Negash

Coordinates: 13°52′53″N 39°35′56″E / 13.88139°N 39.59889°E / 13.88139; 39.59889
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Negash
Village
Negash is located in Ethiopia
Negash
Negash
Location in Ethiopia
Coordinates: 13°52′53″N 39°35′56″E / 13.88139°N 39.59889°E / 13.88139; 39.59889
Country Ethiopia
Region Tigray
ZoneMisraqawi (Eastern)
WoredaWukro
Population
 (2007)
 • Total7,753
Time zoneEAT

Negash is a village in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, which straddles the Adigrat to Mekelle road 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) north of Wukro. It is located in Wukro woreda.

History[edit]

Amedin Mosque
Interior of the new Negash mosque, completed in 2019

Negash is considered to be the earliest Muslim settlement in Africa; a cemetery from the 7th century CE has been excavated inside the village boundaries.[1] The Futuh al-Habasha records Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi visited the tomb of Ashama ibn Abjar in Negash during his invasion of the province of Tigray (around 1537).[2] Negash is also known for having one of Africa's oldest mosques,[3] that is the Al Nejashi Mosque.

In 2020 during Tigray War, the Al Nejashi Mosque was heavily damaged from shelling and looting.[4]

Demographics[edit]

In the statistical tables of the 2007 census published by the Central Statistical Agency, the kebele Negash is located in is reported to have a total population of 7,753 of whom 3,607 are men and 4,146 women; they are distributed amongst 1,689 households in 1,626 housing units. Although it is known for its particular relationship with Islam, 98.2% of the population follows the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the 1.1% of the population is Protestant, and the remaining 0.7% is Muslim.[5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 43.
  2. ^ Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 350f
  3. ^ "Liste des premières mosquées au monde prophètique, rashidun et omeyyade selon les écris historique et les traces archéologiques". Histoire Islamique (in French). 2014-06-15. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  4. ^ "Tigray crisis: Ethiopia to repair al-Nejashi mosque". BBC News. January 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "Tigray Statistical Table", Annex Table 1B CSA website (accessed 27 August 2010)