In the Footsteps of the First Muhajirun
Muslims have lived in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia since the earliest days of Islam
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BY SARA SWETZOFF
migrants’ return to Arabia. In gratitude, the Prophet declared Axum a “favored land.” Upon learning of Al-Najashi’s passing, he honored him with a Muslim funeral prayer despite his Christian faith. Today, Ethiopia is about 35% Muslim. The eastern city of Harar (“City of Saints” in Arabic) is often referred to as Islam’s fourth holiest city due to its many mosques and shrines dating to the 10th century.
ETHIOPIA AND THE RED SEA REGION TODAY
Ethiopia’s current status as a host country for millions of regional refugees echoes this event. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as of June 2021 it was hosting nearly a million registered refugees and asylum-seekers, making it the third-largest host in Africa and tenth worldwide. As a reference of comparison: the US accepted zero Yemeni refugees in 2021 and only 50 during the Trump years; Ethiopia has hosted more than 3,000 Yemenis since 2016 and continually welcomes more. Furthermore, in January 2019 Ethiopia’s Parliament passed one of the world’s most integrative refugee laws. While it has yet to be comprehensively implemented – in part due to challenges at the institutional level in the run-up to the current war – it grants refugees property rights, recognition of their degrees and certifications from their home country or previous country of residence, the right to attend school and work, freedom of movement and more expansive eligibility for asylum. The First Hijra represents the region’s legacy of interreligious and inter-ethnic respect. This precedent, which can help resolve the current internal conflict, also speaks to how and why Ethiopia could be
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hree historic mosques in the Horn of Africa chart the path of the first group of Muhajirun: Eritrea’s Sahaba Mosque, Ethiopia’s Al-Najashi Mosque and Somalia’s Mosque of the Two Qiblas. The Sahaba Mosque, located in the Red Sea coastal town of Massawa, was built adjacent to the famous ancient port of Adulis, where they likely landed. In fact, many consider it the world’s oldest mosque. However, there is some uncertainty as to whether or not it predates the Quba Mosque on the outskirts of Madina. The current structure is of later construction and now in disrepair, but the mosque retains its original qibla facing Jerusalem. Prayers are still held there occasionally, of course, with the worshippers facing the Kaaba in Makkah. From the coast, the Muhajirun traveled about 190 miles southwest to Negash in current-day Ethiopia. The Christian Axumite king presumably permitted them to settle
in that area, about 125 east of his capital city Axum. This city remains a sacred place for Ethiopian Christians, who believe that
THE MEANING AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ‘HIJRA’ IS EMBODIED IN THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR REPRESENTS A HISTORY OF PERPETUAL STRUGGLE BETWEEN TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD, FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION, LIGHT AND DARKNESS, AND BETWEEN PEACE AND WAR.”
MARCH/APRIL 2022 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
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