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Western Sahara
Somalia (Somali:
Soomaaliya;
Arabic: الصومال
aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Republic of Somalia (Somali:
Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya,
Arabic: جمهورية الصومال
Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali
Democratic Republic, is a country located in the
Horn of Africa. It is bordered by
Djibouti to
the northwest, Kenya
to the southwest, the
Gulf of
Aden with Yemen
to the north, the
Indian
Ocean to the east, and
Ethiopia to
the west.
In antiquity, Somalia was an important center for
commerce
with the rest of the
ancient world. Its
sailors and
merchants were the main suppliers of
frankincense,
myrrh and
spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the
Ancient Egyptians,
Phoenicians,
Mycenaeans and
Babylonians
with whom the
Somali people traded.[6][7]
According to most scholars, Somalia is also where the ancient
Kingdom
of Punt was situated.[8][9][10][11]
The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with
Pharaonic Egypt
during the times of
Pharaoh
Sahure and
Queen
Hatshepsut.
The
pyramidal structures,
temples and ancient houses of
dressed stone
littered around Somalia are said to date from this period.[12]
In the classical era, several ancient city-states such as
Opone,
Mosyllon and
Malao that competed with the
Sabaeans,
Parthians and
Axumites for the wealthy
Indo-Greco-Roman
trade also flourished in Somalia.[13]
The
birth of Islam on the opposite side of Somalia's
Red Sea coast
meant that Somali merchants, sailors and
expatriates
living in the
Arabian Peninsula gradually came under the influence of the new religion
through their converted
Arab Muslim
trading partners. With the migration of fleeing Muslim families from the
Islamic world to Somalia in the early centuries of
Islam and the
peaceful conversion of the Somali population by
Somali Muslim scholars in the following centuries, the ancient city-states
eventually transformed into Islamic
Mogadishu,
Berbera,
Zeila,
Barawa and
Merka, which were part of the Berberi civilization. The city of Mogadishu
came to be known as the City of Islam,[14]
and controlled the East African
gold
trade for several
centuries.[15]
In the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali
empires
dominated the regional trade including the
Ajuuraan State, which excelled in
hydraulic
engineering and
fortress
building,[16]
the
Sultanate of Adal, whose
general
Ahmed Gurey was the first African
commander
in history to use
cannon
warfare on the continent during Adal's
conquest of the
Ethiopian Empire,[17]
and the
Gobroon Dynasty, whose military dominance forced governors of the
Omani empire north
of the city of Lamu
to pay tribute
to the
Somali Sultan
Ahmed Yusuf.[18]
In the late
19th
century after the
Berlin conference had ended,
European empires sailed with their armies to the
Horn of Africa. The
Imperial
clouds wavering over Somalia alarmed the
Dervish leader
Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn
of Africa and began one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever.
Somalia was never formally colonized.[19][20][21]
The
Dervish State successfully repulsed the
British empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region.[22]
As a result of its fame in the
Middle
East and Europe,
the Dervish state was recognized as an
ally by the
Ottoman Empire and the
German empire,[23][24]
and remained throughout
World War
I the only independent Muslim power on the continent. After a quarter of a
century holding the British at bay, the Dervishes were finally defeated in
1920 when Britain
for the first time in Africa used
aeroplanes when it bombed the Dervish capital of
Taleex. As a
result of this bombardment, former Dervish territories were turned into a
protectorate of Britain.
Italy similarly
faced the same opposition from
Somali
Sultans and armies and did not acquire full control of parts of modern
Somalia until the
Fascist era in late
1927. This occupation lasted till
1941 and was
replaced by a
British
military administration. Northern Somalia would remain a
protectorate while southern Somalia became a
trusteeship. The Union of the two regions in
1960 formed the
Somali Democratic Republic.
Due to its ancient brotherly ties with the
Arab world, Somalia was accepted in
1974 as a member of
the Arab
League. To strengthen its relationship with the rest of the African
continent, Somalia joined other African nations when it founded the
African Union, and began to support the
ANC in
South
Africa against the
apartheid regime[25]
and the
Eritrean
secessionists in
Ethiopia
during the
Eritrean War of Independence.[26]
A Muslim country, Somalia is one of the founding members of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference and is also a member of the
UN
and
NAM. Despite suffering from
civil strife and instability, Somalia has also managed to sustain a
free
market
economy which, according to the
UN,
outperforms those of many other countries in Africa.[27
History
Prehistory
Somalia has been inhabited by man since the
Paleolithic period.
Cave
paintings dating back as far as
9000 BC have been found in northern Somalia. The most famous of these is the
Laas Geel complex, which contains some of the earliest known rock art on the
African continent. Inscriptions have been found beneath each of the rock
paintings, but
archaeologists have so far been unable to decipher this form of ancient
writing.[28]
During the
Stone age, the Doian culture and the Hargeisan culture flourished here with
their respective
industries and factories.
The oldest evidence of burial customs in the
Horn of Africa comes from
cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the
4th millennium BC. The
stone
implements from the Jalelo
site in northern Somalia are said to be the most important link in evidence
of the
universality in Paleolithic times between the
East and the
West.[29]
Antiquity
& the Classical era
Ancient
pyramidal structures,
tombs,
ruined cities and
stone walls
such as the
Wargaade Wall littered in Somalia are evidence of an ancient sophisticated
civilization that once thrived in the Somali peninsula.[30]
The findings of archaeological excavations and research in Somalia show that
this civilization had an ancient
writing system that remains undeciphered[31]
and enjoyed a lucrative trading relationship with
Ancient Egypt and
Mycenaean
Greece since at least the second millennium BC, which supports the view of
Somalia being the ancient
Kingdom
of Punt.[32]
The Puntites "traded not only in their own produce of
incense,
ebony and
short-horned
cattle, but also in goods from other neighbouring regions, including
gold,
ivory and
animal skins."[33]
According to the temple reliefs at
Deir
el-Bahri, the Land of Punt was ruled at that time by King Parahu and Queen
Ati.[34]
Ancient Somalis domesticated the
camel somewhere
between the
third millennium and
second millennium BC
from where it spread to Ancient Egypt and
North
Africa.[35]
In the
classical period, the city states of
Mossylon,
Opone,
Malao, Mundus
and Tabae in
Somalia developed a lucrative trade network connecting with merchants from
Phoenicia,
Ptolemaic Egypt,
Greece,
Parthian Persia,
Saba,
Nabataea and the
Roman
Empire. They used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the
beden to
transport their cargo.
