Islamic Council in Dessie, Amhara region of Ethiopia, sees problems of implementation due to human resources and religious use of the Geez language
Borkena
Toronto – The Amhara regional state has recently introduced an educational policy to offer the ancient Geez language in schools starting from elementary level of schools.
However, the decision seems to be facing resistance in some parts of the region. Dessie City Islamic Affairs Council has issued a statement resisting the decision.
It opposed that there was no community discussion on it. ” While it is known that there could be several perspectives on Geez education, the move to implement it with a single letter is inappropriate,” the Dessie Branch of Islamic Council said in its statement.
Another reason that is cited for the opposition is that Geez language describes bible, hagiographies, Glory of the Kings (Kibre Negest), saints, and angels that is only found in theological teachings.
Yet, the council also highlighted ” This does not mean that the genesis, growth and death of Geez education is connected with orthodox Christianity.” Historical accounts in Ethiopia seem to suggest that Geez language was extensively used as state language before the official adoption of Amharic as government language in the 19th century.
Implementing the policy is not practical as seen from Dessie City Islamic Affairs Council. It points to the dearth of teachers, who graduated from institutions of higher learning, capable of offering the language. It said “it is obvious that there is no pool of qualified human resources graduates from institutions of higher learning that are capable of teaching geez language across schools in the region.”
Furthermore, the council points out that the problem was observed in institutions of higher learning. It cited that there has been discussion whether it is possible to make geez language to have a secular content or not.
Geez is the ancient language in Ethiopia and Eritrea , and has been in use for government function. Yet, it has been extensively used in churches until very recently. With the rise of radical ethnic nationalism in the country, the use of Geez language has been restricted even in churches particularly in areas like the Oromia region.
Geez language is offered as a language course in some foreign universities including the University of Toronto in Canada.
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It is very simple:
Exclude “Dessie City” & Islamic communities that follow Arab ‘languages & traditions’ and try to impose their ideas of following foreign influences upon the rest of us who want to learn our old traditions and languages ( we did not object their choices, why should we let them object ours?)
To accommodate those in the ‘Islamic communities’ (including Dessie City) who are open minded and want to learn the Geez language, then, they should be given the opportunity to learn in the schools Geez is offered, within the areas they reside . That means there should be schools that teach Geez, and others that do not, in those communities.
1) The few cannot dictate to the majority.
2) The wider population of Amhara in Gojjam, Begemeder, and Shewa should not be denied their rights of learning their old traditional language just because those in Dessie City who follow Arab traditions & influences do not want their children to learn Geez.
Democracy in Action! No community dictatorship!
Be well.
The idea of teaching Geez “starting from elementary school” is more ideological than pedagogical. High School is where you need to start and as optional, at that. Stop your silly idea of returning to a dreamy past.
Fear based (knee jerk) reaction lack intellectual and historical curiosity… usually coming from basic fear… and curtails progress self made chain coming from ignorance.
For your information there are thousands of stolen Geez manuscripts that hold many secrets and intricate ideas are left collecting dust in Europe and North America. In many European North American Universities PhD level Geez studies are given. When those foreigners who have no connection to the language and history to Geez are studying it in such depth there is no reason why those of us who Geez is their history and cultural legacy should not, because some like you have no connection to it, or something that compels foreigners to look into as they are for Geez and the ancient culture it comes from.
Here are lists of international universities that offer Geez at a graduate ( PhD) level.
Link = universities that offer Geez
“Institutions offering Geez Language in Ethiopia and abroad”
Link = waltajobs.com/american-hamza-zafer-who-is-a-teacher-of-geez/
‘Learning’ is expansion, while ‘fear’ is contraction, limiting (an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perceived dangers or threats.)
If we are open to teach our young people, English, French, German… etc. why is it that Geez the most ancient and the most sophisticated language that holds greater significance and meaning to us Ethiopians is not thought in ‘Grade Schools’ at least to those that connection to it is their culture and legacy for their ancestors?
