ADDIS ABABA: Despite Ethiopia state television branding Muslim protesters in the country as aberrations and a “fringe movement,” Muslims in the country took to the streets on Sunday to mark the first day of the Eid Islamic holiday that follows the holy month of Ramadan. They were calling for greater representation in the country, which official statistics say is majority Christian. Muslims, however, argue they account for half the population and deserve a stronger voice in the country's future. “We just want our voices to be heard and to have a say in the great future for Ethiopia,” one protester told Bikyamasr.com. The Sunday demonstrations come less than two months after police attacked mosques in the country in an attempt to stifle the Muslim voices in the country and push the state-run Islamic identity, which has been largely decried by Ethiopia's Muslim community. Hundreds of thousands flocked to the Addis Ababa Stadium to celebrate the end of Ramadan, and large protests were reported across the country, Opride.com said. The Eid day protests catapulted the movement into a new and uncharted territory. “Sunday's Eid prayer proved to be a day of reckoning," wrote Dimsachen Yisema, the protesters de facto spokesperson, in comments published by Opride.com, hinting at the specter of the Arab Spring that toppled several undemocratic regimes. “All [the protesters] share the grievances caused by the government's unconstitutional interference in their religious affairs, and to demand their voices to be heard.” The same news report said large numbers of protesters had poured onto the streets in Jimma, Dessie, Robe and Adama towns' chanting, “let our voices be heard, free our representatives" and calling out the state-run Ethiopian television for its smear campaigns. The Muslim community has also pushed for unity between Christians and animists in the country in recent months, urging all Ethiopians to come together for change in the country. A group of Ethiopian Muslim student activists and their Christian friends have lashed out repeatedly at international media coverage of alleged friction between the two religious groups in the East African country. They told Bikyamasr.com earlier this month that “the only turmoil between Christians and Muslims is what the media is making out of the events here." They said that recent crackdowns on Muslims in the country are the result of “ongoing government oppression and should not be seen as a sign of sectarian divides in the country." One of the Christians, Maria, argued that “the media want to show our Muslim sisters and brothers as antagonistic toward Christians, but the reality is that we are all battling the government and its violence against all Ethiopians." Tensions reached their peak on July 13, when the government raided a gathering at the Awalia Mosque in Addis Ababa, where government officials said Muslim leaders were planning further protests. Ethiopian authorities said more than 70 people were arrested in the operation, including the members of the mosque's central organizing committee. A week later, thousands of Muslims gathered at the Anwar Mosque to protest the arrests. More activists were detained following police attacks. The media coverage has been a focal point of anger from the Muslim students, who have repeatedly told Bikyamasr.com they are frustrated over how Islam is being portrayed in the country. They said that they were not radical Islamists and that “we are not against Christians" in the country, have said they would like to see coverage of the situation in their country more “moderate and in touch with the reality on the ground."