After the
Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire and the Roman naval presence at
Aden to curb
piracy, a
mutual agreement by
Arab and
Somali merchants barred
Indian ships from
trading in the free port cities of the
Arabian peninsula because of the nearby Romans.[36]
However, they continued to trade in the port cities of the
Somali peninsula, which was free from any Roman threat or spies.[37]
The reason for barring Indian ships from entering the wealthy Arabian port
cities was to protect and hide the exploitative trade practices of the Somali
and Arab merchants in the extremely lucrative ancient
Red Sea –
Mediterranean Sea commerce.[38]
The Indian merchants for centuries brought large quantities of
cinnamon
from
Ceylon and the
Far East to
Somalia and Arabia. This is said to have been the best kept secret of the Arab
and Somali merchants in their trade with the
Roman
and Greek
world. The Romans
and Greeks believed the source of cinnamon to have been the Somali peninsula but
in reality, the highly valued product was brought to Somalia by way of Indian
ships.[39]
Through Somali and Arab traders, Indian/Chinese cinnamon was also exported for
far higher prices to North Africa, the
Near East
and Europe,
which made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially
for the Somali merchants through whose hands large quantities were shipped
across ancient sea and land routes.
Birth
of Islam & the Middle Ages
The
history of Islam in the
Horn of Africa is as old as the religion itself. The early persecuted
Muslims fled to
the
Axumite port city of
Zeila in modern
day Somalia to seek protection from the
Quraish at the court of the
Axumite Emperor in present day
Ethiopia.
Some of the Muslims that were granted protection are said to have settled in
several parts of the Horn of Africa to promote the religion.
The victory of the Muslims over the Quraish in the
7th
century had a significant impact on Somalia's merchants and sailors, as
their
Arab trading partners had then all adopted
Islam, and the
major trading routes in the
Mediterranean and the
Red Sea came
under the sway of the
Muslim Caliphs. Through commerce, Islam spread amongst the Somali population
in the coastal cities of Somalia. Instability in the
Arabian peninsula saw several migrations of Arab families to Somalia's
coastal cities, who then contributed another significant element to the growing
popularity of Islam in the
Somali peninsula.
Mogadishu
became the center of Islam on the East African coast, and Somali merchants
established a colony in
Mozambique
to extract gold from the
Monomopatan mines in
Sofala. In
northern Somalia, Adal
was in its early stages a small trading community established by the newly
converted Horn African Muslim merchants, who were predominantly
Somali according to
Arab and
Somali chronicles.
The century between 1150 and 1250 marked a decisive turn in the role of Islam
in Somali history.
Yaqut Al-Hamawi and later
ibn Said noted that the Berbers (Somalis) were a prosperous Muslim nation
during that period. The
Adal Sultanate was now the center of a commercial empire stretching from
Cape Guardafui to
Hadiya. The
Adalites then came under the influence of the expanding Horn African
Kingdom of Ifat,
and prospered under its patronage.
The capital of the Ifat was
Zeila, situated
in in northern present-day Somalia, from where the Ifat army marched to conquer
the ancient Kingdom
of Shoa in 1270.
This conquest ignited a rivalry for supremacy between the
Christian Solomonids and the Muslim Ifatites that resulted in several
devastating wars and ultimately ended in a Solomonic victory over the Kingdom of
Ifat after the death of the popular Sultan
Sa'ad ad-Din II in Zeila by
Dawit II. Sa'ad ad-Din II's family was subsequently given safe haven at the
court of the King
of Yemen, where
his sons regrouped and planned their revenge on the Solomonids.
During the
Age
of the Ajuuraans, the
sultanates and
republics of
Merca,
Mogadishu,
Barawa, Hobyo
and their respective ports flourished and had a lucrative foreign commerce with
ships sailing to and coming from
Arabia, India,
Venetia,[40]
Persia, Egypt,
Portugal
and as far away as
China.
Vasco
da Gama, who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a
large city with houses of four or five storeys high and big palaces in its
centre in addition to many mosques with cylindrical minarets.[41]
In the 1500s,
Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the
Kingdom of
Cambaya in modern-day India sailed to Mogadishu with
cloths and
spices, for which they in return received
gold,
wax and
ivory. Barbosa
also highlighted the abundance of
meat,
wheat,
barley,
horses, and fruit
on the coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants.[42]
Mogadishu, the center of a thriving weaving industry known as toob benadir
(specialized for the markets in Egypt and
Syria[43]),
together with Merca and Barawa also served as transit stops for
Swahili merchants from
Mombasa and
Malindi and
for the gold trade from
Kilwa.[44]
Jewish merchants from the
Hormuz brought
their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coast in exchange for
grain and wood.[45]
Trading relations were established with
Malacca in
the 15th century[46]
with
cloth,
ambergris and
porcelain
being the main commodities of the trade.[47]
Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the
Ming Empire of China, which established Somali merchants as leaders in the
commerce between the Asia and Africa[48]
and influenced the Chinese language with the Somali language in the process.
Hindu merchants
from Surat and
Southeast African merchants from
Pate, seeking to
bypass both the
Portuguese blockade and
Omani meddling, used the Somali ports of Merca and Barawa (which were out of
the two powers' jurisdiction) to conduct their trade in safety and without
interference.[49]
Early
modern era & the Scramble for Africa
In the
early modern period, successor states of the
Adal and
Ajuuraan
empires began to flourish in Somalia. These were the
Gerad Dynasty, the
Bari Dynasties and the
Gobroon Dynasty. They continued the tradition of castle-building and
seaborne trade established by previous Somali empires.
