Coexistence, a breath of fresh air

I recently had an encounter with some Americans who are living in Butajira. The topic of our discussion revolved around religion. Our views were quite different to say the least. But everyone is entitled to their opinions and as far as I’m concerned you can believe in whatever makes you happy. We discussed aspects of Ethiopians and how they worship and disagreed on that point as well. When I got home, our conversation left me contemplating my own beliefs. I won’t discuss my personal ideas, but I will say that I came away from that afternoon with a deeper appreciation for Ethiopia.

Before I go on, I'll add a little bit about my site and the religions practiced here. I want to stress that the situation I am speaking of highlights my site only. Not all towns and regions of Ethiopia are like this. I can only speak for my community. In Butajira half of the population is Muslim while most of the rest are either Protestant or Ethiopian Orthodox. There are both mosques and churches that are often frequented. Rather it is a Muslim holiday or a Christian one, schools and other governmental institutions are closed. These religions all coexistent. I’ve never come across any conflicts between them. Christians and Muslims work together, form friendships with one another, they eat together, and celebrate together. People talk about both God and Allah with no problem. They know about one another's beliefs and can tell you what the other accepts as the truth. There exists a mutual respect. Think about that for a minute … that’s beautiful!

Getting back to the realization I came to after my afternoon with the Americans, after living in a place for a while and becoming comfortable in that new environment, you start not noticing everything around you so much. It has become my way of life. Because I’ve adapted to my site, I’ve become used to the different religions and traditions that coexist amongst one another. To me this has become so normal. Because this is so normal to me, I have forgotten how truly amazing it is to have people with different religious views living together. Therefore after discussing religion with my fellow Americans, I was reminded of that coexistence and once in my house, I thought to myself how incredible that is. It’s a beautiful part of Ethiopia. This is one of the things I love about this country. In a time when countries and cultures continue to misunderstand each other with regards to religion in turn leading to countless conflicts, living in an environment that goes against what much of the rest of the world is struggling with is a breath of fresh air. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to see this and live within such coexistence. To me what makes religion so special here isn’t the fact that people are so deeply religious, but the fact that they can all live together. Ethiopians may not all believe in the same God, however they share a common history and a common culture with traditions that go back hundreds of years. They share a past. They continue to find a way to keep their traditions alive while following different faiths.