Islam In Ethiopia Article Index for
Islam In
Website Links For
Islam
 

Information About

Islam In Ethiopia




Under the former Emperor Haile Selassie , Muslim communities could bring matters of Personal and Family Law and inheritance before Islamic courts; many did so and probably continued to do so under the revolutionary regime. However, many Muslims dealt with such matters in terms of Customary Law. For example, the Somali and other pastoralists tended not to follow the requirement that daughters inherit half as much property as sons, particularly when livestock was at issue. In parts of Eritrea, the tendency to treat land as the corporate property of a descent group (lineage or clan) precluded following the Islamic principle of division of property among one's heirs.

In Ethiopia's Muslim communities, as in neighboring Sudan and Somalia , the faithful are associated with, but not necessarily members of any specific Sufi Order. Nevertheless, formal and informal attachment to Sufi practices is widespread, the emphasis seems less on the contemplative and disciplined mysticism and more on the concentration of the spiritual powers possessed by certain founders of the Orders and the Masters of the local branches of the respective Orders. Some developed the idea that these special persons possess extraordinary spiritual power to intercede with God and have the ability to promote the fertility of women and cure illnesses. In many cases, these individuals are recognized as saints. People visit their tombs to pray for their help or their intercession with God. perhaps the best-known example being Shaikh Husain .


SEE ALSO



REFERENCES


  • J. Spencer Trimingham. ''Islam in Ethiopia''. Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952.



EXTERNAL LINKS