Sultan
Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim, the third Sultan of the House of Gobroon, started the
Golden age of the Gobroon Dynasty. His army came out victorious during the
Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region and revitalized the East
African ivory
trade. He also
received presents from and had cordial relations with the rulers of neighbouring
and distant kingdoms such as the
Omani,
Witu and Yemeni
Sultans.
Sultan Ibrahim's son
Ahmed Yusuf succeeded him and was one of the most important figures in
19th
century East Africa, receiving tribute from Omani governors and creating
alliances with important Muslim families on the East African coast. In northern
Somalia, the Gerad Dynasty conducted trade with
Yemen and
Persia and competed with the merchants of the
Bari Dynasty. The Gerads and the Bari Sultans built impressive
palaces,
castles and
fortresses and had close relations with many different empires in the
Near East.
Somali
soldiers board a British naval batilla.
In the late
19th
century, after the
Berlin conference, European powers began the
Scramble for Africa, which inspired the
Dervish leader
Muhammad Abdullah Hassan to rally support from across the
Horn of Africa and begin one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever.
In several of his poems and speeches, Hassan emphasized that the British
infidels
"have destroyed our religion and made our children their children" and that the
Christian
Ethiopians in league with the British were bent upon plundering the
political and religious freedom of the Somali nation. He soon emerged as "a
champion of his country's political and religious freedom, defending it against
all Christian invaders."
Hassan issued a religious ordinance that any Somali national who did not
accept the goal of unity of Somalia and would not fight under his leadership
would be considered as
kafir or gaal.
He soon acquired weapons from Turkey, Sudan, and other Islamic and/or Arabian
countries, and appointed ministers and advisers to administer different areas or
sectors of Somalia. In addition, Hassan gave a clarion call for Somali unity and
independence, in the process organizing his follower-warriors.
His 'Dervish' movement had an essentially military character, and the Dervish
state was fashioned on the model of a
Salihiya brotherhood. It was characterized by a rigid hierarchy and
centralization. Though Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea,
he executed the first attack by launching his first major military offensive
with his 1500 Dervish equipped with 20 modem rifles on the British soldiers
stationed in the region.
He repulsed the British in four expeditions and had relations with the
central powers of the
Ottomans and the
Germans. In
1920, the Dervish state collapsed after intensive aerial bombardments by
Britain, and Dervish territories were subsequently turned into a
protectorate.
The dawn of
fascism in the early
1920s heralded a
change of strategy for
Italy, as the
north-eastern sultanates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of La
Grande Somalia according to the plan of Fascist Italy. With the arrival of
Governor
Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began to change for that
part of Somaliland known as
Italian Somaliland. Italy had access to these areas under the successive
protection treaties, but not direct rule.
The Fascist government had direct rule only over the
Benadir
territory.
Fascist Italy, under
Benito Mussolini, attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, with an aim to
colonize it. The invasion was condemned by the
League of Nations, but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupied
Ethiopia. On August 3, 1940, Italian troops, including Somali colonial units,
crossed from Ethiopia to
invade British Somaliland, and by August 14, succeeded in taking
Berbera from
the British.
A British force, including troops from several African countries, launched
the
campaign in January 1941 from Kenya to liberate British Somaliland and
Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer Italian Somaliland. By February, most of
Italian Somaliland was captured and in March, British Somaliland was retaken
from the sea. The
British Empire forces operating in Somaliland comprised three divisions of
South African, West and East African troops. They were assisted by Somali forces
led by
Abdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the
Isaaq,
Dhulbahante, and
Warsangali
clans prominently participating. After World War II, the number of the
Italian colonists started to decrease; their numbers had dwindled to less
than 10,000 in 1960.[50]
The
State of Somalia
Following
World
War II, although Somalis aided the
Allied powers in their struggle against the
Axis
powers, Britain retained control of both
British Somaliland and
Italian Somaliland as
protectorates. In November 1949, the United Nations granted Italy
trusteeship of Italian Somaliland, but only under close supervision and on the
condition—first proposed by the
Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somali political organizations,
such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) (which later became Hizbia Dastur
Mustaqbal Somali) and the Somali National League (SNL), that were then agitating
for independence—that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.[51][52]
British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britain until 1960.[53]
To the extent that Italy held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship
provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in political
education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland,
which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, did not have. Although
in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, through various development
efforts, to make up for past neglect, the protectorate stagnated. The disparity
between the two territories in economic development and political experience
would cause serious difficulties when it came time to integrate the two parts[54].
Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the
dismay of the Somalis,[55]
the British "returned" the
Haud (an important
Somali grazing area that was presumably 'protected' by British treaties with the
Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the
Ogaden to
Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded
Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor
Menelik in exchange for his help against plundering by Somali clans.[56]
Britain included the
proviso that
the Somali nomads would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed
sovereignty over them.[51]
This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali
lands it had turned over.[51]
Britain also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited[57]
Northern Frontier District to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal
plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region's population
to join the newly formed Somali Republic.[58]
A referendum was held in neighbouring
Djibouti
(then known as
French Somaliland) in 1958, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to
decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The
referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely
due to a combined yes vote by the sizable
Afar
ethnic group and resident Europeans. However, the majority of those who voted no
were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia as had been
proposed by
Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in
a plane crash two years later. Djibouti finally gained its independence from
France in 1977
and
Hassan Gouled Aptidon, a French-groomed Somali who campaigned for a yes vote
in the referendum of 1958, eventually wound up as Djibouti's first president
(1977–1991).[59]
British Somaliland became independent on June 26, 1960, and the former
Italian Somaliland followed suit five days later.[60]
On July 1, 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic, albeit
within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain.[61][62][63]
A government was formed by
Abdullahi Issa with
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as
President,[64][65][66]
and
Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as
Prime Minister, later to become President (from 1967–1969). On July 20, 1961
and through a popular
referendum,
the Somali people ratified a new
constitution, which was first drafted in 1960.[67]
However, inter-clan rivalry persisted.[62][68][69][70]
In 1967,
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he was
appointed by Shermarke. Egal would later become the President of the autonomous
Somaliland
region in northwestern Somalia.
