More than a month has already passed since Ethiopian Orthodox Christians started their main fasting season or Lent, (Abiy Tsom) which is a time where the faithful will abstain from animal protein: meat, milk and egg. Within the past six weeks the followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church have spent the fasting season with love and compassion. Coincidentally, in the middle of the Lent, Muslim Ethiopians have also started the Ramadan Fasting month.
Beside its religious value, the fasting season (for both Christians and Muslims) has a significant role in enabling followers to submit themselves to the will of the creator and feel the hunger and suffering of others. As it is evident from the daily activities of fasting season, most people are showing sympathy and are sharing what they have with the needy. This is directly or indirectly linked to the teaching of religious leaders who have all the power to direct their followers.
According to Assistant Professor Adem Kamil, religious leaders have to go extra miles to shape the character of their followers. This should not be confined in mosques or churches. They must go beyond religious institutions and be a model in their daily activities to their followers.
Ethiopia is the land of tolerance where different religions are practiced in tolerance. However, this is not always the case. There are moments where some religious teachers use religion as an instrument for their own purpose. As a result, many innocent people have paid a price for an unnecessary purpose. It has become the cause of loss of life and material.
Assistant Professor, Adem Kamil said that Ethiopia is among those countries that are the first to embrace Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This has enabled followers of these religions to have deep understanding about the religion they are following and moral values within them. In addition to these religions, there are also other religious institutions that are functioning in the country legally. According to him, if properly used religion is the way towards peaceful coexistence. If not it will backfire and destroy the peace that is built within centuries. In this regard, religious leaders have double fold responsibility in guiding their followers.
“Man is born out of flesh and spirit. Man is representative of the creator on planet earth. The creator detests envy, war and chaos. Our creator has given us authority on planet earth. He loves peace. As a means to sustain the peace and stability the creator has given man responsibility over earth. For this very reason, every human kind has a duty to keep the planet earth safe and peaceful”.
Assistant Professor Adam also said, throughout human history most religious leaders and prophets had served as ambassadors of peace. Religious conflicts that flare up between religions are more of earthly than spiritual by their nature. They are triggered by individuals who need to keep their personal interest at the expense of others` life. Quoting Swedish scholar, Adem said starting from the creation of human kind about 14,500 wars had been conducted on planet earth and three billion lives were lost. This is a true indication that wars are created either to satisfy individual interests or caused by the irresponsible nature of human beings.
Assistant Professor, Adem Kamil, said that when religious leaders fail to be models for their followers, they will directly or indirectly contribute their share for chaos and instability. However, if they consider themselves as “Spiritual” they can act and react to halt any form of threats to peace. Fasting is not all about abstaining from food and water. The core message of fasting goes beyond that. Fasting enables individuals to understand the pain and suffering of others; it enables a fasting person to put himself/herself in the shoes of others. This in turn will drive him/her to show kindness for others.
This year, the two grand annual fasting seasons of both Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Muslims have coincided. This fasting season should be used as an opportunity to share love and respect among each other. We should also celebrate the holidays in tolerance and love. In this regard, religious leaders should play their role by paving the way to their followers towards love, peace, sharing and tolerance. All religious leaders should walk the talk.
“Our country has lots of challenges. These challenges can only be handled by direct intervention of every individual. This includes religious leaders. War and conflict has cost the nation a lot. The recent crisis in Ukraine is a good indicator about the value of peace. Ukraine was one of the developed countries with strong economic muscle. But due to the war several people have been displaced and others have lost their priceless lives. We have also seen what happened to Yemen and Syria. We must take lessons from our experiences or others. In this regard, religious leaders have the responsibility to guide their people towards peace, not chaos”As a land of multitudes, the value of tolerance and love should be explained in different ways. Religious practices are one of the ways we express our love and tolerance to others. Fasting, which is one of the ingredients of religious people, should be genuine. People should not fast for the sake of fasting. They go beyond that and live what is designed for religious people. They should support the needy and show kindness to all human kind.
BY LEULSEGED WORKU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 7 APRIL 2022
