Tuesday, May 28, 2013

የህዝብ ፍቅር ይስጠን- እንደ ሙሐመድ ረሻድ-!!


ጸሓፊ፡- አፈንዲ ሙተቂ
 

   ትዝታን እንደ መግቢያ
የዛሬ ሃያ ዓመታት ገደማ ነው። ወሩን በትክክል ባላስታውሰውም መስከረም ወይም ጥቅምት 1985 ይመስለኛል። በተወለድኩባት የገለምሶ ከተማ እምብርት ላይ ከነበረው “ፎቶ ማወርዲ” አጠገብ ከጓደኞቼ ጋር እየተጨዋወትኩ ነበር። ታዲያ ከተማችንን ከሁለት ከፍሎ ከሚያልፈው ዋነኛ ጎዳና ላይ ዓይኔን በድንገት ስወረውር አንድ ቁመናው ያማረ ባለ ግርማ ሞገስ “ ሼኽ” እና አንድ ሌላ ሰው በኛ ትይዩ ሲያልፉ ተመለከትኩ። “ሼኹ” ለአካባቢያችን እንግዳ ነው። ከሰውነቱ ላይ የሚያበረቀርቀው ብርሃንና የጀለቢያው ንጣት የተመልካችን ቀልብ ይስባል። በራሱ ላይ ያደረገው ኮፍያም የአካባቢያችን ሼኾች ከሚያደርጉት የተለየ ነው። ሁለመናው ለአካባቢያችን አዲስ ሰው መሆኑን ያሳብቅበታል።
   ከጓደኞቼ መካከል አንደኛው ወደ ሼኹ እያመለከተ “ይህንን ሰውዬ አውቃችሁታል?” የሚል ጥያቄ አቀረበልን። በስፍራው የነበርነው  ባልንጀራሞች አሉታዊ ምላሽ ሰጠነው። “ይህ ሰውዬ እኮ ሙፍቲ ነው። ቁርአንን በኦሮምኛ ተርጉሟል። ካሴቱን ሰምቼለታለሁ። በጣም ደስ ይላል” አለን። ጓደኛዬ የነገረንን ወሬ በመረጃ ደረጃ ብንበቀበለውም የተለየ አትኩሮት አልሰጠነውም። ምክንያቱም ሙፍቲ መሆንም ሆነ የቁርአንን ተፍሲር በካሴት አስቀድቶ ማስደመጥ በወቅቱ ለኛ አዲስ ነገር ስላልነበረ ነው። ይሁንና ጓደኛችን ሊነግረን የፈለገን የቁርአን ተፍሲር ድሮ ከምናውቀው የተለየ ነው። በወቅቱ በደንብ ስላላብራራልን ነው ለነገሩ ትኩረት ሳንሰጥ በዝምታ የተለያየነው።
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      ይህ ነገር ከተከሰተ ከሁለት ቀናት በኋላ በዘመኑ የነበረው የከተማው አስተዳዳሪ (አሊሹ ሙሳ ይባላል) መላው የገለምሶ ህዝብ በከተማዋ ሁለገብ አዳራሽ እንዲሰበሰብ አዘዘ። ህዝቡም ትእዛዙን አክብሮ በቦታው ተገኘ። እኔም ጥሪው ባይመለከተኝም “እንዲያው ለጨዋታ የሚሆን ነገር ከሰማሁ” በሚል ከጓደኞቼ ጋር በአዳራሹ ተገኘሁ። ምክንያቱ ደግሞ ምን መሰላችሁ? አሊሹ ሙሳ ከዚያ ዘመን ካድሬዎች በጣም የተለየ ነው። መድረክ ላይ ወጥቶ ንግግር ሲያደርግ ህዝቡን በደረቅ ፕሮፓጋንዳ አያደነቁርም። አነጋገሩ በድሬ ዳዋ ልጆች ስልት የተቃኘ በመሆኑ በጣም ያዝናናል። በመድረክ ላይ የሚደሰኩረው ሁሉ በጆክና በኩመካ የተሞላ በመሆኑ እርሱ ሲናገር አዳራሹ በሳቅ የሚደረመስ ነው የሚመስለው። ደግሞም መላ ቅጡ የጠፋ ተረትና ምሳሌ ይፈጥርና ለሳምንት የሚበቃ የሳቅ ስንቅ ያሸክማችኋል። በዚህም የተነሳ የከተማው ህዝብ ከስብሰባ አይቀርም ነበር።

