As the blessed month of Ramadan approaches in Ethiopia, Muslims begin early preparations and arrangements on both material and spiritual levels. This comes in various forms such as purchasing ingredients for preparing special dishes, cleaning and decorating mosques and homes, and other manifestations of celebrating the holy month among Ethiopian Muslims in cities and rural areas.

Reception Manifestations

Hajj Muhammad Siraj al-Din, a resident of the Bole district in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, states that Ethiopian Muslims eagerly await the arrival of Ethiopia's Ramadan. Congestion in mosques is common, as they are adorned with lights and colors, cleaned, and maintained. Markets witness a bustling activity as Muslims flock to buy tablecloths, prayer beads, prayer rugs, and traditional Arab garments. Meanwhile, women begin to arrange their homes and prepare ingredients for family iftar tables.

Siraj al-Din (63), during an interview with Al-Mujtama magazine, points out the important cultural traditions and values that characterize Ethiopian Muslims during their early preparations for the holy month. He mentions that Ethiopia's Ramadan days, from a spiritual perspective, are associated with gatherings for remembrance, reciting, and memorizing the Quran, as well as attending religious lessons. He adds that congestion in mosques is typical before the start of Ethiopia's Ramadan, with beautiful lights placed around them.

He highlighted that senior scholars who teach jurisprudence and hadith in villages tend to retreat during Ethiopia's Ramadan to engage solely in worship, remembrance, reciting the Quran, making supplications, and performing Taraweeh and Tahajjud prayers. For ordinary people, they compete to attend mosques in Ethiopia for Taraweeh prayers, transforming congestion in mosques into meeting places for loved ones, friends, and families.

Congestion in mosques during Ethiopia's Ramadan often spills into the streets, especially during Taraweeh prayers. Despite the numerous mosques in Ethiopia, they are insufficient to accommodate all worshippers, leading to public streets being closed off. Among the most notable mosques in Ethiopia are the Al-Anwar, Al-Noor, Binin, Wolosfer, and Al-Tawfiq mosques, which host classes and recitation circles, remaining full until the end of the month.

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Special Dishes

Ethiopia is home to over 83 ethnic groups and, correspondingly, the cultures and traditions of Ethiopian Muslims during Ethiopia's Ramadan vary widely. Each ethnic group has its own distinctive way of breaking the fast, in terms of foods, drinks, and other unique rituals and traditions not found elsewhere.

Mrs. Fatima Musa (a housewife) explains that the Ethiopian Muslim woman begins gathering materials for preparing special dishes weeks before the month arrives. She elaborates on the special dishes that are well-known on the Ethiopian table during Ethiopia's Ramadan, stating that during this month, the table is filled with all sorts of African, Ethiopian, and Arab foods. Popular Ethiopian foods include barley soup, wheat flour dishes, porridge, and injera, along with local drinks made from barley, fenugreek, and honey.

In her conversation with Al-Mujtama magazine, Fatima discusses the prominent customs and traditions among the Afar ethnic group in eastern Ethiopia, which has a Muslim majority during Ethiopia's Ramadan, highlighting the roles of women and mothers in preparing the home and reorganizing it days before the month begins.

She states that soup (hassah) is one of the most important special dishes alongside sambosa and nuts. Grains such as barley, millet, and fenugreek are essential for making broths and hot drinks, alongside preparing spices and hot chili, which are characteristic of the Ethiopian table. She continued her discussion about the most important special dishes, noting that Ethiopian samosas differ in their preparation from samosas in any other country, with the difference lying in their method of preparation and ingredients. She added that the flour is prepared in a special way so that it is cut into thick strips, ultimately forming triangular shapes.

Ethiopian samosas are triangular-shaped pastries filled with meat or other materials, and the filling can vary between meats, vegetables, or fish. Each of the three materials is wrapped with triangular-shaped strips of dough in layers to complete the final stage.

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The Official Aspect During Ethiopia's Ramadan

On the official level, journalist Mohamed Hassan Khidr mentioned that there are many Ethiopia's Ramadan activities, chief among them the annual communal iftar that the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia has organized for years in the capital. He added that the communal iftar has become a carnival-like event where Muslims from the capital gather at Revolution Square in the heart of the city. This annual iftar typically coincides with the night of the full moon on the 17th of Ramadan, with official participation from the head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, several scholars and scientists, representatives from the capital's government, and diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa.

Khidr continued that the communal iftar program is not limited to the capital Addis Ababa; it has become a phenomenon during Ethiopia's Ramadan in major cities across Ethiopia, where Muslims compete to host communal iftars in public streets, after previously being held only in certain neighborhoods.

He added that there is a similar congestion in mosques of major cities (Jimma, Adama, Robe) in the Oromia region, as well as in the cities of Lalibela, Dessie, and Bahir Dar in the Amhara region, alongside Harar and Jigjiga in eastern Ethiopia, and Orobie and Halaba in the southern part of the country.

Ramadan Events and Activities

As part of the Ethiopian Islamic Council's activities for this year's Ethiopia's Ramadan, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has initiated a major national competition for memorizing the Quran across all regions for the first time in the council's history. Valuable prizes will be awarded to winners at the end of the competition, in addition to the projects undertaken by those in charge of the council during this holy month, such as awareness and preaching programs through lectures, religious seminars, and iftar projects for fasting individuals.

Within the framework of solidarity, many local and international charitable organizations are active in Ethiopia, where the Higher Commission for Islamic Affairs in Addis Ababa, in cooperation with the Turkish Diyanet Vakfi Foundation, has provided Ethiopia's Ramadan relief to 350 individuals, including 300 people from special needs cases.

In the same context, the Nasir Yasin Charity Foundation in Ethiopia donated more than one million Ethiopian Birr to the poor in the Solti area of the central region, reaching 250 families with what is called a "food bag" containing meals such as rice, oil, and other items.