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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 003230 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR R AND AF/PAPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO KISL SCUL ET
SUBJECT: GROWING WAHABI INFLUENCE IN ETHIOPIA TESTS THE 
LIMITS OF TOLERANCE 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Two recent Public Diplomacy programs have 
demonstrated the growing reach and influence of Wahabi 
elements in Ethiopian Muslim society.  Post's efforts to 
translate &The Place of Tolerance in Islam8 into local 
languages have come to naught because no Muslim translator in 
Ethiopia is willing to do it fearing Wahabi pressure. 
Likewise, in the Oromiya Region of Ethiopia, Wahabi influence 
is clearly growing rapidly and the Wahabi leadership in the 
country is heavily, if not exclusively, Oromo.  At the same 
time, an Ambassador-hosted lunch with Wahabi and moderate 
Sunni leaders, as well as post's on-going Faith Communities 
Outreach, shows that there is still common ground between 
these two groups and between Christians and Muslims as long 
as post does not try to engage these groups in religious 
dialogue or attempting to mediate on faith issues.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
SHEK HUSSEN SHRINE AND WAHABI ATTACKS 
ON ETHIOPIAN MUSLIM CULTURE 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In FY-2007, the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural 
Preservation (AFCP) made a grant in the amount of $25,600 to 
the Oromiya Bureau of Culture for preservation works around 
the Shek Hussen (NOTE: This is the official Ethiopian 
spelling of &Sheikh Hussein8) Shrine in the Bale Region of 
Oromiya Region.  PAO, along with a Muslim PAS FSN, and a 
representative of the Oromiya Bureau of Culture, visited the 
Shrine on a four-day visit to the area to evaluate the work, 
document the completed works with photographs, and meet with 
local representatives at the Shrine.  The project was 
completed in a highly exemplary fashion, the work was very 
well-done, and the officials at the Shrine were very pleased 
with our support.  PAO sat on the ground with a group of over 
fifty local persons (almost all male) talking about the 
Shrine, its history, and the USG's support. Everyone clearly 
knew that we were behind the project, they were very pleased 
that we saw fit to help them, and more than a hundred people 
from the area had benefited economically from wages for 
manual labor during the life of the project. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Officials noted, however, that Wahabis have been 
trying for years to close that Shrine, saying it was 
&un-Islamic8 and &impure.8  The Bureau of Culture 
representative noted that more than thirty smaller, local 
shrines (mainly to Sufi saints) in the area had also been 
destroyed by Wahabis who often replaced the shrines with 
Saudi-style mosques; e.g., mosques that reflect Wahabi 
architectural and interior styling.  This mainly happened 
about five years ago.  He also noted, however, that the 
Wahabis are no longer trying to shut down Shek Hussen Shrine, 
but instead are trying to &purify the rituals8 to remove 
all the Ethiopian cultural traditions from the semi-annual 
feasts and celebrations held at the Shrine.  While this does 
represent a softening of Wahabi views in some sense, he also 
made it clear that if they have it their way, only 
Saudi-Wahabi rituals would be followed in Ethiopia. 
 
¶4. (U) PAO has also faced questions from young Wahabi student 
activists in Bahir Dar and Gondar (well away from Bale) about 
why the USG supported the work at the Shek Hussen Shrine. 
(COMMENT: This has clearly been a propaganda point of Wahabi 
activists in Ethiopia for some time as this project has been 
received very favorably by the moderate Muslim community as 
it shows support for traditional Ethiopian culture while the 
Wahabis were denigrating Ethiopian culture and traditions. 
END COMMENT) 
 
¶5. (U) In the town of Robe, where the travelers stayed 
overnight, the first restaurant visited had a separate 
section for women and families curtained off in the Wahabi 
style.  Such sections are not commonly found in Ethiopia 
where the vast majority of Muslim women normally wear only a 
veil around the head, but not covering the face, and in any 
color except black.  In the area around Robe and the eighty 
miles or so to the Shek Hussen Shrine, PAO noted many women 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00003230  002 OF 003 
 
 
wearing the black, Wahabi-style abaya with veil covering the 
face with only the eyes showing.  Approximately one in twenty 
women both in the country and in the towns were so attired, 
even out in areas where there was no one else in sight, women 
so veiled were often seen walking alone.  One village near 
Robe is even known locally as &little Saudi Arabia8 because 
so many people there have moved to Saudi Arabia through work 
and marriage. 
 
