SECULARIZATION (secularism) CONSIDERED:
Nationalism is about mythology which constantly has to be fabricated, nurtured
and reconstructed. Ironically and during our resistance of Ethiopian
colonialism our nationalism was much easier to define and nurture; the
brutality of successive Ethiopian regimes provided ample fodder. The basis of
our nationalism in the context of our diversity is more of a challenge in peace
time now, than it ever was during the war. During the war our common goal,
gave us a united identity.
But identity is not a constant and is something that is renegotiated on regular
basis, be it at the individual or at the national level. This is especially
problematic for those of us living in the diaspora, we deal with so many
identities and our existence is literally schizophrenic. We want to remain
actively interested in the affairs of the homeland, at the same time we live in
countries that could careless about our internal struggles and hence our
miserable dependence on mediums like Dehai for a sense of belonging and for the
illusion of home that it creates. I would even venture and say that the
various cyber shoutings and negative exchanges that we are accustomed to in
dehai are a necessary and unavoidable aspects of being a part of such a
community. We may be projecting as one dehaier eloquently put it, but then
that is consistent with the human condition. The trick is not to dwell on it
and learn how to take cyber punches- at least they are better, than the real
punches. This maybe a little tough to swallow for the pampered mavericks
amongst us, but such is life and we need to come to grips with it. In other
words we can’t expect dehai to be "a rose garden" and leisurely, so many
complex feelings will continue to be projected, it comes with the nature of
such a medium. It is in this spirit that I will throw the following punches,
and
inevitably punches will be thrown at me. I know and accept the consequences.
In this posting I want to touch on the subjects of religion, language and
secularism. These are real issues in our country that we cannot hide from; we
need to confront them squarely.
THE LANGUAGE ISSUE:
As has been evident in the recent postings , some are trying to dilute Eritrean
national identity by advocating a foreign language like Arabic to become an
official language in our country. They wish to convinse us that Arabic is as
Eritrean as Tigrinna, Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Afar, Bilen, etc. In their
desperate opportunism and for political expediency, they use the Reshaidas, a
nomadic people whose number does not even exceed 15000, to justify their
positions.
I have been pondering on the possible motives for such positions. AND
I cannot deny the possibility that some Eritreans have internalized Arab
identity and this push for Arabic as an official language can only be an
expression of one or two things:
1) A severe case of inferiority complex and self hatred.
2) A desperate attempt to sneak fundamentalist politics through the back door.
And let there be no mistake that some among us are using Arabic as a proxy or
a Trojan horse for the hidden agenda of trying to establish a religious or a
quasi religious state in our country. This is a recipe for disintegration and a
betrayal of everything that the Eritrean national movement had meant to the
majority of us.
For example Saleh Gadi writes:
"Arabic is part and parcel of the Eritrean cultural heritage. Take that out and
you are left with an Eritrea unlike the one we all know. Arabic is engraved in
the Eritrean mosaic… In fact, Arabic was in Eritrea before Eritrea began to
exist as a nation Could you imagine going back in time and taking Tigrinna out
of the Eritrean psyche and still have the same Eritrea as we know it today? … I
am concerened by some reckless efforts to severe the Arabic nerve. (some
Eritreans would say ‘umbilical cord’) from Eritrea…But if Arabic is feared to be
any sort of a vehicle, then I am afraid that vehicle has unloaded its cargo and
has been in Eritrean roads since a long time ago. Furthermore, it carries an
Eritrean registration plate."
The passion with which Saleh Gadi lobbies for Arabic as an official language is
surprizing to say the least. It is fundamentally different from the
acknowledgement of the practical and utilitarian use of Arabic in our country
that many Dehaiers including myself support. Brother Saleh, I hate to
disappoint you but your claims don’t even make for a good fiction. Your
argument is a depressing reminder of the Amhara claim of the legend about the
Queen of Sheba and 3000 years of uninterrupted history that linked Eritrea to
Ethiopia. It has a similar ring to it. One would have hoped that such
concoctions and fantasies are things of the past.. But what could be behind
such a passion for Arabic? Saleh would like me to believe that I am paranoid
and that my concern about Arab nationalism (that is expressed in different
shapes and forms depending on the time and circumstances) is unwarranted. I
wish I could take some comfort and solace from Saleh’s assertions, but
unfortunately for me I am not that naïve. I know that Arab nationalism is
badly beaten and in retreat, but it does not mean it is dead, or that it is not
going to raise its ugly head, especially against nations that it considers to be
an easy prey.
NO NO SALEH, THE ARABIC CAR IS SMUGGLED AND THE LISCENSE PLATE IS FORGED AND
MUST BE REPLACED WITH AN AUTHENTIC ERITREAN PLATE.
Let us review a little history and then move on to investigate the experience
of other countries like Turkey with a view of learning from them.
In the 1940’s, the British plan as is widely known was the partition of Eritrea
along religious lines. As part of this effort Eritrean Moslems were
deliberately indoctrinated to look towards the Sudan and beyond and the vehicle
of choice to achieve this objective was the Arabic language. Towards this end
the British brought Arabic books from Egypt for use in the schools of Western
Eritrea. On the other hand Christian highlanders were systematically induced to
look southward to their language kins in Tigray by emphasizing the religious
connection. This was the basis for the constitutional place of Arabic in the
Federal structure of the 1950’s. Anyone who wants to verify this British design
only needs to consult the newly declassified British diplomatic records of the
1940’s. Arabic has been presented as an indigenous language in Eritrea, the
way Tigrinna, Tigre, Sahho, etc. are. This is a blatant distortion. Arabic
cannot be equated with the indigenous Eritrean languages.
