Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
Encyclopedia
Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan (April 7, 1856, in Buuhoodle
northern Somalia
– December 21, 1920 in Imi
, Ogaden
) was a Somali
religious and patriotic leader. Referred to as the Mad Mullah by the British, he established the Dervish State
in Somalia that fought an anti-imperial
war for a period of over 20 years against British
, Italian
and Ethiopia
n forces.
sub-clan of the Darod
clan family, was born in 1856 in the valley of Sa'Madeeq. Some say he was born in Kirrit in northern Somalia. At the time, this part of Somalia was a protectorate
of the United Kingdom. Between 1884 and 1960, the area was known as British Somaliland
.
Hassan was the eldest son of Sheikh
Abdille, an Ogaden Somali
. His mother, Timiro Sade, also a Somali, belonged to the Dhulbahante
clan. His great grandfather, Sheikh Ismaan of Bardee, was a pious man of great repute who left his homeland slightly north of Qalaafo along the Shebelle River
valley in what is now the Ogaden and migrated southwards to settle with the religious Somali community at Bardera
along the Jubba River
. Hassan's grandfather, Hasan Nur, in turn, left his home and moved closer to the Dhulbahante stronghold in north-eastern Somalia. There, he founded several religious centres and devoted himself to the worship of God. Following in the footsteps of Hasan Nur, Hassan's father Abdille also led a religious life. Abdille married several Dhulbahante women by whom he had about 30 children of which Hassan was the eldest. Hassan's mother, Timiro Sade, came from the Ali Geri sublineage of the Dhulbahante clan, which was allied with the Ogaden.
Hassan thus grew up among the Dhulbahante pastoralists
, who were good herdsmen
and warrior
s and who tended and used camel
s as well as horse
s. Young Hassan's hero was his maternal grandfather, Sade Mogan, who was a great warrior chief. In addition to being a good horseman, by the age of eleven, Hassan had learned the entire Qur'an
by heart (he was a hafiz), and displayed all the qualities of a promising leader. He continued his religious education.
In 1875, Hassan's grandfather died, which came as a shock. That same year, he worked as a Qur'anic teacher for two years. His thirst for Islam
ic learning was so intense that he left his job and devoted about ten years to visiting many famous centres of Islamic learning including Harar
and Mogadishu
and even some centres in Sudan
.
Hassan received education from as many as seventy-two Somali and Arab
religious teachers. In 1891, upon returning home, he married an Ogadeni woman. Three years later, along with two uncles and eleven other companions some of whom were his maternal kin, Hassan went to Mecca
to perform the Hajj
. The party stayed there for a year and half and came under the charismatic influence of the newly-developing Saalihiya order under the leadership of the great Sudan
ese mystic, Mohammed Salih. Hassan received initiation and very rigorous spiritual training under Salih. From this experience, Hassan emerged a changed man — spiritually transformed, 'shaken and over-awed', but determined to spread the teachings of the Saalihiya order in Somalia.
. The British considered Berbera to be merely 'Aden's butcher's shop', since they were only interested in getting regular supplies of meat from Somalia through this port for their British India
outpost of Aden.
Taking advantage of Britain's complacency, Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia asked Ras Makonnen
, the Governor of his newly conquered Hararghe
Province, to send armed bands to plunder and occupy Ogaden politically. The British withdrew from this area of their territory in Somalia.
In Berbera, Hassan could not succeed in spreading the teaching of the Saalihiya order due to the hostility of the local Qadiriyyah inhabitants. They did not like him criticising their eating khat
, gorging on the fat of sheep's tail and following their traditional Qadiriyyah order. In 1897, he left Berbera to be with his Dulbahante kinsmen. On the way, at a place called Daymoole, he met some Somalis who were being looked after by a Catholic Mission
. When he asked them about their clan and parents, the Somali orphans replied that they belonged to the "clan of the (Catholic) Fathers." This reply shook him, for he felt that the "Christian Overlordship in his country was tantamount to the destruction of his people's faith."