In late 1969, following the assassination of President Shermarke, a military
government assumed power in a
coup
d'état led by Major General
Salaad Gabeyre Kediye, General
Siad Barre
and Chief of Police
Jama
Korshel. Barre became President and Korshel vice-president. The
revolutionary army established large-scale public works programmes and
successfully implemented an urban and rural
literacy
campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate from 5% to 55% by
the mid-1980s. However, struggles continued during Barre's rule. At one point he
assassinated a major figure in his cabinet, Major General Gabeyre, and two other
officials.
It was in July 1976 when the real dictatorship of the Somali military
commenced with the founding of the
Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (Xisbiga Hantiwadaagga Kacaanka
Soomaaliyeed, XHKS). This party ruled Somalia until the fall of the military
government in December 1990–January 1991. It was violently overthrown by the
combined armed revolt of the
Somali Salvation Democratic Front (Jabhadda Diimuqraadiga Badbaadinta
Soomaaliyeed, SSDF),
United Somali Congress (USC),
Somali National Movement (SNM), and the
Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) together with the non-violent political
oppositions of the
Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), the
Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG).
In 1977 and 1978, Somalia invaded its neighbour Ethiopia in the
Ogaden War,
in which Somalia aimed to unite the Somali lands that had been partitioned by
the former colonial powers, and to win the right of self-determination for
ethnic Somalis in those territories. Somalia first engaged Kenya and Ethiopia
diplomatically, but this failed. Somalia, already preparing for war, created the
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF, then called the
Western Somali Liberation Front, WSLF) and eventually sought to capture
Ogaden. Somalia acted unilaterally without consulting the
international community, which was generally opposed to redrawing colonial
boundaries, while the
Soviet
Union and the
Warsaw
Pact countries refused to help Somalia, and instead, backed
Communist Ethiopia. Still the USSR, finding itself supplying both sides of a
war, attempted to mediate a ceasefire.
In the first week of the conflict Somali armed forces took southern and
central Ogaden and for most of the war, the Somali army scored continues
victories on the Ethiopian army and followed them as far as
Sidamo. By
September 1977 Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden and captured strategic
cities such as
Jijiga and put heavy pressure on
Dire Dawa
threatening the train route from the latter city to Djibouti. After the siege of
Harer, a massive unprecedented Soviet intervention consisting of 20 thousand
Cuban forces and
several thousands Soviet experts came to the aid of Ethiopia. The
Somali Army was forced to withdraw and consequently Somalia sought the help
of the
United States. Although the
Carter Administration had expressed interest in helping Somalia, it later
declined, as did American allies in the
Middle
East and Asia.
By 1978, the moral authority of the Somali government had collapsed. Many
Somalis had become disillusioned with life under military dictatorship and the
regime was weakened further in the 1980s as the
Cold War
drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. The
government became increasingly
totalitarian, and
resistance movements, encouraged by Ethiopia, sprang up across the country,
eventually leading to the
Somali Civil War.
During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residents were prohibited
from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four. Fuel shortages
caused long lines of cars at petrol stations. Inflation had driven the price of
pasta, (ordinary dry Italian noodles, a staple at that time), to five U.S.
dollars per kilogram. The price of
khat, imported
daily from Kenya,
was also five U.S. dollars per standard bunch. Paper currency notes were of such
low value that several bundles were needed to pay for simple restaurant meals.
Coins were scattered on the ground throughout the city being too low in value to
be used. A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city as banks
experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. At night, the city of
Mogadishu lay in darkness. The generators used to provide electricity to the
city had been sold off by the government. Close monitoring of all visiting
foreigners was in effect. Harsh
exchange control regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreign
currency and access to it was restricted to official banks, or one of three
government-operated hotels. Although no travel restrictions were placed on
foreigners, photographing many locations was banned. During the day in
Mogadishu, the appearance of any government military force was extremely rare.
Late-night operations by government authorities, however, included
'disappearances' of individuals from their homes.
The
Somali Civil War
1991 saw great changes in Somalia. President Barre was ousted by combined
northern and southern clan-based forces all of whom were backed and armed by
Ethiopia. And following a meeting of the
Somali National Movement and northern clans' elders, the northern former
British portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland in May
1991; although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the
tumultuous south, it has not been recognised by any foreign government.[72][73]
In January 1991, President
Ali Mahdi Muhammad was selected by the manifesto group as an interim state
president until a conference between all stakeholders to be held in Djibouti the
following month to select a national leader. However,
United Somali Congress military leader General
Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the
Somali National Movement leader
Abdirahman Toor and the
Somali Patriotic Movement leader
Col Jess refused to recognize Mahdi as president.
This caused a split between the SNM, USC and SPM and the armed groups
Manifesto,
Somali Democratic Movement (SDM) and
Somali National Alliance (SNA) on the one hand and within the USC forces.
This led efforts to remove Barre who still claimed to be the legitimate
president of Somalia. He and his armed supporters remained in the south of the
country until mid 1992, causing further escalation in violence, especially in
the Gedo, Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle, Lower Juba, and Middle Juba regions. The
armed conflict within the USC devastated the Mogadishu area.
The civil war disrupted agriculture and food distribution in southern
Somalia. The basis of most of the conflicts was clan allegiances and competition
for resources between the warring clans. James Bishop, the United States last
ambassador to Somalia, explained that there is "competition for water,
pasturage, and... cattle. It is a competition that used to be fought out with
arrows and sabers... Now it is fought out with AK-47s."[74]
The resulting
famine (about 300,000 dead) caused the
United Nations Security Council in 1992 to authorise the limited
peacekeeping operation
United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I).[75]
UNOSOM's use of force was limited to self-defence and it was soon disregarded by
the warring factions.
In reaction to the continued violence and the humanitarian disaster, the
United States organised a military coalition with the purpose of creating a
secure environment in southern Somalia for the conduct of humanitarian
operations. This coalition, (Unified
Task Force or UNITAF) entered Somalia in December 1992 on
Operation Restore Hope and was successful in restoring order and alleviating
the famine. In May 1993, most of the United States troops withdrew and UNITAF
was replaced by the
United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II).
