Petitioning UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion: Stop Government Intolerance of Islam in Ethiopia

Petitioning UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion: Stop Government Intolerance of Islam in Ethiopia
Muslims in Ethiopia have been, for more than a year now, holding protests at mosques around the country against what is perceived as government interference in religious affairs. The protesters are demanding that the current members of the Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (Majlis) be replaced by elected representatives and that elections for Majlis representatives be held in mosques rather than in the Kebeles. Some members of the Muslim community accuse the Ethiopian Government of controlling the Majlis and sponsoring the propagation of Al-Ahbash, a little known sect of Islam. The Ethiopian Government, on the other hand, accuses the protesters of being led by extremists who want to establish an Islamic state in place of the current secular multination federation. The Ethiopian Government has responded against some protests in 2012 with deadly force, most recently in Assassa in April and Gerba in October, resulting in the death of at least seven protesters, a large number of injuries, and the imprisonment of a number of protesters on terrorism charges.

Since Ethiopia is a state party to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, in this petition, we, in earnest, implore the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion to issue allegation or urgent appeal letters demanding the Government of Ethiopia to end the ongoing violations.

You can sign the petition by clicking here.

Thanks!
The team