In 1899, some soldiers of the British armed forces met Hassan and sold him an official gun. When questioned about the loss of the gun, they told their superiors that Hassan had stolen the gun from them. On 29 March 1899, the British Vice Consul
wrote a very stern and insulting letter to him accusing his camp of stealing the gun and asking him to return it immediately. This enraged Hassan and he sent a very brief and curt reply refuting the allegation. Hassan's attention had been focused on the Ethiopian invaders of Somalia, but this incident brought him into conflict with the British as well. The British, Ethiopian Emperor Menelek II, and a small numbers of Somalis then joined together to crush Hassan's Dervish movement.
s "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." He 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 acquired weapons from the Ottoman Empire, Sudan, and other Islamic countries. He appointed his ministers and advisers in charge of different areas or sectors of Somalia and gave a clarion call for Somali unity and independence.
At this time Hassan organized his warriors. His Dervish
movement had an essentially military character, and the Dervish State
was fashioned on the model of a Saalihiya brotherhood. It had a rigid hierarchy and robust centralization.
Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea, and he committed the first attack by launching a major military offensive with his 1,500 Dervishes, equipped with 20 modern rifles, on the British soldiers stationed in the region.
Hassan sent one of his men to Yemen
in disguise for reconnaissance
activities to report on the new airplanes'
preparedness for attack. He sent his emissaries all over the country appealing for Somali people to join his movement and many responded to him enthusiastically.
In 1900, an Ethiopian expedition which had been sent to arrest or kill Hassan looted a large number of camels of the Mohammed Subeer Ogaden sub-clan. In answer to his appeal, Hassan attacked the Ethiopian garrison at Jijiga
on 4 March of that year and successfully recovered all the looted animals. This success emboldened Hassan and also enhanced his reputation.
In June, three months later, Hassan raided the British-protected northern Somali clans of Eidagale and Isaaq
and looted about 2,000 camels. He gained great prestige in recovering the looted stock from the Ethiopians and he used it along with his charisma and powers of oratory to improve his undisputed authority among the Ogaden. To harness Ogaden enthusiasm into final commitment, Hassan married the daughter of a prominent Ogaden chieftain and in return gave his own sister, Toohyar Sheikh Adbile, to Abdi Mohammed Waale, a notable Mohammed Subeer elder.
However, soon angered by his autocratic rule, Hussen Hirsi Dala Iljech' - a Mohammed Subeer chieftain - plotted to kill him. The news of the plot leaked to Hassan. He escaped but his prime minister and maternal uncle, Aw 'Abbas, was killed. Some weeks later, Mohammed Subeer sent a peace delegation of 32 men to Hassan, but he had all the members of the delegation arrested and killed. Shocked by this, Mohammed Subeer sought the help of the Ethiopians and the Dervish withdrew to Nugaal
.
Hassan (by now better known by his honorific title of "Sayyid
") patched up with the Dulbahante temporarily by paying huge blood monies
. This frightened the British-protected North Somali pastoralists. Towards the end of 1900, Ethiopian Emperor Menelik proposed a joint action with the British against the Dervish. Accordingly, British Lt. Col. E. J. Swayne assembled a force of 1,500 Somali soldiers led by 21 Europe
an officers and started from Burco
on 22 May 1901, while an Ethiopian army of 15,000 soldiers started from Harar to join the British forces intent on crushing the 20,000 Dervish fighters (of whom 40 percent were cavalry
).
During 1901 and 1904, the Dervish army inflicted heavy losses on their enemies - the Ethiopians, the British, and the Italian forces. "His successes attracted to his banner even Somalis who did not follow his religious beliefs." On 9 January 1904, at the Jidaale (Jidballi) plain, the British Commander, General Charles Egerton, killed 7,000 Dervish. This defeat forced Sayyid and his remaining men to flee to Majeerteen
country.
Around 1910, in a secret meeting under a big tree later nicknamed "Anjeel tale waa" ("The Tree of Bad Counsel"), about 600 Dervish followers decided to stop following Sayyid due to his perceived high-handedness. Their departure weakened, demoralized and angered Sayyid, and it was at this juncture that he composed his most famous poem entitled The Tree of Bad Counsel.
population, securing forces from the hinterland in northern Somalia to the length of the entire Jubba
region in southern Somalia, from Serinley near Bardera
to the coast.
Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan's own Ogaden
clansmen weren't entirely on his side when the Marehan saw the importance of siding with the nationalist leader in ridding themselves of the colonial powers. From Serinley onwards to Dolow, the second arm of the Marehan wasn't happy with giving the British a second front for confrontation. The peaceful communities between Bardera and Dolow to the Tana River
in East Africa were long established before the late 19th century uprising of Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan.