The implication of such a position is serious and we in Eritrea cannot afford
to take it lighty. In this regard it is instructive to learn from the
Experience of Turkey.
TURKEY AS AN EXAMPLE OF SECULARISM:
KEMAL ATATURK the great Turkish reformer removed Islam as a state religion from
the constitution in 1928. Despite the fact that 95% of the Turkish people
belonging to Islam the state was no longer Islamic. The Muslim day of prayer,
Friday, was ignored and a new rest period was established. The veiling of
women was also attacked by Ataturk, although it was never outlawed. He replaced
Sharia law by western legal codes. Until then, the various Christians and the
Jews were ruled by their own religious laws. For the first time all religious
groups were subject to the same law.
But he soon realized that these reforms were not ADEQUATE MEASURES for his
secularization project and that the crux of the matter and the central issue
was in language. So he ordered the translation of the Quran from Arabic into
Turkish, and also passed a law banning the call to prayer in Arabic and all
Arabic words were purged from the Turkish language- he also changed the Arabic
script by Latin characters. Three strands run through Ataturk’s
secularization efforts. One was the separation of religion from politics,
another was the isolation of religion as much as possible from social life; the
third was the Turkification of Islam, ridding it of Arab influences and the
maintenance and popularization of the Turkish language. What does it mean to
talk about the Turkification of Islam? Many Arab Muslims uncompromisingly
insist on the essentially Arab character of Islam. For instance, at a
conference in Cairo in 1989, this issue came to surface when Mukti Ali, an
Indonesian scholar of religion who presented a paper entitled "Islam and
Indonesian culture." For Ali there was no apparent contradiction involved in
holding fast to Islam as a religion and to Indonesian culture as his national
and cultural frame of reference but the Arab scholars could not accept Islam
outside of it’s Arab character. The Arabs deeply feel that Islam is their
national religion that cannot be separated from the Arabic language.
Please note that Ataturk had nothing against Arabic as a language per say, but
he saw the connection between religion and language. In retrospect Kamal
Ataturk was absolutely correct and history has proven him to be a man of vision
and foresight. As it turned out certain groups from the Republican Peoples
Party created the Democratic Party (DP) which eventually evolved into the
Welfare Party and with the overwhelming support of the religious right came to
power in 1950. The victory of the Democratic Party meant the reversal of
Ataturks secular reforms. All Arabic relics were restored including the call
to prayer. The evolution of this trend culminated in Erbakan (the current
fundamentalist Prime Minister and leader of the Welfare Party) coming to power,
and Turkey continues to be run by a fundamentalist. In reality Turkey is in
the mess that it is in today because of fundamentalism threatening military coup
as recently as in March of 1997. A possibility of military coup because the
military in Turkey still identifies with Ataturk’s reform visions. The Turks
understood the implications and the link between language and religious
fanaticism and we in Eritrea should be mindful of religious fanaticm that is
inherently linked to the language issue. I think Turkish history is extremely
relevant for Eritrea. This is not to suggest that we should duplicate Ataturk’s
reform measures. The challenge facing us is to creatively deal with the
particularities of our homeland vs. Secularism while simultaneously securing the
survival of Eritrea as a viable and sustainable nation.. I SUGGEST THAT AN
ERITREAN VARIATION OF SECULARISM IS THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE.
Let us recall that some have argued that Arabic is the language of the Quran.
Can you imagine what will happen in Eritrea if the Tewahdo’s want to introduce
Geez as an Official language and the Catholics want Latin, The Protestants
insist on English or German and the Behai’s want Persian as an official language
etc.? Can Eritrea withstand such polarization on the language issue and fueled
by religious fanaticism. There is also a special concern about Islam. It
posits a world in which the Muslim religion and the Islamic state are
inseparable and it has less room for secularism than any other major world
religion. This has created a special problem for democracy!
Saleh also raised a point about Tigrinna Imperialism. Well, Well, Well Saleh,
Are we supposed to apologize for Tigrinna being spoken by the majority of
Eritreans and feel guilty now? It is legitmate to be concerened about an
effective mechanism for the participation of Eritrean minorities in the
political life of the country. And rest assured, that you will have my vote
in any formula that ensures such an effective representation. But to lobby for
Arabic as an official language, because of a perceived hegemony by Tigrinna has
the implications that I discussed above. Other than sophistry Salih has not
provided us with any evidence that Arabic is indegineous to Eritrea. The
sensationalist approach along with the theatrical scenario that Saleh
constructed may succeed in manipulating the impressionable and naive ones
amongst us, but such blatant claims cannot withstand any serious scrutiny.
And those of us who have a sense of (Hidri) to those who gave the ultimate
price, cannot and should not allow such a shameful chapter to take place in our
life times. We must resolutely defend the authenticity and identity of our
nation. We cannot be defeatist and spineless and succumb to the powerful
Arabic wind that a certain Dehaier alluded is the inevitable reality and
future for Eritrea. I am eternally grateful that our Tegadelti did not
capitulate to the seemingly invincible Amhara wind, that was oiled and
sustained by the might of US and Soviet Imperialism.
Ghebru
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