Author: Ismail Omer-Ali
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Eritrea: Peaceful Resistance Or Peaceful Surrender—The New Non-Violence Mantra
The term “non-violent” or “peaceful resistance” has a nice ring to it. It suggests that the person espousing it must be for peace and all others for violence. For those who want to distinguish themselves from the rest of us (run of the mill Eritreans), no other slogan would do as well. Its idealistic charm
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Reason And Faith: Are They Mutually Exclusive?
Since his debut back in May 25, Amanuel Sahle has enriched Awate.com with several eloquent and highly readable articles. In its introductory piece, Awate.com said about him that “he spends most of his time reading on and writing about social and philosophical issues”. What awate.com failed to mention is that he also doubles as a
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A Critical Look At The EPLF/PFDJ/GOE Saga: A Half Century-10 Epic Drama
I want to begin with a series of congratulations… (skip 4 paragraphs to go directly to the topic) 1. Congratulations first to awate.com for the sleek new look and for ten years of steady and reliable reporting. The site continues to earn our respect and admiration for its creative and innovative projects that clearly sets
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Nationalism and Democracy: Rhetoric vs. Reality
“I will speak to it”, Shakespeare once wrote in Hamlet, “I will speak to it though hell itself should gape and bid me hold my peace.” Hell is not “gaping” but Ali Salim and Semere Tesfai are certainly generating enough heat to cause us to gape and will not “hold their peace” it seems until
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“Aslamay midri (adi) yeblun, semai Andi yeblun”
The inspiration for this topic came from Ali Salim who mentioned it in his last article and considers it responsible (wholly or partially) for today’s “demeaning” attitude of Christians towards Muslims. Whether we agree with such an assessment or not, there is no denying of course that such seemingly innocuous traditional sayings can sometimes lead
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Ethno-Tribal Politics, Religion, And Democracy
When discussing issues that touch upon region, religion, or tribe I think it is always a good idea to begin the discourse with a self-disclosure. This helps readers to put things in context and understand us better. So let me briefly state who I am and how I generally see the issue: I am a