The Marehan Rer Guri were content and basically wanted to herd their livestock from the grasslands of Jubba to Tana River peacefully, where they had settled at the time. The Marehan Galti from the north and central Somalia were antagonistic. Northern Gedo Sheikh of Ali Dheere, who was at the time in concert with the rer Guri, was content with the status quo.
During 1910-1914, Sayyid's capital moved from Illig to Taleex
in the heart of Nugaal
where he built three garrison forts of massive stone work and a number of houses. He built a luxurious palace for himself and kept new guards drawn from outcast clans. By 1913, he had dominated the entire hinterland of the Somali peninsula by building forts at Jildali and Mirashi in Warsangali
country, at Werder
and Korahe in the Ogaden and Beledweyne
in southern Somalia. On 9 August 1913, at the Battle of Dul Madoba
, a Dervish force raided the Habar Yoonis clan near Burco and killed or wounded 57 members of the 110-man Somaliland Camel Constabulary. The dead included the British officer who commanded the constabulary, Colonel
Richard Corfield
. Hassan memorialized this action in his poem simply entitled "The Death of Richard Corfield." In the same year, the Dervish attacked Berbera and looted and destroyed it. In 1914, the Somaliland Camel Corps
was founded as an expanded and improved version of the constabulary.
A British force was gathering against the Dervishes when they were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I
. Among the British officers deployed were Adrian Carton de Wiart
(later Lieutenant General), who lost an eye in the campaign, and Hastings Ismay, a staff officer later to be Winston Churchill
's chief military advisor.
By 1919, despite the British having built large stone forts to guard the passes to the hills, Hassan and his armed bands were at large, robbing and killing.
The vision of Sayyid and his followers in Jubba was similar to that of people in Sudan and Egypt
when the Ottoman Sultanate was retreating from those other Northeast African territories.
. Here, again with the help of his patriotic poetry and charisma, he tried to rebuild his army and accomplish the coalition of Ogaden clans which made him a power in the land once again.
at the age of 64, His grave is believed to be somewhere close to Imay town of the Somali region of Ethiopia; however, the exact spot of the Sayid`s tomb isn’t known, a matter that has concerned and occupied the Somali people. However, in the middle of 2009, The Somali Regional State administration expressed that they will exhume the remains of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and rebury him in his old castle at Imme. Although, most individuals who knew the exact location of the Hassan`s tomb are dead for a long time now, the Regional Information Minister Mr. Guled Casowe
told on VOA Somali Section interview, that very few, senile individuals who can reveal the details of the Hassan`s grave may be alive, making the region`s search efforts attainable. The Somali Region
of Ethiopia is trying to sample DNA test to determine whether the remains they found in some grave yard at Gindhir, could be that of Sayid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan.
Buuhoodle
Buhoodle or Buuhoodle is the capital of the Ayn region in northern Somalia. It is disputed between Somaliland, Puntland and HBM-SSC , a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration .-History:Buuhoodle is an historical city...
northern Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
– December 21, 1920 in Imi
Imi, Ethiopia
Imi is a village in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Mirab Imi woreda of the Afder Zone on the north bank of the Shebelle River, at latitude and longitude with an elevation of 442 meters above sea level.The Central Statistical Agency has not published an estimate for this...
, Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
) was a Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
religious and patriotic leader. Referred to as the Mad Mullah by the British, he established the Dervish State
Dervish State
The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Muslim state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes...
in Somalia that fought an anti-imperial
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
war for a period of over 20 years against British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n forces.
Youth
Hassan, who belonged to the OgadenOgaden (clan)
The Ogaden is a Somali clan, and one of the largest Darod subclans.-Overview:Members of the Ogaden clan primarily live in the central Ogaden plateau of Ethiopia , the North Eastern Province of Kenya, and the Jubaland region of Southern Somalia...
sub-clan of the Darod
Darod
The Darod is a Somali clan. The father of this clan is named Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, but is more commonly known as Darod. In the Somali language, the word Daarood means "an enclosed compound," a conflation of the two words daar and ood .The Darod population in Somalia lives principally...
clan family, was born in 1856 in the valley of Sa'Madeeq. Some say he was born in Kirrit in northern Somalia. At the time, this part of Somalia was a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of the United Kingdom. Between 1884 and 1960, the area was known as British Somaliland
British Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
.
