AL-NEJASHI Site

Al-Nejashi is a 7th century heritage with a rich history of tolerance and hospitality among peoples of different faiths and cultures, and traditional Muslim leaders in particular and the community from different faiths have preserved the Al-Nejashi cultural and religious heritage in spite of internal and external challenges. A facility like this can significantly contribute to the intellectual, cultural, and social growth of our society and beyond.

Ethiopia is home to some of the oldest cultural and religious attraction sites in the world, such as Axum, Lalibela, Harar. Although not developed and less known globally, the Al-Nejashi site is a 7th century Islamic and cultural heritage with immense symbolic significance to the world, such as religious tolerance, compassion between peoples of different nations and religions. In the site, the oldest mosque, Al-Nejashi Mosque (Arabic: مَسْجِد ٱلنَّجَاشِي‎, romanized: Masjid an-Najāshī) is found as well as the cemetery of companions from the early Islamic era. The mosque was  recently damaged in the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict. Thanks to the peace agreement signed in Nov 2022, the Tigray tourism has commenced its work. Therefore, turning the Al-Nejashi site into a tourist destination means sharing its value to the world as well as supporting the region’s economy in the postwar reconstruction effort.

The restoration and strengthening of Tigray’s educational system is urgently required in the wake of the Ethiopia-Tigray war. The region’s youth and educational infrastructure suffered terrible effects from the battle, which broke out in November 2020 and lasted for more than two years. According to a damage assessment conducted in December 2021, around 2,146 members of Tigray school community were killed, 70% percent of them female. Furthermore, 88.27% of classrooms, 31.65% administrative blocks of the 2,054 assessed schools were damaged or completely destroyed.