---------------------------- 
NO TOLERANCE FOR &TOLERANCE8 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) In another example of growing Wahabi influence in 
Ethiopia, the Public Affairs Section has been planning to 
translate &The Place of Tolerance in Islam8 into Amharic 
and Oromifa for local consumption.  However, after 
approaching several prominent academics and translators who 
are known to post, the job was turned down by every one.  One 
scholar wrote a letter to the PAO in which he noted how good 
the book is, how valid its arguments are, and how much it's 
needed in Ethiopia, but he noted that &new schools of Muslim 
thought8 in Ethiopia &do not agree with these 
interpretations8 and &we no longer think of ourselves as 
moderates and Wahabis, but only Muslims.8  Another one 
reported in a phone conversation that he would not even 
translate the book anonymously, because &they will find out 
who did it8 and the Wahabis will exert a lot of pressure 
(unspecified) on him and his family.  Post is still pursuing 
a means of translating this book, but it now appears it may 
have to be done outside the country. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
MUSLIM LUNCHES AT THE RESIDENCE CONTINUE . . . 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7. (U) On 10 November, Ambassador Yamamoto hosted one of an 
ongoing series of luncheons for Islamic clerics and Muslim 
leaders, attended by thirteen Muslim leaders, including four 
Wahabis.  The four Wahabis are Oromo.  Discussion focused on 
the Mission's approach to &Faith Communities Outreach,8 
highlighting several outreach efforts that impacted on the 
Muslim community: 
 
a) a Public Affairs grant to the Institute of Ethiopian 
Studies to purchase Ethiopian Orthodox icons and Islamic 
manuscripts; 
 
b) the recent reconstruction of schools in Addis Ababa and 
Dire Dawa by the U.S. Combined joint Task Force-Horn of 
Africa (CJTF-HOA); 
 
c) the AFCP project to preserve the Shek Hussen Shrine; 
 
d) the September 2008 Iftar and Meskel (an Ethiopian 
Christian holiday) meals that the Ambassador hosted in Bahir 
Dar for the Muslim and Christian communities respectively; 
 
e) possible support in the coming months by PAS to do a grant 
to the Islamic Affairs Council to do a nationwide survey of 
Islamic manuscripts. 
 
On this last point, both the Wahabis and the moderate Islamic 
Council were very eager to work with the Embassy on a project 
to survey and document Islamic manuscripts.  They are both 
painfully aware of how much Muslim culture is being siphoned 
out of the country by wealthy collectors (both in the Middle 
East and Europe), and want to preserve this rich heritage 
here in Ethiopia.  PAO will explore options on this and 
advise Washington elements as planning proceeds. 
 
¶8. (U) The Grand Mufti of Ethiopia invited the Embassy to 
visit the country's oldest mosque with him, which PAO readily 
agreed to do.  Also, Sheikh Elias Redman, the acting head of 
the Islamic Affairs Council, suggested that the Embassy drill 
a well in the Wollo Region near the Albuco Mosque, as both 
Muslims and Christians would benefit from this project.  It 
was clear from the lunch conversation that there are many 
areas in which the USG can build close and fruitful links 
with these two main segments of the Muslim community in 
Ethiopia, as long as we focus on cultural initiatives and 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00003230  003 OF 003 
 
 
practical infrastructure projects (e.g., wells and schools). 
 
-------------------------------------- 
IFTAR EVENTS HIGHLIGHT U.S. ENGAGEMENT 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) We hosted a series of meals for the poorest of people 
in the Islamic community during IFTAR in the last two years. 
These events provided more positive impact for our Muslim 
outreach program, attracting Wahabis and Sunnis alike and 
gaining their curiosity, at first, but ultimately 
appreciation and support.  A common refrain is that the U.S. 
is &learning8 to understand other religious beliefs, 
overturning al-Jazeera stereotypes of U.S. intolerance. 
Certainly our example made a positive impression with the 
Islamic clerics and was noted in our luncheons for the Wahabi 
and Sunni clerics. 
 
---------- 
CONCLUSION 
---------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) While Wahabi influence continues to grow in 
Ethiopia, appealing to the strong sense of cultural pride for 
which Ethiopians of all faiths are known may be one way to 
counter the influence of these foreign-financed and 
influenced activists.  Many Ethiopians are well aware of the 
lack of assistance that Arab and Muslim countries provide to 
Ethiopia and when they see these groups practicing &cultural 
imperialism8 against their very old and well-respected 
Muslim traditions, it definitely grates on them.  The Oromiya 
Bureau of Culture representative offered the services of his 
office to translate and distribute &The Place of Tolerance 
in Islam8 and also to look at doing &The Great Theft,8 
both of which were authored by Khalid Abou el-Fadl.  PAS will 
consider that option, as well as others, but it is vital that 
more information by Muslim authors countering Wahabi 
influence be made available to Ethiopian Muslims in both 
Amharic and Oromifa.  Post will also continue on its present 
strategy of &Faith Communities Outreach8 (as opposed to 
&Muslim Outreach8) as a means of promoting the American 
ideals of tolerance, diversity, and mutual respect and 
understanding between faiths.  This approach of working with 
all faith communities has been very well-received here by 
both the Muslim and Christian communities and it undercuts 
the Islamist argument that the U.S. is only doing &Muslim 
Outreach8 because of 9/11 and because &they think Muslims 
are terrorists.8 (NOTE: This is another line of argument 
pursued by Wahabi activists in public meetings the PAO has 
held).  Post intends to continue these periodic contacts with 
Wahabi leaders, but will concentrate most of its Faith 
Communities Outreach efforts through the Islamic Affairs 
Council as the voice of moderate Islam in Ethiopia. 
YAMAMOTO