Paper short abstract:

By protesting against the imposition of the Ahbash ideology, Ethiopian Muslims have adopted new communication strategies, particularly through videos posted on internet. What do they show of a debate on identities, beliefs and rights? What is their actual role in the process of the showdown?

Paper long abstract:

Since the first months of 2012, Ethiopian Muslims have been demonstrating on Fridays by waving the symbol of yellow cards to protest against government interference in religious affairs. At the core of their mobilization is the al-Ahbash ideology that was introduced to promote a new model of Islamic education against religious extremism. Al-Ahbash ("The Ethiopians" in Arabic) was founded in Lebanon in the 1980sby a scholar of Ethiopian origin who advocated Islamic pluralism and opposition salafi movements. It was rejected by Ethiopian Muslims when it was imposed to them as the doctrinal basis for an official Islam. In front of repression and censorship on media, the only actual information on the course of the showdown is given through videos and posts shared through social networks on internet. An Ethiopian Muslim media created in 2010, based in the Ethiopian diaspora in North America, has been very active in this process.

The purpose of this paper is to review on how Ethiopian Muslims have been led to adopt new communication strategies. Not only the heterogeneous corpus of videos posted on internet will be described, but their actual impact will be assessed. Are these pictures directed towards the diaspora and aimed at gaining financial support (to compensate the sense of guilt of not being able to take part in the demonstration)? Have they played an actual role amongst protesters, particularly the youth, in the spread and evolution of the protest movement despite the very strict control of the authorities on internet communication?