የስብሰባው ሰዓት ደርሶ አሊሹ ወደ መድረክ ላይ ወጣ። ይሁንና ከወትሮው በተለየ ሁኔታ “ዛሬ ታላቅ እንግዳ በመሀከላችን አሉ። የዛሬውን ንግግር የሚያደርጉልን እሳቸው ናቸው” በማለት ተናገሮ መድረኩን ሲለቅ የአሊሹን ወግ የለመደነው ሰዎች ኩምሽሽ አልን። ሳቅ እንሸምታለን ብለን ተቻኩለን ገብተን ባልጠበቅነው የፕሮፓጋንዳ ድግስ ላይ መገኘታችን አንገበገበን። በተለይ በቀበሌ በሚካሄድ ስብሰባ ላይ የመገኘት ግዴታ ያልነበረብን እድሜያችን አስራ ስምንት ዓመት ያልሞላው ታዳጊዎች ከስብሰባው መጠናቀቂያ በፊት መውጣት ከማይቻልበት አዳራሽ በመግባታችን ተንጨረጨርን። አንደኛው ወደ ሌላኛው ጠጋ በማለት “ዛሬስ አሊሹ ጉድ ሰራን! አንድ የዞን ካድሬ አምጥቶ ሊያንባርቅብን ነው። መቻል ነው መቼስ!” እያልን በለሆሳስ ተነጋገርን። ይህንን የጨፈገገ ስሜት ይዘን አሊሹ የነገረንን እንግዳ ለአስር ደቂቃዎች ያህል ጠበቅን።
 
 እንግዳው ከጠዋቱ ሶስት ሰዓት ገደማ ከአዳራሹ ተገኘ። ታዲያ የዞን ካድሬ ነው ብለን የጠበቅነው እንግዳ ማን ይሆናል መሰላችሁ? ከላይ በመነሻዬ ላይ የጠቆምኳችሁ ሼኽ!! “እዚህ ደግሞ ምን ሊሰራ መጣ?” አልኩ በልቤ።
     የከተማችን ህዝብ የእንግዳውን ማንነት አላወቀም። ሆኖም የስብሰባው አጀንዳ ከወትሮው የተለየ እንደሚሆን ተረድቷል። ስለዚህ በተሰላቸ ስሜት ከየወንበሩ ላይ የሚቁነጠነጠው አብዛኛው ታዳሚ አደብ ገዝቶ የሚሆነውን ወደ መጠበቁ አዘነበለ። ልዩ ልዩ ምክንያት እየፈጠሩ ከስብሰባ የመጥፋት ልማድ የነበራቸው አንዳንድ የከተማችን ታዋቂ እናቶችም በእንግዳው ሁኔታ ተማርከው በጸጥታ ወደርሱ መመልከት ያዙ። እኔና መሰሎቼም የእንግዳው በስፍራው መገኘት ስላስደነቀን የመሰላቸት ጸባያችንን በአንድ አፍታ አሽቀንጥረን ጣልነው። ሙሉ ሰውነታችንን ጆሮ አድርገን ከርሱ የሚወጡትን ቃላት ለመስማት በጉጉት መጠባበቅ ጀመርን።
    ከጥቂት ደቂቃዎች በኋላ እንግዳው እጅግ በተዋበ ድምጽ መናገር ጀመሩ። “ለብዙ ዓመታት የተለየኋትን ሀገሬን ለማየት በመብቃቴ ፈጣሪዬን አመሰግነዋለሁ። እኔ ወንድማችሁ ሼኽ ሙሐመድ ረሻድ ከቢር አብዱላሂ እባላለሁ። ታውቁኛላችሁ አይደል?” የሚሉ ዐረፍተ ነገሮች ከአንደበቱ ወጡ። እንግዳው ይህችን ታህል በመናገሩ ብቻ በአዳራሹ የነበረው ድባብ በአንድ ጊዜ ተቀየረ። ጎልማሶች እንባቸውን በጉንጮቻቸው ላይ ማፍሰስ ጀመሩ። እናቶች እዬዬውን አቀለጡት። በርካቶች ስሜታቸውን መቆጣጠር አቅቷቸው ድምጻቸውን ከፍ እያደረጉ መጯጯህ ጀመሩ። ከደቂቃ በፊት ኮሽታ ያልነበረበት አዳራሽ ከህዝቡ በተፈነቀለው ስሜት ድብልቅልቁ ወጣ።
    
