On October 18, 2022, Shekh Mufti Haji Adam Tula, a famed Oromo religious scholar passed away in Harar City, in the East Hararghe zone of Oromia. Millions of people attended his funeral to honor his life and impact on the Oromo community. We dedicate this week’s Humans of Oromia report to him.
Shekh Adam Tula was born in Kombolcha, East Hararge, Oromia. He began studying Islam at an early age, and was learned from the teachings of the great scholars of his time. As an adult, the Shekh established the Islam University in Dire Xiyara, East Hararghe zone, where religious scholars from across Ethiopia, including Jimma, Kafa, Wollega, and Somali, studied. In total, he taught 3,000 students over the course of 60 years.
Throughout his life, he continued to face threats from various Ethiopian governments that wanted him to flee the country. However, he opted to remain in Ethiopia and to continue teaching Islam. During the Derg regime, Shekh Adam was imprisoned for two years without any criminal charges and sustained several bodily injuries. Likewise, he was also detained multiple times by the EPRDF government.
Shekh Adam will be remembered for his many contributions to Ethiopian society, and particularly by the Oromos for the advice he gave to community leaders from Oromia and Somali during the conflict between Oromos and Somalis in 2018, which helped both sides to find a the peaceful resolution to the conflict.