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Open letter to Haji-Nejib-Mohamed First Hejira Foundation

Asalam Alekum,
By Tedla Asefaw

I just followed your full speech posted by your organization,The First Hejira Foundation.

The Ethiopian Muslims more than one and half year struggle for freedom of religion has brought all Muslims under one Ethiopia and defeated the ethnicity planted by the regime. There is no Oromo, Amhara, Gurage, Afar, Somali etc Muslim but Ethiopian Muslim. That is a lesson for non Muslims in Ethiopia too.

The last week protest in Dessie and Gonder and the last month protest by the Blue Party/Semayawi more than quarter million people participated mainly young Christians and Muslims. The regime accused the protesters as “Muslim Extremist” symphatizers. Foreign medias covered the protest rally and mentioned among many things the Ethiopian Muslim leaders to be released were the demands of the protesters.

The Diaspora unity between Christians and Muslims contributed to the struggle back home. However, recently young Ethnic and Religious Extremist like Jawar Mohamed abused the good working relationship of our community by publicly endorsing the slitting of non Muslims throat on a stage he shared with you in Minnesota. His hateful call is giving life to the dead “Jihadawi Harakat” propaganda film of Woyane. The regime will use the “slitting throat” instigation for ” Dessie Jihadawi Harakt” which will be out for propaganda soon. The Dessie protesters have already condemned the coming propaganda film before it is released out.

It is unfortunate you did not condemn Jawar Mohamed hateful speech. However, I am now convinced after I followed the full speech you called for unity of Ethiopian Muslims. Even if I have reservation about the number of Christians and Muslims in Ethiopia you put what matters most now, defend Ethiopia as a country for all of us, Christians and Muslims.

Jawar Mohamed has made it clear on his protest rally in Minnesota that “Ethiopians should go out of Oromia”. I am not sure if he will allow non Oromo Muslims to stay in his “Oromia”. In any case this young man should be rejected by Ethiopian Muslims. I personally asked him many times to organize a joint conference in NYC but he gave me a lot of excuses not to do it.

It is now clear to me that he does not want to be on stage with people like me who are neither Oromo nor Muslim. He is free with whom to associate but we are also free not to give any more stage to people like him who are dividing us by religion and ethnicity, What did Woyane do different than Jawar Mohamed ? Nothing.

Tekbir,

Tedla Asfaw

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