However, Aidid saw UNOSOM II as a threat to his power and in June 1993 his
militia attacked
Pakistan Army troops, attached to UNOSOM II, (see
Somalia (March 1992 to February 1996)) in Mogadishu inflicting over 80
casualties. Fighting escalated until 19 American troops and more than 1,000
Somalis were killed in a
raid in Mogadishu during October 1993. The UN withdrew
Operation United Shield in 3 March 1995, having suffered significant
casualties, and with the rule of government still not restored. In June 1996,
Mohamed Farrah Aidid was killed in Mogadishu.
Politics
Current situation in Somalia
Following the civil war the
Harti and
Tanade clans declared a self-governing state in the northeast, which took
the name
Puntland, but maintained that it would participate in any Somali
reconciliation to form a new central government. Then in 2002,
Southwestern Somalia, comprising
Bay,
Bakool,
Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Juba),
Gedo,
Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabele) and
Jubbada Hoose (Lower Juba)
regions of Somalia declared itself autonomous. Although initially the
instigators of this, the
Rahanweyn Resistance Army, which had been established in 1995, was only in
full control of Bay, Bakool and parts of Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe, they quickly
established the de facto autonomy of Southwestern Somalia.
Although conflict between
Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud and his two deputies weakened the Rahanweyn
militarily from February 2006, the Southwest became central to the TFG based in
the city of Baidoa.
Shatigadud became Finance Minister, his first deputy
Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe became Parliamentary Speaker and his second deputy
Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade became Minister of Transport. Shatigadud also held
the Chairmanship of the Rahanwein Traditional Elders' Court.
In 2004, the TFG met in
Nairobi,
Kenya and published a charter for the government of the nation.[76][77]
The TFG capital is presently in Baidoa. Meanwhile Somalia was one of the many
countries affected by the
tsunami which
struck the
Indian
Ocean coast following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, destroying entire villages and killing an
estimated 300 people. In 2006, Somalia was deluged by torrential rains and
flooding that struck the entire
Horn of Africa affecting 350,000 people.[78]
The inter-clan rivalry continued in 2006 with the declaration of regional
autonomy by the state of Jubaland, consisting of parts of Gedo, Jubbada Dhexe,
and the whole of Jubbada Hoose.
Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale, chairman of the
Juba Valley Alliance, who comes from
Galguduud
in central Somalia is the most powerful leader there. Like Puntland this
regional government did not want full statehood, but some sort of federal
autonomy.
Conflict broke out again in early 2006 between an alliance of Mogadishu
warlords known as the
Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (or "ARPCT") and
a militia
loyal to the
Islamic Courts Union (or "I.C.U."), seeking to institute
Sharia law in
Somalia. Social law changes, such as the forbidding of chewing
khat,[79]
were part of moves by the ICU to change behaviours and impose strict social
morals. It was widely reported that soccer playing was being banned, as well as
viewing of broadcasts of soccer games,[80]
but there were also reports of the ICU itself denying any such bans.
The Islamic Courts Union was led by Sheikh
Sharif
Ahmed. When asked if the ICU plans to extend its control to the rest of
Somalia, Sheikh Ahmed responded in an interview: "Land is not our priority. Our
priority is the people's peace, dignity and that they could live in liberty,
that they could decide their own fate. That is our priority. Our priority is not
land; the people are important to us."[82]
Somalia at the height of I.C.U. power, December 2006
Several hundred people, mostly civilians caught in the crossfire, died during
this conflict. Mogadishu residents described it as the worst fighting in more
than a decade. The Islamic Courts Union accused the U.S. of funding the warlords
through the
Central Intelligence Agency and supplying them with arms in an effort to
prevent the Islamic Courts Union from gaining power. The
United States Department of State, while neither admitting nor denying this,
said the U.S. had taken no action that violated the international arms embargo
of Somalia. A few e-mails describing covert illegal operations by private
military companies in breach of U.N. regulations have been reported[83]
by the UK Sunday newspaper
The
Observer.
By early June 2006 the Islamic Militia had control of Mogadishu, following
the
Second Battle of Mogadishu, and the last A.R.P.C.T. stronghold in southern
Somalia, the town of
Jowhar, then
fell with little resistance. The remaining A.R.P.C.T. forces fled to the east or
across the border into Ethiopia and the alliance effectively collapsed.
The Ethiopian-supported Transitional Government then called for intervention
by a regional East African
peacekeeping force. The I.C.U. meanwhile were fiercely opposed to foreign
troops—particularly Ethiopians—in Somalia.[84]
claiming that Ethiopia, with its long history as an imperial power including the
occupation of Ogaden, seeks to occupy Somalia, or rule it by proxy. Meanwhile
the I.C.U. and their militia took control of much of the southern half of
Somalia, normally through negotiation with local clan chiefs rather than by the
use of force.
However, the Islamic militia stayed clear of areas close to the Ethiopian
border, which had become a place of refuge for many Somalis including the
Transitional Government itself, headquartered in the town of Baidoa. Ethiopia
said it would protect Baidoa if threatened. On September 25, 2006, the I.C.U.
moved into the southern port of
Kismayo, the
last remaining port held by the transitional government.[85]
Ethiopian troops entered Somalia and seized the town of Buur Hakaba on October
9, and later that day the I.C.U. issued a declaration of war against Ethiopia.[86]
Kismayo, one of Somalia's leading ports.
On 1 November 2006, peace talks between the Transitional Government and the
ICU broke down. The international community feared an all-out civil war, with
Ethiopian and rival
Eritrean
forces backing opposing sides in the power-struggle.[87]
Fighting erupted once again on 21 December 2006 when the leader of ICU, Sheikh
Hassan Dahir Aweys said: "Somalia is in a state of war, and all Somalis
should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia", and heavy fighting broke
out between the Islamic militia on one side and the Somali Transitional
Government allied with Ethiopian forces on the other.[88]
In late December 2006, Ethiopia launched
airstrikes
against Islamic troops and strong points across Somalia. Ethiopian Information
Minister
Berhan Hailu stated that targets included the town of
Buurhakaba,
near the Transitional Government base in Baidoa. An Ethiopian jet fighter
strafed
Mogadishu International Airport (now Aden Adde International Airport),
without apparently causing serious damage but prompting the airport to be shut
down. Other Ethiopian jet fighters attacked a military airport west of
Mogadishu.[89][90]
Ethiopian Prime Minister
Meles
Zenawi then announced that his country was waging war against the ICU to
protect his country's sovereignty. "Ethiopian defence forces were forced to
enter into war to the protect the sovereignty of the nation and to blunt
repeated attacks by Islamic courts terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements they
are supporting," he said.[91][92]
Days of heavy fighting followed as Ethiopian and government troops backed by
tanks and jets pushed against Islamic forces between Baidoa and Mogadishu. Both
sides claimed to have inflicted hundreds of casualties, but the Islamic infantry
and vehicle artillery were badly beaten and forced to retreat toward Mogadishu.