   የሆነው ሁሉ ህልም ነበር የመሰለኝ። ህልም አለመሆኑን የተረዳሁት ከኔ በጥቂት እርምጃዎች ርቀት ላይ ቆሞ የነበረው አቻዬ ማልቀስ ሲጀምር ነው። “ታላላቆቹ አለቀሱ፤ እርሱስ ምን አስለቀሰው?” እያልኩ በአትኩሮት አየሁት። አንድ አፍታ ደግሞ ወደ ህዝቡ ተመለከትኩ። ለቅሶና ሁካታው ቀጥሏል። እንግዳው የሚናገርበት ፋታ አላገኘም። ይብሱኑ እርሱም ከህዝቡ ጋር ያለቅሳል። የአሊሹን የሳቅ ድግስ ለመኮምኮም አቅደን በአዳራሹ የተገኘነው ታዳጊዎች በለቅሶ በመዋጣችን በጣም ግራ ተጋብተናል። ከህዝቡ ጋር እንዳናለቅስ የሚለቀስበትን ምክንያት አላወቅነውም። ሁኔታው እፍረት ቢጤ ጫረብኝ። ግና የ14 ዓመት ታዳጊ መሆኔን ሳስታውስ ማፈሩን ተውኩትና የለቅሶውን ምክንያት ከሚያለቅሰው እኩያዬ ለመረዳት ወሰንኩኝ። ይሁንና እርሱንም ከማድረግ አሊሹ ገላገኝ።
“አንድ ጊዜ ጸጥታ!” በሚል ህዝቡ ለቅሶውን እንዲተው ትእዛዝ ሰጠ። አዳራሹ ጸጥ ሲል እንግዳው ማይኩን አነሳና ንግግሩን ካቆመበት ቀጠለ። ስላሳለፈው የህይወት ውጣ ውረድ፣ ስለገጠሙት ፈተናዎች፣ ስላከናወናቸው ድርጊቶች፣ በህይወት ስለተለዩት የትግል ጓዶቹ ወዘተ… ተናገረ። ህዝቡም ንግግሩን በእንባ እያወራረደ አዳመጠው። እኔም በዚያ አዳራሽ የሆነውን ሁሉ በተመስጦ እየታዘብኩ አረፈድኩ። በእለቱ ከታዘብኩት ነገር በመነሳት ህዝቡን በእንባ ያራጨው እንግዳ ህዝቡ ከፈጠራቸው ጥቂት ጀግኖች መካከል እንደሚመደብ ለማወቅ ቻልኩኝ።
በዚያች እለቱ ከሆነው ሁሉ ሁለት ነገሮች እስከዛሬ ድረስ በልቤ ላይ ታትመው ቀርተዋል። ያ ህዝብ አሊሹ በሚናገርበት ስብሰባ ላይ የሚገኘው አጀንዳው ጥሞት ሳይሆን የአሊሹ አነጋገር በሚፈጥርለት ሳቅና ደስታ መዝናናት ስለሚፈልግ ነው። ሌሎች አሰልቺ ስብሰባዎችን የሚካፈለው ደግሞ “ከስብሰባ የቀረ ሰው ከቀበሌ ሱቅ ስኳርና ዘይት መግዛት አይችልም” ከሚለው የዘመኑ ቅጣት ለማምለጥ ሲል ነው።
በዚያች እለት የሆነው ግን ተቃራኒው ነው። ያ በአሊሹ ተረብ መዝናናት የለመደ ህዝብ ከእንግዳው ጋር በእንባ ሲራጭ ዋለ። እንግዳው ንግግሩን ካበቃ በኋላ ህዝቡ በመድረኩ ላይ ያደረገውን ወረራ በቃላት መግለጽ ያስቸግራል። “እርሱን አቅፎ የሳመ ዛሬ ማታ ጀንነት ይገባል” የተባለ ይመስል በርሱ ላይ ሲረባረብ ነበር የዋለው። እርሱን መሳም ያልቻለውም ሰውነቱን ለመዳሰስ ሲጋፋና ሲረጋገጥ ነበር ያረፈደው። የሚገርመው ነገር ይህ ሁሉ ሲሆን ህዝቡ ስቅስቅ ብሎ ማልቀሱን አላቆመም። ጸጥታ አስከብራለሁ በሚል ተፍተፍ ሲል የነበረው አሊሹ እንኳ ጸጥታ ማስከበሩን ትቶ ከህዝቡ ጋር ማልቀሱን ተያይዞታል። “የህዝብ ፍቅር ይስጥህ!” የሚል ምርቃት ስሰማ ያ ትእይንት ከፊቴ ድቅን ይላል። ህዝብ ለጀግናው ያለውን ፍቅር በዐይኔ ያየሁት በዚያች እለት ነውና።
