05/10/2025
The “Aisha” Conspiracy and Fano’s Hate Propaganda: A Reflection of Rwanda’s Manufactured Threat
(ወላሂ አማራ አልሆንም‼)
The 1994 Rwandan genocide demonstrated that mass violence is rarely spontaneous; it is politically engineered through fear, propaganda, and the deliberate creation of an enemy. Rwanda’s Hutu extremists spread a narrative of a “Tutsi threat,” mobilizing ordinary citizens under the illusion of self-defense. Media outlets like RTLM amplified lies and hatred, transforming rumor into justification for extermination.
A strikingly similar pattern is emerging in Ethiopia. The Amhara nationalist militia known as Fano, widely perceived as the military wing of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, has used religion and ethnicity to consolidate power and legitimacy. Facing declining public support and internal division, Fano appears to be manufacturing a sense of existential threat—particularly among Muslim Amharas, who historically have been skeptical of the militia’s Christian identity.
To bridge this divide, propagandists circulated the story of “Aisha,” an alleged Muslim Amhara girl who was said to have been persecuted by Oromo militants and who supposedly renounced her Amhara identity by declaring, “Wollahi, I will never be an Amhara.”(ወላሂ አማራ አልሆንም‼) The tale quickly spread across social media and local networks, presented as proof that “Amharas are under attack.”
However, mounting evidence suggests that the Aisha narrative was fabricated—a strategic propaganda device designed to manipulate emotion and faith, portraying the Fano movement as the only defender of Amhara identity and dignity. Through this fabricated case, Fano sought to convince Muslim Amharas that their survival depended on aligning with a movement rooted in Orthodox Tewahdo militancy.
Just as Rwandan elites turned fear of the Tutsi into a mobilizing myth, Fano’s use of the “Aisha” story represents a calculated effort to weaponize identity and religion. It creates an artificial sense of persecution, fosters hatred toward perceived enemies, and converts ordinary citizens into instruments of a political project.
Both cases reveal a dangerous formula:
1. Invent an existential threat.
2. Use propaganda and religion to unify followers.
3. Portray violence as self-defense.
4. @ fear to suppress dissent and consolidate control.
The Rwandan genocide stands as a warning that hate-based mobilization built on fabricated conspiracies can spiral into mass atrocity. Exposing and countering such manipulative propaganda—like the Aisha fabrication—is essential to prevent Ethiopia from descending further into communal polarization and violence.
©️ Abebe Hagos
