Beyond Intercepting Wahhabism, Upgrading “Mainstream” Islam, and Transplanting al - Ahbash in Ethiopia: Rethinking the Role of the Ethiopian Government and the US

The article presents three major arguments regarding the relationship between Ethiopian Muslims and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front regime. The first argument addresses how, beyond Wahhabism and terrorism, the regime has securitized Islam and Muslims in Ethiopia. It contends that the regime sought to broadly redefine Muslims' relatively peaceful quest for recognition, participation, and ownership in Ethiopia’s public sphere as an existential threat. Second, drawing on pertinent internet sources, the article argues that the US, particularly the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, played a role that accentuated the regime’s efforts. Third, by actively pursuing the “cultural reprogramming” of Islam and Muslims in Ethiopia, both parties aimed to impose a version of Islam that would fundamentally undermine Ethiopian Muslims' citizenship and religious identity. Drawing from both primary and secondary sources, this article concludes that, beyond Wahhabism, al-Ahbash, and “mainstream” or “Sufi” Islam, the regime and the United States were primarily interested in imposing any version of Islam or Muslim religious behavior that exhibits relatively identifiable features. This version requires maintaining a relatively low profile in Ethiopia’s public sphere, acquiescing to the needs of the state, and posing no threat to the state and its interests, both locally and internationally.