On 28 December 2006, the allies entered Mogadishu after Islamic fighters fled
the city. Prime Minister
Ali Mohammed Ghedi declared that Mogadishu had been secured, after meeting
with local clan leaders to discuss the peaceful hand-over of the city.[93]
Yet as of April 2008, the Transitional Federal Government and its Ethiopian
allies still face frequent attacks from an Islamic insurgency.
The Islamists retreated south, towards their stronghold in Kismayo, fighting
rearguard actions in several towns. They abandoned Kismayo, too, without a
fight, claiming that their flight was a strategic withdrawal to avoid civilian
casualties, and entrenched around the small town of
Ras
Kamboni, at the southernmost tip of Somalia and on the border with Kenya. In
early January, the Ethiopians and the Somali government attacked, resulting in
the
Battle of Ras Kamboni, and capturing the Islamic positions and driving the
surviving fighters into the hills and forests after several days of combat. On
January 9, 2007, the United States openly intervened in Somalia by sending
Lockheed AC-130 gunships to attack ICU positions in Ras Kamboni. Dozens were
killed and by then the ICU were largely defeated. During 2007 and 2008, new
Islamic militant groups organized, and continued to fight against transitional
government Somali and Ethiopian official troops. They recovered effective
control of large portions of the country. Ethiopian forces retreated in 2009.
The ICU no longer exists as an organized political group.
On December 29, 2008,
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced before a united parliament in
Baidoa his
resignation as
President of Somalia. In his speech, which was broadcast on national radio,
Yusuf expressed regret at failing to end the country's seventeen year conflict
as his government had mandated to do.[94]
He also blamed the international community for its failure to support the
government, and said that the speaker of parliament,
Aden "Madobe" Mohamed, would succeed him in office per the charter of the
Transitional Federal Government.[95]
On January 31, 2009,
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected as president at the Kempinski hotel
in
Djibouti.[96]
Former Prime Minister
Nur Hassan Hussein of the Transitional Federal Government and Sharif Sheikh
Ahmed signed a power sharing deal in Djibouti that was brokered by the United
Nations. According to the deal, Ethiopian troops were to withdraw from Somalia,
giving their bases to the transitional government, African Union (AU)
peacekeepers and moderate Islamist groups led by the ARS. Following the
Ethiopian withdrawal, the transitional government expanded its parliament to
include the opposition and elected Sheikh Ahmed as its new president on January
31, 2009. Sheikh Ahmed then appointed
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the son of slain former President
Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, as the nation's new Prime Minister.
Law
The legal structure in Somalia is divided along three lines:
civil law,
religious law, and
traditional clan law.
Civil
law
While Somalia's formal judicial system was largely destroyed after the fall
of the Siad
Barre regime, it has been rebuilt and is now administered under different
regional governments such as the autonomous
Puntland
and
Somaliland macro-regions. In the case of the
Transitional Federal Government, a new judicial structure was formed through
various international conferences.
Despite some significant political differences between them, all of these
administrations share similar legal structures, much of which are predicated on
the judicial systems of previous Somali administrations. These similarities in
civil law include:[97]
- A charter
which affirms the primacy of
Muslim
shari'a or religious law, although in practice shari'a is applied mainly to
matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and civil issues.
- The charter guarantees respect for universal standards of
human rights to all subjects of the law. It also assures the
independence of the
judiciary,
which in turn is protected by a judicial committee.
- The laws of the civilian government which were in effect prior to the
military
coup
d'état that saw the Barre regime into power remain in force until the
laws are amended.
Shari'a
Islamic
shari'a has traditionally played a significant part in Somali society. In
theory, it has served as the basis for all national legislation in every Somali
constitution. In practice, however, it only applied to common civil cases
such as
marriage,
divorce,
inheritance and family matters. This changed after the start of the civil
war when a number of new shari'a courts began to spring up in many different
cities and towns across the country.[97]
These new shari'a courts serve three functions:
- To pass rulings in both criminal and civil cases.
- To organize a militia capable of arresting criminals.
- To keep convicted prisoners incarcerated.
The shari'a courts, though structured along simple lines, feature a
conventional hierarchy of a
chairman,
vice-chairman and four
judges. A police
force that reports to the court enforces the judges' rulings, but also helps
settle community disputes and apprehend suspected criminals. In addition, the
courts manage
detention centers where criminals are kept. An independent finance committee
is also assigned the task of collecting and managing
tax revenue levied on
regional merchants by the local authorities.[97]
In March 2009, Somalia's newly established coalition government announced
that it would implement shari'a as the nation's official judicial system.[98]
Xeer
Somalis for centuries have practiced a form of
customary law which they call
Xeer. Xeer is a
polycentric legal system where there is no monopolistic agent that
determines what the law should be or how it should be interpreted.
The Xeer legal system is assumed to have developed exclusively in the
Horn of Africa since approximately the 7th century. There is no
evidence that it developed elsewhere or was greatly influenced by any foreign
legal system. The fact that Somali legal terminology is practically devoid of
loan words from foreign languages suggests that Xeer is truly indigenous.[99]
The Xeer legal system also requires a certain amount of
specialization of different functions within the legal framework. Thus, one
can find odayal (judges),
xeer boggeyaal (jurists),
guurtiyaal (detectives),
garxajiyaal (attorneys),
murkhaatiyal (witnesses)
and waranle (police
officers) to enforce the law.[100]
Xeer is defined by a few fundamental tenets that are immutable and which
closely approximate the principle of
jus cogens in
international law:[97]
- Payment of
blood money (locally referred to as
diya) for
libel, theft, physical harm, rape and death, as well as supplying assistance
to relatives.