    የእንግዳው ነገርም አስገርሞኛል። ለአርባ ዓመታት ከተለየው ህዝብ መሀል ሲገኝ ህዝቡ ይረሳኛል ብሎ ባያስብም እንኳ በዚያ አዳራሽ የተፈጠረውን ትዕይንት እንዳልጠበቀው ከግምት በላይ መናገር ይቻላል። ነገር ግን ህዝብ ህዝብ ነው። ማን እንደሰራለትና ማን እንደሰራበት አበጥሮ ያውቃል። ጀግኖቹ የዋሉለትን ውለታ ፈጽሞ አይረሳም። ለህዝብ የሰራና ለህዝብ የለፋ ሰው ከህዝብ የሚጠብቀው ሽልማት የማይነጥፍ ፍቅር ነው። ይህንን ሽልማት የተሸለሙ ጀግኖች እንዳሉ ሰምቻለሁ። በታሪክ መጻሕፍትም አንብቤአለሁ። በህዝብ የተሸለመ ጀግና በዐይኔ ለማየት የቻልኩት ግን በዚያች ዕለት በዚያ አዳራሽ ውስጥ ነው።
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የጀግናው ፍጻሜ
ግንቦት 17/2005 …ሀረር
 ከምሳ በኋላ አልጋዬ ላይ ጋደም እንዳልኩ እንቅልፍ ይዞኝ ጭልጥ አለ። ለተወሰነ ጊዜ ከለጠጥኩት በኋላ ነቃሁ። ሞባይሌን በዳበሳ ፈላልጌ አገኘሁትና ሰዓቱን አየሁት። አስር ሰዓት ተኩል መሆኑንም ተረዳሁ። እግረ መንገዴንም በተኛሁባቸው ሶስት ሰዓታት ዓለም እንዴት እንደቆየችኝ ማወቅ አማረኝና ኢንተርኔት ከፈትኩ። ቢቢሲና አል-ጀዚራ ለኔ የማይጥሙ ወሬዎችን በመረባቸው ላይ ለቀዉታል። “አንባቢ ያውጣላቸው” ብዬ አለፍኳቸውና ወደ ፌስቡክ ገባሁ። የፌስ ቡክ ቀንደኛ ዜና (top story) ሆኖ የተጻፈውን ሳይ ከዛሬ ሀያ ዓመት በፊት በህዝብ ሲሸለም ያየሁት ጀግና መሞቱን የሚያረዳ ሆኖ አገኘሁት።
ዐይኔ ተስቦ ሊጠበስ ደረሰ። ልቤም ተደናባብሮ ምቱን ቀየረው። “እውነት ነው ውሸት?” በሚል ይበልጥ ለማረጋገጥ ሞከርኩ። የተለየ ለውጥ የለውም። ለጥቂት ደቂቃዎች ስልኩን ዘጋሁትና “ፈጣሪዬ! ውሸት አድርገው ባክህ?” እያልኩ አጉተመተምኩ። ግን ዋጋ አልነበረውም። የሆነውን መቀበል ብቻ ነው የተረፈኝ….
ይገርማል! ሰው ሞተ ሲባል “ኢና ሊላህ የኢና ኢለይሂ ራጂዑን” ከማለት ውጪ ብዙም አልደነግጥም። በጣት የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎችን መርዶ ስሰማ ግን ከመደንገጥም አልፎ በቁሜ እንደ መቃዠት ብያለሁ። የትላንትናውም በዚሁ ምድብ ውስጥ ከሚካተቱት ነው።
በእርግጥ እላችኋለሁ። ድንጋጤዬ ለከት አልነበረውም። ደግሞም በንዴት እርር ብያለሁ።  ሞትን ባገኘሁት ኖሮ እንቅ አድርጌ በገደልኩት ነበር። “ተልካሻውን ለቃቅመህ ማጥፋት ሲገባህ ጀግናውን የምትለቅመው ለምንድነው?” ብዬ ባፋጠጥኩት ነበር። ግን አይቻልም። ሞት በፈጣሪ የተሰጠውን ግዳጅ ነው ያከናወነው። ፈጣሪ ያመጣውን መቀበል ግዴታ ነውና እየመረረኝም ቢሆን ዋጥኩት።
  አዎን! ያ ከሃያ ዓመታት በፊት በህዝብ ሲሸለም ያየሁት ጀግና ዳግም ላይመለስ ሄዷል። ጣፋጭ አንደበቱ ከእንግዲህ አንዲት ቃል ላይተነፍስ ተዘግቷል። የተባ ብዕሩ አንዲት አንቀጽ ላይጭር ነጥፏል። ጀግናው ከኛ ጋር እንዳልነበረ ሁሉ ዛሬ ለዘልዓለሙ ተለይቶናል። በመሆኑም የኔና የወገኔ ሀዘን ድርብርብ ነው።
እንጉርጉሮዬን በዚሁ ልቋጭ። ጀግናውን “አላህ ይርሐመክ” ልበለው!

