According to the last conducted population census (2007) Muslims make up 33.9% of the entire population of Ethiopia (i.e. over 25 million people) and are the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of some regions of the Federal State. Islam has played a major role in the history of the country contributing to the shaping of its cultural landscape. In my presentation I will describe the main phases through which the Islamic presence has gone since its very inception and then discuss the most relevant features of the Muslim Ethiopian culture with a special focus on the interactions it has had with the Orthodox Christian State and Church. I will eventually try to glean the future perspectives of the Christian-Islamic relationships in Ethiopia on the background of the present situation in the country and of the wider cultural and religious settings of the area.