Hassan was the eldest son of Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Abdille, an Ogaden Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
. His mother, Timiro Sade, also a Somali, belonged to the Dhulbahante
Dhulbahante
The Dhulbahante is a Somali clan, and a part of the larger Harti Darod clan. Members of the clan primarily inhabit the Sool, Nugaal, Sanaag and Ayn regions, the Haud, the port city of Kismayo, as well as other areas in the Jubbada Hoose region of southern Somalia.-Tradition:Currently, there are...
clan. His great grandfather, Sheikh Ismaan of Bardee, was a pious man of great repute who left his homeland slightly north of Qalaafo along the Shebelle River
Shebelle River
The Shebelle River begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. Below Mogadishu, the river becomes seasonal...
valley in what is now the Ogaden and migrated southwards to settle with the religious Somali community at Bardera
Bardera
Bardera City is an important agricultural city in the Gedo region of Somalia. It is the second most populous town in the Juba Valley, with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region, and Garbahaarreey serving as Gedo's capital...
along the Jubba River
Jubba River
The Jubba River is a river in southern Somalia. It begins at the border with Ethiopia, where the Dawa and Ganale Dorya rivers meet, and flows directly south to the Indian Ocean, where it empties at the Goobweyn juncture.-History:...
. Hassan's grandfather, Hasan Nur, in turn, left his home and moved closer to the Dhulbahante stronghold in north-eastern Somalia. There, he founded several religious centres and devoted himself to the worship of God. Following in the footsteps of Hasan Nur, Hassan's father Abdille also led a religious life. Abdille married several Dhulbahante women by whom he had about 30 children of which Hassan was the eldest. Hassan's mother, Timiro Sade, came from the Ali Geri sublineage of the Dhulbahante clan, which was allied with the Ogaden.
Hassan thus grew up among the Dhulbahante pastoralists
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
, who were good herdsmen
Herder
A herder is a worker who lives a possibly semi-nomadic life, caring for various domestic animals, in places where these animals wander pasture lands....
and warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s and who tended and used camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s as well as horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s. Young Hassan's hero was his maternal grandfather, Sade Mogan, who was a great warrior chief. In addition to being a good horseman, by the age of eleven, Hassan had learned the entire Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
by heart (he was a hafiz), and displayed all the qualities of a promising leader. He continued his religious education.
In 1875, Hassan's grandfather died, which came as a shock. That same year, he worked as a Qur'anic teacher for two years. His thirst for Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic learning was so intense that he left his job and devoted about ten years to visiting many famous centres of Islamic learning including Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
and Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
and even some centres in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
Hassan received education from as many as seventy-two Somali and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
religious teachers. In 1891, upon returning home, he married an Ogadeni woman. Three years later, along with two uncles and eleven other companions some of whom were his maternal kin, Hassan went to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
to perform the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
. The party stayed there for a year and half and came under the charismatic influence of the newly-developing Saalihiya order under the leadership of the great Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese mystic, Mohammed Salih. Hassan received initiation and very rigorous spiritual training under Salih. From this experience, Hassan emerged a changed man — spiritually transformed, 'shaken and over-awed', but determined to spread the teachings of the Saalihiya order in Somalia.
Religious mission
In 1895, Hassan returned to BerberaBerbera
Berbera is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia...
. The British considered Berbera to be merely 'Aden's butcher's shop', since they were only interested in getting regular supplies of meat from Somalia through this port for their British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
outpost of Aden.
Taking advantage of Britain's complacency, Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia asked Ras Makonnen
Ras Makonnen
Ras Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika'él Guddisa, also Makonnen Wolde Mikael Gudessa or simply as Ras Makonnen, was a general and the governor of Harar province in Ethiopia, and the father of Tafari Mäkonnen, later known as the Emperor Haile Selassie I. His father was Fitawrari Woldemikael Guddessa of a noble...
, the Governor of his newly conquered Hararghe
Hararghe
Hararghe was a province in the eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital in Harar. Including Ethiopia's part of the Ogaden, Haraghe was bounded on the south by Sidamo, southwest by Arsi, west by Shewa, northwest by Wollo, northeast by French Somaliland, and on the east by Somalia.Hararghe came...
Province, to send armed bands to plunder and occupy Ogaden politically. The British withdrew from this area of their territory in Somalia.