አፈንዲ ሙተቂ
ግንቦት 26/2005
ሀረር
 


                                                                                                                  

Friday, May 24, 2013

Dadar, the Colorful Town in East Hararge


by Afendi Muteki



The first hospital of the Hararge province (out of Dire Dawa and Harar) was opened here.The first high school of Hararge region was also opened here. It had mothered distinguished personalities like Abubakar Muussaa, Abdii Qophee, Xaahaa Alii and many others. Famous people like Dr. Haile Fida once lived here. Professor Mohammed Hassen had worked here for about a year.
Many notable guests had visited Dadar including Emperor Haile Silasie and Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam. Colonel Atnafu Abate, the vice chairman of the Dergue council, had passed here couple of nights when he came to inaugurate the first people's militia of Ethiopia on a historical ceremony which was held at "Calanqoo" in 1977.  

For a long time (until 1991), Dadar was the capital of Oborraa "awraajjaa" (sub-province) of the Hararge province. After the fall of the Dergue regime, for one year (1991-1992), it was the administrative center of the Eastern Oromia sub-region which comprised West Hararge, East Hararge, Dire Dawa and Eastern Arsi provinces.

Among many of its other stories, it was a center of Islamic education for a long time. Famous scholars like Sheikh Muhammad Abdullii and Sheikh Abdurahman Hussien Muusaa (Muudaa) was educating the people in the vicinity of this town for many years. 
Its aesthetic virtues are uncountable. Artists had song for this beautiful town eloquently. In Oromo folk literature, it had special place. The men of arts and media like Adam Haaruun, Wegayehu Deginetu, Paulos Ngongo, Million Lemma, Jafar Ali, Alfiyaa Abduwahab, Maftuuhaa Abbaas, Qamar Yusuf, Milion Lemmaa etc were either born here or passed a significant portion of their life here. Abdulwasie Mendida, the author of many books and the founder of many important institutions like Ethiopian Muslim Professionals Association and Nur-Salam College, was the native of this town.

Dadar was also a center of trade. Since its establishment, many Arabian and European entrepreneurs started their business fortunes here. In addition, many Ethiopians were doing their business in this town. Still now, the town is one of the chief suppliers of the top quality variety of “Harar coffee” (which is a type of "Coffee Arabica") to the Markets of Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa. This coffee is brought in mainly by the farmers of the surrounding areas of Jaajaa, Jarjartuu, Soqaa, Harawaaca, etc.

Geographically, Dadar lays in the mid of the Hararge region. It is surrounded by the sections of "Fugug Mountains" from the northern and north western directions. It has a good rainfall throughout the year. Although it exhibits strong cold in few months, its climate is very favorable for mankind.

In ethnographic terms, it is basically attached to the Obbora clan of the Afran Qallo Oromo. However, it is also very near to the Ittu Oromos who occupied the western part of the Hararge region, the Alla Oromos who dominate the upper part of Gara Mul’ataa sub-province, and the Anniyya Oromoo who settled in the southern lowlands of Harerghe. As a result, Dadar had gained a status of being a melting pot of all Oromo tribes in the region. As it homed many Oromos who came from other parts of Oromia under different circumstances (i.e. some as students of the great sheikhs, and others as workers), it can be referred also as a symbol of Oromo unity.

Furthermore, as it have homed many people of other nations mainly the Amharas, Somalis and Arabs for about a century, we can deduce that also that Dadar is a center of humanity. These nations lived in a deep harmony with the native Oromos of the town and who usually consider them as their own half. Most of them perfectly speak Afaan Oromoo and they had deep respect for Oromo culture and tradition.

Dadar is one of the few towns for which I give equal place in my heart with Galamso, my home town. Unfortunately, this colorful and historical town is declining from time to time. It is not growing while the nearby small towns are expanding at an amazing speed. Please let us join hands together and revive it. Let us keep this beautiful town shining over Fugug mountains as it was doing for about a century.
I love you Dadar.
I love you "Dadariinoo" (the natives of Dadar)
-------------
May 25, 2013
Harar

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

“ኦሮማይ” (Oromay)- The Timeless Amharic Novel


By Libah Leencoo

Beualu Girma's “Oromay" is the book I always remember and admire. I read it many times, and I still need to read it.  I say this not because the book's narration is based on the true account of "the Red Star Campaign” (የቀይ ኮከብ ዘመቻ), neither is it because the author lost his life for it. I have different reasons to rather. Here, I present only three of them in short.

First, the literal beauty of the book is incomparable. From the beginning up to the end, the author used short sentences mostly which make the reader to grasp the theme of the book easily. Besides, the author’s ability to express complex ideas in a simple manner, his use of metaphor's and satires along with his symbolic presentations are very astonishing. The artistic and entertaining flows of the stories made the book very close to the Persian Sufi poetry and the French and Russian classics of the nineteenth century. The author had a notable ability of using humor in the drafting of the main characters of the story. The ever astonishing thing is his ability to write such a literally beautiful book in less than a year. How could he mastered all these while he was very busy on his regular position of the vice minister of information, and when he was a leading TV journalist of that era? Do you expect such thing from any cabinet members of this time? Bealu Girma was that.

