize and make peace with the affected community. May the Lord have mercy on all of us.
A note to bloggers: silence is not necessay golden contrary, to the old saying. We need to use this forum to express our aspirations and thoughts with repect to such mishaps. Admitedly, it is a sensitive issue that we do not want to talk about. But, the word of God commands us to expose injustices and promote peace with and for all men.
Hey, I stand to be corrected if I am erring in this matter.
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