WHY wait till one gets to high school, when it is scientifically proven language learning is much more easier absorbed at a young age than later in life…
Why those English, French, German… speakers chose to specialize in Geez at graduate schools across the world but not Ethiopians… again it is a lack of intellectual curiosity, & flat out dumb. But its one’s DEMOCRATIC right.
Fear does not exist, but many suffer from it unknowingly assuming it real, when not; besides, it is LOCAL and has no CURE.
Countless people often ask why is our country lagged behind for so long ?
It is because of people like you , constantly immersed the mind set of FEAR, and chose to settle for what is ‘known’ (is already at hand.)
TIME waits for no one; you chose to stay put, DEATH is the only thing that is assured.
You are here to learn ‘how to be’, regardless the choice is, but do not impose your limitations on others, what they should what they shouldn’t, no one has that power, evidently even on their own progress.
Those before us thousands of years ago CREATED IT, used it, and passed it on, it is ‘ours’, no ‘naysayer’ can stop us!
Be well.
I think the ‘የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን’ it self seems to be the source of the controversy following the announcement from Amhara Region Education system where the ‘Geez language education is going to be offed from Grade 3 in Region’s school system.
Geez language predates Christianity (in fact all religions) by thousands of years, roughly it is 3000 to 5000 years old or more.
Religions as whole existed (have been created) in the last 2000 years (2025 to be exact) Jewish, and Christianity being the oldest.
Geez before Christianity came to Ethiopia, was run under the institution ‘ቤተ ክህነት’ meaning ‘House of learning’, producing ‘ካህናት’ meaning ‘Educators’.
later when ‘religion’ (Christianity) was introduced, the language of the day in Ethiopia was Geez, therefore, and when ‘ቤተክርስቲያን’ meaning ‘Place / House of worship’, was created /established the ‘priests’ have to use Geez to teach /spread Christianity.
Government /administration of the time has been using Gezz for thousands of years before Christianity came, and NEVER CLAIMED Geez to be STRICTLY theirs, as the የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን seems to be WRONGLY Suggesting (claiming) as they stated below “the ancient liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.”
” የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን
ሰንበት ትምህርት ቤቶች ማደራጃ መምሪያ
ማኅበረ ቅዱሳን የአሜሪካ ማዕከል ልሳነ ግእዝ
Our Mission
We are dedicated to preserving and teaching Ge’ez, the ancient liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.”
The ASSERTION by the church as the SOLE OWNER of Geez is not only WRONG & MISLEADING, it is FLAT OUT PERJURY.:
1) Geez predates Christianity, therefore the church itself.
2) Claiming it as the “liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.”, they are asserting they CREATED IT, though the general public of the nation have been using it way before Christianity & the church itself.
This is not even close to the debate “The chicken or the egg causality dilemma “, there are books and manuscripts written in Geez, thousands of years before religion as a whole was even created.
‘የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን’ needs to set the RECORD STRAIGHT once and for all and clarify the confusion it has created, perhaps unknowingly by jumbling together two institutions that are unrelated in function as well as duration of existence.
1) ‘ቤተ ክህነት’ meaning ‘House of learning’, that existed thousands of years before Christianity, and was used as main language of the general public and governments since its inception.
2) ‘ቤተክርስቲያን’ meaning ‘Place / House of worship’, that was created in the last 2000 + ears only.
Our Muslim brothers have also used Geez as it was the language of the Nation before they converted to Islamic Religion roughly in the last 1500 years.
Geez is not religious TOOL, it has always been the language of the general PUBLIC IN Ethiopia before Amharic came from it (in a simplified form), and Orthodox Church books remained in their original publication in Geez, for the reason only the Orthodox Church, but that doesn’t make Geez to be Orthodox specific, and የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን need to CLARIFY the public CONFUSION it created.
Geez is an ancient language of the Ethiopian, still used and thought both in Ethiopia and abroad in higher educational institutions, and it is time it is learnt by our children, and our children’s children.
Remember, ‘ቤተ ክህነት’ predates ‘ቤተክርስቲያን’ by thousands of years.
Be well.