Tag Archives: Abiy Ahmed

Nonviolence

Ethiopia’s Pentecostal Prime Minister is going to war: millions of children suffer as a result

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We were very glad to see last year that an African Pentecostal for the second time in a row was being awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. Abiy Ahmed was motivated by his vivid, charismatic faith as he promoted peace talks and reconciliation in a nation filled with ethnic and religious conflict.

Like Denis Mukwege, I was hoping that Ahmed would show the world that the Pentecostal faith is more in line with peace and justice than war and egoism.

It is with a heavy heart that I now see that Ahmed is bringing his country into a civil war, with disastrous humanitarian consequences. The Guardian reports:

Violence in northern Ethiopia will probably drive 200,000 people into neighbouring Sudan over the coming months, UN agencies have warned, where food, shelter and medicine are urgently needed.

[…]

Fighting in the Tigray region has also left more than 2 million children in urgent need of assistance, with thousands more at risk in Sudanese refugee camps, Unicef said.

The agency is particularly worried over the possible spread of disease among the refugees, nearly half of whom are children.

Continue reading Ethiopia’s Pentecostal Prime Minister is going to war: millions of children suffer as a result →
Nonviolence, Spirituality

The Pentecostal Faith of Abiy Ahmed

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Today, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. We’re very excited here at Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice since this is the second time in a row that a Pentecostal is being awarded this prestigious prize.

Some have the impression that Ahmed is hiding his Pentecostal faith for diplomatic reasons: his nation is divided among both ethnic and religious lines. I recently spoke to Dr Jörg Haustein at Cambridge University who is an expert on Ethiopian Pentecostalism. He told me this wasn’t exactly the case.

Bildresultat för jörg haustein
Dr. Jörg Haustein

“I don’t think he de-emphasizes his Pentecostal faith, but he’s very aware of which audience he is speaking to”, Dr. Haustein says. “There are videos on YouTube, not put up by him but by others, where he’s very Pentecostal in his rhetoric. He knows how to employ his faith in a more plural religiously appealing manner, but it’s also empowering him in the bold things that he’s done. He actually feels that he’s doing God’s work, and that this is what he needs to be doing at this time.”

Ahmed is actually not the first Pentecostal Prime Minister of Ethiopia, his predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn was a Oneness Pentecostal. Dr. Haustein has previously researched his faith and rise to power. I ask him how Pentecostals ended up as top politicians in the country. Continue reading The Pentecostal Faith of Abiy Ahmed →