In Berbera, Hassan could not succeed in spreading the teaching of the Saalihiya order due to the hostility of the local Qadiriyyah inhabitants. They did not like him criticising their eating khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
, gorging on the fat of sheep's tail and following their traditional Qadiriyyah order. In 1897, he left Berbera to be with his Dulbahante kinsmen. On the way, at a place called Daymoole, he met some Somalis who were being looked after by a Catholic Mission
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. When he asked them about their clan and parents, the Somali orphans replied that they belonged to the "clan of the (Catholic) Fathers." This reply shook him, for he felt that the "Christian Overlordship in his country was tantamount to the destruction of his people's faith."
In 1899, some soldiers of the British armed forces met Hassan and sold him an official gun. When questioned about the loss of the gun, they told their superiors that Hassan had stolen the gun from them. On 29 March 1899, the British Vice Consul
Vice Consul
A vice consul is a subordinate officer, authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consulate....
wrote a very stern and insulting letter to him accusing his camp of stealing the gun and asking him to return it immediately. This enraged Hassan and he sent a very brief and curt reply refuting the allegation. Hassan's attention had been focused on the Ethiopian invaders of Somalia, but this incident brought him into conflict with the British as well. The British, Ethiopian Emperor Menelek II, and a small numbers of Somalis then joined together to crush Hassan's Dervish movement.
Origins of armed struggle
In several of his poems and speeches, Hassan said that the British infidelInfidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
s "have destroyed our religion and made our children their children" and that the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
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." He 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
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
or gaal. He acquired weapons from the Ottoman Empire, Sudan, and other Islamic countries. He appointed his ministers and advisers in charge of different areas or sectors of Somalia and gave a clarion call for Somali unity and independence.
At this time Hassan organized his warriors. His Dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
movement had an essentially military character, and the Dervish State
Dervish State
The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Muslim state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes...
was fashioned on the model of a Saalihiya brotherhood. It had a rigid hierarchy and robust centralization.
Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea, and he committed the first attack by launching a major military offensive with his 1,500 Dervishes, equipped with 20 modern rifles, on the British soldiers stationed in the region.
Hassan sent one of his men to Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
in disguise for reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
activities to report on the new airplanes'
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
preparedness for attack. He sent his emissaries all over the country appealing for Somali people to join his movement and many responded to him enthusiastically.
Ethiopia, Britain and Italy
Jijiga
Jijiga is a city in eastern Ethiopia and the capital of the Somali Region of that country. Located in the Jijiga Zone approximately 80 km east of Harar and 60 km west of the border with Somalia, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1,609 meters above sea...
on 4 March of that year and successfully recovered all the looted animals. This success emboldened Hassan and also enhanced his reputation.
In June, three months later, Hassan raided the British-protected northern Somali clans of Eidagale and Isaaq
Isaaq
The Isaaq is one of the main Somali clans. Members of the clan principally live in the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia, and the Somali Region of Ethiopia. The populations of five major cities of Somaliland – Hargeisa, Burco, Berbera, Ceerigaabo and Gabiley – are predominantly Isaaq...
and looted about 2,000 camels. He gained great prestige in recovering the looted stock from the Ethiopians and he used it along with his charisma and powers of oratory to improve his undisputed authority among the Ogaden. To harness Ogaden enthusiasm into final commitment, Hassan married the daughter of a prominent Ogaden chieftain and in return gave his own sister, Toohyar Sheikh Adbile, to Abdi Mohammed Waale, a notable Mohammed Subeer elder.
However, soon angered by his autocratic rule, Hussen Hirsi Dala Iljech' - a Mohammed Subeer chieftain - plotted to kill him. The news of the plot leaked to Hassan. He escaped but his prime minister and maternal uncle, Aw 'Abbas, was killed. Some weeks later, Mohammed Subeer sent a peace delegation of 32 men to Hassan, but he had all the members of the delegation arrested and killed. Shocked by this, Mohammed Subeer sought the help of the Ethiopians and the Dervish withdrew to Nugaal
Nugaal
Nugal is an administrative region in northeastern Somalia.-Overview:It is bordered by Ethiopia and the Somalian regions of Sool to the west, Bari to the north, and Mudug to the south, with the Indian Ocean to the east....
.
Hassan (by now better known by his honorific title of "Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
") patched up with the Dulbahante temporarily by paying huge blood monies
Blood money (term)
Blood money is money or some sort of compensation paid by an offender or his family group to the family or kin group of the victim.-Particular examples and uses:...