- Assuring good inter-clan
relations by treating women justly, negotiating with "peace emissaries" in
good faith, and sparing the lives of socially protected groups (e.g.
children, women, the pious, poets and guests).
- Family obligations such as the payment of
dowry, and
sanctions for eloping.
- Rules pertaining to the management of resources such as the use of
pasture land, water, and other natural resources.
- Providing financial support to married female relatives and newlyweds.
- Donating livestock and other assets to the poor.
Geography and climate
Arabian horses colloquially referred to as Sunaari, seen
here in the arid plains of
Dhahar,
Maakhir, Somalia
Africa's easternmost country, Somalia has a land area of 637,540 square
kilometers and occupies the tip of a region commonly referred to as the
Horn of Africa (because of its resemblance on the map to a
rhinoceros'
horn). Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent. Its terrain consists
mainly of
plateaus,
plains, and
highlands.
Cal Madow
is a beautiful mountain range in the northeastern part of the country, extending
from several kilometers west of the city of
Bosaso to the
northwest of
Erigavo. The rugged east-west ranges of the
Karkaar Mountains lie at varying distances from the
Gulf of
Aden coast.
Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal
monsoon
winds, and irregular rainfall. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30 °C
(86 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F), except at higher elevations and along the east coast.
Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15 °C (59 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F).
The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about
May to
October the
mildest season in
Mogadishu.
The December–February
period of the northeast monsoon is also relatively mild, although prevailing
climatic conditions in Mogadishu are rarely pleasant. The tangambili
periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October–November and March–May)
are hot and humid.
Education
With the collapse of the central government in 1991, the education system is
now private.
Primary schools have risen from 600 before the civil war to 1,172 schools
today, with an increase of 28% in primary school enrollment over the last 3
years.[105]
In 2006, the autonomous
Puntland
region in the northeast was the second territory in Somalia after the
Somaliland
region to introduce free primary schools, with teachers now receiving their
salaries from the Puntland administration.[106]
In Mogadishu,
Benadir University, the
Somalia National University,
Mogadishu University,
Kismayo University, and
University of Gedo are five of the eight functioning universities in
southern Somalia that offer higher education. The Somali National University and
all of its campuses in
Lafole, SNU or
Jaamacada Ummada, Medicine, and
Gaheyr are presently too unsafe for holding classes in.
In Puntland,
higher education is provided by the
Puntland State University and East Africa University. In
Somaliland,
it is provided by
Amoud University,
University of Hargeisa,
Somaliland University of Technology and
Burao University. Three Somali universities are currently ranked in the top
100 of Africa.
Qur'anic
schools (also known as duqsi) are the basic system of religious
instruction in Somalia. The Qur'anic system, which teaches the greatest number
of students relative to the other education sub-sectors, is the only system
accessible to nomadic Somalis compared to the urban Somalis who have easier
access to education. In 1993, a survey by the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was conducted in which it found,
among other things, that about 40% of pupils in Qur'anic schools were girls.[107]
Economy
A shopping mall in downtown
Hargeisa, Somalia.
Agriculture is the most important sector, with
livestock
accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings.
Nomads and
semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a
large portion of the population.
After livestock,
bananas are the principal export;
sugar,
sorghum,
maize, and
fish are products
for the domestic market.
The small
industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products,
accounts for 10% of
GDP.
American and Chinese oil companies are also excited about the prospect of oil
and other natural resources in Somalia. An oil group listed in Sydney, Range
Resources, anticipates that the
Puntland
province in the north has the potential to produce 5 billion to 10 billion
barrels of oil.[108]
While millions of Somalis receive food aid,[109][110]
according to a study by the
UNDP and the
European Commission, it is estimated that as much as $1 billion USD is
annually remitted to Somalia by Somalis in the
diaspora
via money transfer companies—far more than the amount of development funding
flowing into the country.[111]
Media
and telecommunications
In Somalia, dozens of
private
newspapers, radio
and
television
stations mushroomed in the last decade, (Mogadishu
has two fiercely competing TV stations), with private radio stations or
newspapers in almost all of the major towns. Large media companies include the
Shabelle Media Network,
Radio Gaalkacyo and
Radio
Garowe.
Internet
usage in Somalia increased 44,900% from 2000 to 2007, registering the highest
growth rate in Africa.[112]
Somali
information technology companies currently compete for a market with more
than 500,000 Internet users. The country has 22 established
ISPs
and 234
cyber cafes with a growth of 15.6% per year. Internet over the
satellite
services are also offered, especially in remote areas and cities that have no
dialup or wireless Internet services. Major clients include
UN,
NGOs,
financial institutions particularly the
remittance
companies and Internet Cafes. Currently over three hundred satellite terminals
connected to various teleports in
Europe and
Asia are available
throughout the country. This type of service has shown a stable growth of 10–15%
per year.
Somalia has one of the best telecommunications systems on the continent:
several companies such as
Golis Telecom Group, Hormuud Telecom,
Somafone,
Nationlink,
Netco,
Telecom and
Somali Telecom Group provide crystal-clear service, including international
long distance, for about $10 USD a month. Dial up internet services in Somalia
are the fastest growing internet services in Africa, as the nation enjoys
landline growth of more than 12.5% per year compared to other countries in the
Horn and eastern Africa at large, where landline is experiencing a serious
decline due to vandalism and an increase in the cost of copper cables in the
international market. Installation time for a
landline is
just three days in Somalia, while in neighboring Kenya waiting lists are many
years long.
Environment
Overview of a residential area in the semi-desert of
Hadaaftimo, an ancient town in the north-eastern
Sanaag
region of Somalia.