The second is the book’s theme. Although the book’s aim seems reporting the plan, implementations and failures of the Red Star Campaign, in my thought, Beualu’s target was showing us the ugliness of the hybrid system that the military junta was trying to build in Ethiopia in the name of “Socialism”. For example, in the book, we read statements like “ሀገራችን ሁልጊዜ የማታቋርጥ ዘመቻ ውስጥ ነው ያለችው። ዘመቻው ሁሉ በአናት በአናቱ ነው የሚመጣብን። የእርሻ ዘመቻ፣ የጦርነት ዘመቻ፣ የትምህርት ዘመቻ፣ የጤና ዘመቻ…ሁልጊዜ ዘመቻ”. Here, I don’t see that Beaulu was against doing activities in “zemecha” form; rather, he was showing us his grievance on those “zemecha’s” being poor-planned, uncoordinated, and undermanaged.

On the other hand, through the actions and speeches of the main characters of the book, the author had shown us the hollowness and insanity of the farfetched wishes of the military junta and the leaders of the time. Further, he clearly expressed that many members of the leadership themselves (including the author) were not feeling positive about the motives and activities of the government they were serving. You may take the case of Daniel Mets’hafe (ዳንኤል መጽሐፈ) who was an economist by profession and who complained in the book about ill effects of the working conditions of the time and some unwise events he was seeing in Asmara. For example, on one occasion, Daniel said to the author “How dare we bring most of the trucks owned by the country to this province (Eritrea) while it is a harvest time in many of the other provinces? Is this a wise plan”. On the other hand, in a beautiful language, Daniel said to the author “እናንተ ጋዜጠኞች የሁልጊዜ ጭንቀታችሁ ስታቲስቲክስ ነው። “የስኳር ምርት በይህን ያህል አደገ”፣ “ባለፈው ዓመት መቶ ሺህ ቶን ሰሊጥ ወደ ውጪ ተላከ”፤ “ሶስት መቶ ጋሻ መሬት በትራክተር ታረሰ”፣ ይሄው ነው ወሬአችሁ። ስታቲስቲክስ ብቻውን እድገት ይሆናል እንዴ? ስታቲስቲክሱ እድገት እንዲሆን “ሰው ሰው” መሽተት አለበት። የናንተ ስታቲስቲክስ ግን እንጨት እንጨት ነው የሚሸተው”። (I couldn’t write here the statements of the author as they appear in the book because I don’t have “Oromay” in my hand now. I am just writing them as I remember.)

The third point, for which I admire the book, is its being all-rounded. In the book, you may enjoy the romantic love of Fiamita Gilay and Tsegaye Hailu. Solomon Betre Giorgis tells you the background history of the complex Eritrean problem and the raise of “Jabha” (ELF) and Shaibia (EPLF). Colonel Tariku Welday teaches you the art of war and the guerilla warfare. Tsegaye Hailu (the author) beautifully describes the topography of Naqfa Mountains. Colonel Betru Tessema and his team bring you a wide knowledge of intelligence science. Si’lay Barakhi and his fellow men give you a deep insight on how “Shaibi’a” and “Jabha” were governing “Asmara” from underground. You may learn also the ethnography of Eritrean tribes and nationalities in short, from Rashida up to the highland Tigrigna speakers. If you are a linguist, you may get highlights on the speech and vocabulary of the “Asmarino” (natives of Asmara). The sketch, roads and architecture, and social life of the city of Asmara are colorfully depicted.  

But I am very sorry that the book’s rich literal beauty and its holistic narrations are still undermined by many. I feel that the book’s powerfulness is overshadowed by the author’s martyrdom so that many of its qualities are being neglected unknowingly. There are also some others who mention “Oromay” only when they want to amplify the madness and cruelty of the Dergue regime. This latter group even don’t quote a single statement from “Oromay” in their propaganda warfare. What they say is simply “Dergue killed Bealu Girma because he wrote Oromay”. Although Bealu’s death in the hand the Dergue is obvious, I insist that “Oromay” shouldn’t be thrown down to such a playing ball position of the temporal propaganda game. Dergue has passed, and we will hardly follow its footsteps in the future. But “Oromay” is for all time. We need it to teach and learn literature and history. We need it today and tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sheikh Muhammad Rashid Bilal and His Life


Written by:- Afendi Muteki


Sheikh Muhammad Rashid Sheikh Bilal (1907?- October 31, 1988) was one of the famous Islamic Scholars of the Cacar Highlands of Hararge province whom many people of Harerghe recall as one of the most authorized source of the ancient history of Islam in Ethiopia and the Oromo of people.  He is also remembered as a saver of indigenous knowledge, traditional healer, teacher of many Ulama (Islamic scholars), a poet and author of many books. While his real name had been Sheikh Muhammed Rashid Sheikh Bilal, he appears on his written documents as Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad (shortening his own and his father's name who had been Mohammed Bilal, and adding then his grandfather’s name).

