ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia's Islamic Affairs Supreme Council is to hold new elections for leadership after protests in recent months left many frustrated at the government's intervention in their policies and efforts. Campaigning is now on the way ahead of elections to be held on October 7, council officials told Bikyamasr.com. Muslims here have accused the government of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of attempting to push a specific view of Islam against the council and the majority of Muslims in the East African country. Many of those arrested have been accused of inciting violence and remain in jail after being detained by police at local mosques in the country. The council said registration for candidacy began on September 13 for new leadership. Registration of voters is taking place in the country's nine regional states and two city administrations of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The Ethiopian Ulema Fatwa and Da'awa Council said that the registration process will continue until this Saturday before being closed. Over the weekend, a group of Muslim students in Ethiopia have lashed out at the anti-Islam “film" clip that has sparked widespread protests across the Islamic world, calling it an “attack on Islam" and demanded that action be taken against the producers of the film in the United States. However, they told Bikyamasr.com that “violence is not an appropriate response" to the anger the film created. “We are Muslims and we feel insulted and threatened by this stupid film that was promoted by radical Christians," one of the group, Mohamed, told Bikyamasr.com on Saturday. “But at the same time, we are also Muslims and must follow the path of the Prophet in promoting a different perspective." The group of students, who in the past few months have called for democratic change and political freedoms, said that violence is not the answer. “We have seen all the turmoil that protests and clashes have brought. It won't get the job done in terms of changing how the west perceives Muslims and Islam. We have to do better," they said. 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. The same 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.