Somalia is a
semi-arid country with about 2%
arable
land. The civil war had a huge impact on the country’s
tropical forests by facilitating the production of
charcoal
with ever-present, recurring, but damaging droughts. Environmentalist and
Goldman Environmental Prize winner,
Fatima Jibrell, became the first Somali to step in and undertake a
much-needed effort to save the rest of the environment through local initiatives
that organised local communities to protect the rural and coastal habitat.
Jibrell trained a team of young people to organise awareness campaigns about the
irreversible damage of unrestricted charcoal production. She also joined the
Buran rural institute that formed and organised the Camel Caravan program in
which young people loaded tents and equipment on camels to walk for three weeks
through a nomadic locale, and educate the people about the careful use of
fragile resources,
health
care, livestock management and peace.
Fatima Jibrell has consistently fought against the burning of charcoal,
logging and
other man-induced environmental degradation. Her efforts have born fruits to the
local communities across Somalia and international recognition when she won the
prestigious Environmental Goldman award from
San Francisco. Jibrell is also the executive director of Horn Relief and
Development Organisation.[113]
Following the massive
tsunami of December 2004, there have also emerged allegations that after the
outbreak of the
Somali Civil War in the late 1980s, Somalia's long, remote shoreline was
used as a dump site for the disposal of toxic waste. The huge waves which
battered northern Somalia after the tsunami are believed to have stirred up
tonnes of nuclear and toxic waste that was illegally dumped in the country by
several European firms. The
European Green Party followed up these revelations by presenting before the
press and the
European Parliament in
Strasbourg
copies of contracts signed by two European companies—the Italian Swiss firm,
Achair Partners, and an Italian waste broker,
Progresso
– and representatives of the then "President" of Somalia, the faction leader
Ali Mahdi Mohamed, to accept 10 million tonnes of toxic waste in exchange
for $80 million (then about £60 million). According to reports by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the waste has resulted in far
higher than normal cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding,
abdominal haemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the
areas around the northeastern towns of
Hobbio and
Benadir on
the
Indian Ocean coast—diseases consistent with
radiation
sickness. UNEP continues that the current situation along the Somali coastline
poses a very serious environmental hazard not only in Somalia but also in the
eastern Africa sub-region.[114]
Demographics
Somali girls in nomadic attire.
Somalia has a population of around 10.7 million according to U.N. estimates
in 2003, 85% of which constitute
ethnic Somalis.
There is little reliable statistical information on urbanisation in Somalia.
However, rough estimates have been made indicating an
urbanization of 5% and 8% per
annum with many
towns rapidly growing into cities. Currently, 34% of the Somali population live
in towns and cities with the percentage rapidly increasing.[115]
Because of the civil war, the country has a large
diaspora community, one of the largest of the whole continent. Millions of
Somalis live abroad, and this excludes those who inhabit Yemen, northeastern
Kenya, and Djibouti.
Languages
Somali is the national language of the Somali people and is used virtually
everywhere by almost all ethnic Somalis as well as a few minority groups.
Minority languages do exist, such as
Af-Maay,
which is spoken in areas in South-Central Somalia mainly by the
Rahanweyn.
Variants of
Swahili (Barawe)
are also spoken along the coast by
Arabs and some
Bantus
(Jareer).
Many Somalis speak
Arabic due to close ties with the
Arab World,
the far-reaching influence of the Arabic media, and religious education.
English is also widely used and taught.
Italian used to be a major language but now because of the civil war and
lack of education, it is most frequently heard among older generations.
Religion
To a first approximation, the Somalis are entirely
Sunni
Muslims.[116]
Islam entered the
region very early on, as a group of persecuted Muslims had, at Prophet
Muhummad's urging, sought refuge across the
Red Sea in
the
Horn of Africa.
Islam may thus have been introduced into Somalia well before the faith even
took root in its place of origin.[117]
Christianity's influence was significantly reduced in the 1970s when
church-run schools were closed and
missionaries sent home. There has been no
Archbishop
of the Catholic
cathedral
in the country since 1989; the cathedral in Mogadishu was severely damaged in
the civil war of January-February 1992.
The Somali constitution discourages the promotion and propagation of any
religion other than
Islam. This sets Somalis apart from their
Ethiopian neighbours, some of whom are either Christians (particularly the
Amhara and others of Ethiopia) or adherents of indigenous faiths.
Culture
Cuisine
Main article:
Somali cuisine
Various types of traditional Somali dishes.
The cuisine of Somalia varies from region to region and encompasses different
styles of cooking. One thing that unites the Somali food is its being
Halal. Therefore,
there are no pork
dishes, alcohol
is not served, nothing that died on its own is eaten, and no blood is
incorporated. Somali people serve dinner as late as 9 pm. During
Ramadan, dinner is often served after
Tarawih
prayers – sometimes as late as 11 pm. Cambuulo is one of Somalia's most
popular dishes and is enjoyed throughout the country as a dinner meal. The dish
is made out of well-cooked
azuki beans,
mixed with butter and sugar. The beans, which by themselves are referred to as
digir, are often left on the stove for as many as five hours, on low
heat, to achieve an optimal taste. Barriss (rice) and basto
(pasta) are common foods, but have a unique flavor due to the seasoning and many
spices added.
Literature
Somalia produced a large amount of literature through Islamic
poetry and
Hadith from
Somali scholars of the last centuries. With the adoption of the
Latin alphabet in 1973 numerous Somali authors have released books over the
years which received widespread success,
Nuruddin Farah being one of them. Novels like From a Crooked Rib and
Links are considered important literary achievements which earned him the
1998
Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
Music
Somalia has the distinction of being one of only a handful of African
countries that are composed almost entirely of one ethnic group, the Somalis.
Traditional bands like
Waaberi and
Horseed have gained a small following outside the country. Others, like
Maryam Mursal, have fused Somali traditional music with
rock,
bossa nova,
hip hop, and
jazz influences.
Most Somali music is love oriented.
Toronto,
where a sizable Somali community exists, replaced Mogadishu (because of the
instability) as the centre of the Somali music industry, which is also present
in London,
Minneapolis, and
Columbus. One popular musician from the
Somali diaspora is
K'naan, a young
rapper from Toronto, whose songs talk about the struggles of life in Somalia
during the outbreak of the civil war.
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