 Early life

Sheikh Muhammad Rashid was a son of Sheikh Bilal Kabir Muhammad, a prominent Sheikh from the Qallu clan of the Ittu Oromo. He was born in 1906 at a rural village called Balbaleetti-Chirratti, 15 km south of Galamso town. His mother, known as Fatima Abdullahi Hammado, had died immediately after she gave birth to Sheikh Muhammad Rashid so that his father married another wife and had a daughter called Khalisa Sheikh Bilal who would become the Sheikh's only sister.
After the birth of Khalisa, Sheikh Bilal had changed his seat to a distant village called Corree in today’s Guba Qoricha district of West Harerghe Zone where he became one of the scholars who became a pivotal in Islamization of the Ittu Oromo in Guba Qoricha He then settled at that very place and took his assignments as a chief Islamic scholar with many disciples, and also assumed the title of Qadi of the area. It was there that the infant Muhammad Rashid had started learning the Qur’an and other Islamic subjects. But his father couldn’t live many years, died within few years and buried at that village of Corree. So the duty of fostering the two orphans of Sheikh Bilal (Muhammad Rashid and Khalisa) lied on their uncles who brought them to their birthplace (Balbaleettii).
 
Sheikh Muhammad Rashid during his Hajj pilgrimage, cf 1970,

  His Education

After coming to Belbeliti, Muhammad Rashid continued his educational career. There, his chief teacher was his uncle called Kabir Ahmadee (Muhammad Rashid and the rest of his nephews call this uncle of theirs by a nickname “Iddiidii”). This Kabir (kabir meaning a learned scholar in the traditions of the Somali, Oromo and Harari peoples) was highly known in the area of al-Ilmu Lisan (“linguistics), “Al-Jabr” (Algebra) and “Taarikh” (history). Muhammad Rashid was also educated under his other uncle called Kabir Khalid who was known for his knowledge of “Fiqh”. But these scholars couldn’t quench the young Muhammad Rashid’s thirst for knowledge.
So he had departed from his village and traveled in many areas of the Carcar highlands where he attended the companies of many Islamic scholars such as Sheikh Abubeker Sheikh Ali Jami, Sheikh Umare Sheikh Ali Jami, Haji Bashir Haji Umar Sawtani, Haji Mahmud Ahmad and others.
When he completed his learning under the Ulama of Chercher, the young Muhammad Rashid elongated his journey of education beyond the borders of his province. His eldest son Muttaqii Sheikh Muhammad Rashid narrated to the writer of this article (Afendi Muteki) that Sheikh Muhammad Rashid’s journey of education took him as far as Jimma and the Gurage province in the west and the walled city of Harar in the east.  But when he reached the former Gara Mul’ata Awraja of the Harerghe province, he met the ideal teachers whom he was looking for and passed the rest of his studentship life there. In those years, Muhammad Rashid stayed as a disciple of his most favorite scholars called “Sheikh Adam Gafra” and most notably the famous “Sheikh Sa’id Husein Faqii”.  And it was this Sheikh Sa’id Hussein Faqi who educated the young Muhammad Rashid deeply and gave him “ijaza” (declarations of full authority) to be a teacher and “Faqih” (Higher Islamic Jude that can give “fatwa” or Islamic decree) with full of rights and authority.
Sheikh Muhammad Rashid had been a friend of many distinguished Ulama while he was learning under different sheikhs. Some of his scholarly mates were
  • Hajji Umar Ibrahim Arboyye :- Popularly known as “Abbo Haji”. He founded a well known scholarship center at “Dereku”, 15 km south of Gelemso. Haji Umar was also a friend of Sheikh Muhammad Rashid during his pilgrimage to Makah and Medina.
  • Sheikh Muhammad Jamal Sheikh Umar Aliyye: The eldest son of Sheikh Umar Aliyye of Gelemso. He was also another man with whom Sheikh Muhammad Rashid went for the Hajji journey.
  • Sheikh Shato Sheikh Mi’o of Gubba Qoricha: Well known scholar of Qur’an and the grandson of Sheikh Ali Jami. Sheikh Shato was not only a friend of Sheikh Muhammad Rashid but also married the latter’s widowed step mother (the mother of Khalisa, Sheikh Muhammad Rashid’s only sister) and had two daughters.
  • Sheikh Abdulhalim Kabir Umara:- Cousin of Sheikh Muhammad Rashid who married Khalisa, the sheikh’s sister. He was a famous scholar who tutored many disciples such as Sheikh Mukhtar Aliyye, the current Imam of Gelemso’s grand mosque.
  • Sheikh Mohammed Abduli : A well known scholar around Deder. His center is located on the bank of the Ramis River.
  • Sheikh Bakri Sapalo: A famous historian, traditionist, poet and Orthographic who created a new writing system for Afaan Oromoo (The Oromo Language).  

