TUKA, Ethiopia — A Christian near Ethiopia’s southern town of Moyale said suspected Islamic extremists burned down his two thatched-grass homes March 29. Evangelist Wako Hanake of the Mekane Yesus Church said he had been receiving anonymous messages warning him to stop converting Muslims to Christ.
The Muslims who became Christians included several children. The incident in Tuka, nearly three miles from Moyale in southern Ethiopia’s Oromia region, happened while Hanake was away on an evangelistic trip. A neighbor said he and others rescued Hanake’s wife and children ages 8, 6 and 2. Church leaders said neighbors are still housing Hanake and his family. An area church leader who requested anonymity said Christians in Moyale are concerned that those in Tuka are especially vulnerable to a harsh environment in which religious rights are routinely violated.
“The Ethiopian constitution allows for religious tolerance,” said another area church leader, also under condition of anonymity, “but we are concerned that such ugly incidents like this might go unpunished. To date no action has been taken.”
Tuka village, on Ethiopia’s border with Kenya, is populated mainly by ethnic Oromo who are predominantly Muslim. Hostility toward those spreading faiths different from Islam is a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia and neighboring countries, area Christians said, adding that they are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
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