| Summary: | In this study, the case is made for the possibility of a religiously inclusive historiography of Ethiopia, after a long history in which the history of Ethiopia has been told in a way that is focused on the Orthodox Church and the Christian empire. Chapter One gives a framework for the ways in which the history of Ethiopia has been narrated. Successive governments have been important factors in the position of religious communities and the way that Ethiopian religious history has been conceptualized. The policies of these successive governments are analyzed in order to see how different religious communities have been affected by them. Chapter Two is a study of the traditional historiography of Ethiopia (which I term THOE), with a focus on its main themes: the centrality of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwahedo Church (EOTC) and of the Christian empire. Others enter this history only on the margins, or as they are absorbed into the Empire, or as threats to Empire and Church (with Islam, in particular, playing the role of ongoing threat). It should be noted that I use the term THOE both for the history of the medieval chronicles and hagiographies (based in court and Church) as well as for the modern historians who by and large accept their biases. Chapter Three shows how the advent of modernity in Ethiopia, modern education in particular, has challenged medieval/traditional ways of history-writing. A turning point in Ethiopian historiography was the establishment of Haile Selassie I University (later Addis Ababa University), and its History Department (HD) and Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES). That turning point has shaped the approaches of historians in a variety of ways; in particular, space was created for the work of Prof. Hussein Ahmed (1956-2009), a pioneer in the historiography of Islam in Ethiopia. Parallel developments allowed for the study of other religious communities, especially that of the Protestant Christians. Was the stage set for a new, religiously inclusive historiography of Ethiopia? Chapter Four deals with works since 1991. With the overthrow of the (anti-religious) Derg and the advent of the EPRDF and its policy of federalism, Ethiopians have had freedom to express their religious beliefs, and literature has become a major manifestation of reform and revival movements. While much good scholarship has continued to be produced, much of it is very particular to a single religious community ("siloed," in the terminology used here). At the same time, there has been a sharp rise in the production of polemical literature, especially between Orthodox Christians and Muslims, although the literature also points to tensions and hostilities within religious groups. In general, what might have been seen as the promise of a new, religiously inclusive historiography has yet to be fulfilled. Chapter Five considers this context and makes some proposals for the way forward-for the writing of Ethiopian religious history, but, perhaps more fundamentally, for promoting dialogue and respect between religious communities. The writer believes that development of a religiously inclusive historiography of Ethiopia is possible and achievable when people have opportunity to have dialogue and receive training on facets of diversity.
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