Muslims in Ethiopia: History and Identity

Muslims are among the marginalised groups that had no direct access to land until the 1974 revolution which brought important and far-reaching changes to the socio-political and religious position of Ethiopian Muslims. Although research on Islam and Muslims in Ethiopia shows impressive progress, focusing on regional and contemporary Islam and marginalised groups over the last 30 years, the historical dimension has yet to appear. This research, based on authoritative published and unpublished sources, examines the history and situation of Muslims before and during imperial and immediate post-revolutionary Ethiopia. It also analyses multi-dimensional issues including exclusion, perception, religion, majority, minority, power relations, groups and state.