 

 A Popular Sheikh

After achieving his “ijaza” from Sheikh Sa’id Hussein Faqi of Gara Mul’ata in the late 1930s, Sheikh Muhammad Rashid returned to the Chercher highlands to start his career as a teacher. He was thinking “Belbeliti” to be his home then. However, as he received many calls from the people of “Corree”, the seat of his father and where he passed his childhood life, he founded his scholarship center there and began his teachings. Our sources say that Sheikh Muhammad Rashid could bring a big change shortly after he launched his scholarly tutorship. And it was there that he was engaged to his first wife, a Somali woman called “Zeynaba Libaah”, and had a son who could live only for two weeks (The boy’s name was Muhammad Tahir and he died on his 16th day). During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia around 1940, Sheikh Muhammad Rashid moved his scholarship center to a small town of “Kooraa” on Ethio-Djibouti railway line and tutored there for some brief time.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Muhammed Rashid was informed that his own birthplace had lacked an able scholar, and famous Ulama like Sheikh Umar Aliyye summoned him to fill the gap so that he returned to “Belbeleti” and established his long-time education center.
It was in Belbeletti that the Sheikh could teach all sorts of subjects, from the major Islamic disciplines up to the Arabian and Persian antiquities, from the Greeko-Roman philosophies up to the East African and Indian Medicine, from the ethnology and history of the Oromos up to the classical Arabic Language and poetry. Many students whom he taught had witnessed his ability to deliver sermons, his deep knowledge of Islamic subjects and their interpretations, his ability to handle his students, the harmonious community that he established, and above all his humanitarian approaches and his piety.
As time passed, the fame of Sheikh Muhammed Rashid started to cross beyond the “Carcar” highlands and all of the Harerghe and since then, many students would come from Bale, Arsi and Wallo to attend his school. He could get popularity even in the countries of Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen. That was why many citizens of Djibouti and Somalia were visiting the Sheikh frequently.
Among Sheikh Muhammad Rashid’s most distinguished students, we can mention the followings.
  • Mufti Salah Ahmed: - who could become one of the early Ethiopian graduates of Al-Azhar University.
  • Sheikh Abdurrahman Hussein Mussa (Muudaa) :- Who became the President of The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia in 1990s
  • Sheikh Mohammed Rabi Sheikh Umar Aliyye
  • Haji Sa’adu Sheikh Mi’o
  • Sheikh Arabo Sheikh Yusufe
  • Sheikh Abdinur Khalid
  • Etc..

 His Latter Years and Death

When the health condition of the brilliant sheikh started to deteriorate in 1970s, he was forced to stop his teaching career that lasted for about forty years. However, he continued to play his role as a community leader, humanitarian, historian, ethnographer, traditional mediciner, “Faqih” (judge), agriculturalist and poet.
On one Monday, the 28th day of the month of Rabiul Awwal of 1409 years after Hijra (October 31, 1988 G.C or Tikimt 21, 1981 E.C.), the wise sheikh of the public had passed at his own village and engraved at a public cemetery half a mile away from his village. An approximately 5-10 thousand people attended his funeral.  Although the sheikh passed 24 years ago, the influence he left in the whole learning process of the traditional Islamic schools of the “Carcar” highlands can be felt until now.
Sheikh Muhammad Rashid had fathered many daughters and sons among whom “Ahmad Taqi” (Hundee) was the famous one.
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Afendi Muteki
Harar
May 16, 2013


(Note: This article first appeared on Wikipedia two and half years ago. What is presented here is a shortened form of the original one. You may get the full article from Wikipedia).  

 References

  1. Mohammed Hassan: The City of Harar and the Spread of Islam Among the Oromo in Hararghe, A Paper Presented on African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, November 1114, 1999
  2. Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad (a.k.a. Sheikh Muhammad Rashid Sheikh Bilal): “Al-Markabunn-Najaat ‘Alaa Kheyril Bariyyat”, unpublished Arabic Manuscript
  3. ________________: “Ragha’ibu-r-Rawwaaghib”, unpublished Arabic Manuscript
  4. Ulrich Braukämper: Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia. Collected Essays, Göttinger Studien zur Ethnologie 9, 2003 
  5. አፈንዲ ሙተቂ: ሀረር ጌይ- የአስገራሚዋ ከተማ የኢትኖግራፊ ወጎች : ሀረር፡ 2004 
  6. Interviews with Muttaqqi, Hanifa, Sadiq, Aliyuu and Iskandar, all of whom are Sheikh Muhammad Rashid’s children; Amina Ibrahim, Sheikh Muhammad Rashid’s wife; Sheikh Abdinur Kabir Khalid, a cousin of Sheikh Muhammad Rashid; Sheikh Abduljawad Umare, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Tirmo, and Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Kalilo nephews of Sheikh Muhammad Rashid. The interviews were done at Galamso and Balbaletti Chirratti on different occasions from 1992-2006, (two of these informants, namely Sheikh Abdinur and Muhammad Sani are diseased by now)

(Note: This article first appeared on Wikipedia two and half years ago. This is shortened form of the original one. You may get the full article from Wikipedia).