. This frightened the British-protected North Somali pastoralists. Towards the end of 1900, Ethiopian Emperor Menelik proposed a joint action with the British against the Dervish. Accordingly, British Lt. Col. E. J. Swayne assembled a force of 1,500 Somali soldiers led by 21 Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an officers and started from Burco
Burco
Burao is the capital city of the Togdheer province in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. In terms of population, it is the second largest city in Somaliland after Hargeisa.-History:...
on 22 May 1901, while an Ethiopian army of 15,000 soldiers started from Harar to join the British forces intent on crushing the 20,000 Dervish fighters (of whom 40 percent were cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
).
During 1901 and 1904, the Dervish army inflicted heavy losses on their enemies - the Ethiopians, the British, and the Italian forces. "His successes attracted to his banner even Somalis who did not follow his religious beliefs." On 9 January 1904, at the Jidaale (Jidballi) plain, the British Commander, General Charles Egerton, killed 7,000 Dervish. This defeat forced Sayyid and his remaining men to flee to Majeerteen
Majeerteen
The Majeerteen is a Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Harti confederation of Darod sub-clans, and primarily inhabit the Puntland region in northeastern Somalia....
country.
Around 1910, in a secret meeting under a big tree later nicknamed "Anjeel tale waa" ("The Tree of Bad Counsel"), about 600 Dervish followers decided to stop following Sayyid due to his perceived high-handedness. Their departure weakened, demoralized and angered Sayyid, and it was at this juncture that he composed his most famous poem entitled The Tree of Bad Counsel.
Push to the south
During his campaign to gather fighting men in southern Somalia, Sayyid Mohamed received enormous support from the MarehanMarehan
The Marehan are a Somali clan. They are one of the major Darod sub-clans, forming a part of the Sade confederation of clans. The majority of the Marehan live in the Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwestern Somalia, as well as the Galguduud and Mudug regions in central...
population, securing forces from the hinterland in northern Somalia to the length of the entire Jubba
Jubba
Jubba is a Persian and South Asian ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, and similar to a robe. It is synonymous to the thawb....
region in southern Somalia, from Serinley near Bardera
Bardera
Bardera City is an important agricultural city in the Gedo region of Somalia. It is the second most populous town in the Juba Valley, with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region, and Garbahaarreey serving as Gedo's capital...
to the coast.
Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan's own Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
clansmen weren't entirely on his side when the Marehan saw the importance of siding with the nationalist leader in ridding themselves of the colonial powers. From Serinley onwards to Dolow, the second arm of the Marehan wasn't happy with giving the British a second front for confrontation. The peaceful communities between Bardera and Dolow to the Tana River
Tana River (Kenya)
The long Tana River is the longest river in Kenya, and gives its name to the Tana River District. Its tributaries include the Thika. The river rises in the Aberdare Mountains to the west of Nyeri. Initially it runs east before turning south around the massif of Mount Kenya. The river then runs...
in East Africa were long established before the late 19th century uprising of Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan.
The Marehan Rer Guri were content and basically wanted to herd their livestock from the grasslands of Jubba to Tana River peacefully, where they had settled at the time. The Marehan Galti from the north and central Somalia were antagonistic. Northern Gedo Sheikh of Ali Dheere, who was at the time in concert with the rer Guri, was content with the status quo.
Consolidation
Taleex
Taleh is an historical town in the northeastern Sool region of Somalia. It served as the headquarters of the pre-independence Dervish State.-History:...
in the heart of Nugaal
Nugaal
Nugal is an administrative region in northeastern Somalia.-Overview:It is bordered by Ethiopia and the Somalian regions of Sool to the west, Bari to the north, and Mudug to the south, with the Indian Ocean to the east....
where he built three garrison forts of massive stone work and a number of houses. He built a luxurious palace for himself and kept new guards drawn from outcast clans. By 1913, he had dominated the entire hinterland of the Somali peninsula by building forts at Jildali and Mirashi in Warsangali
Warsangali
The Warsangeli , is a Somali clan, part of the Harti confederation of Darod sub-clans...
country, at Werder
Werder, Ethiopia
Werder is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Werder Zone of the Somali Region, Werder has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 541 meters above sea level...
and Korahe in the Ogaden and Beledweyne
Beledweyne
Beledweyne is a city in central Somalia. It is the capital of the Hiraan province, and is located in the central valley of the Shebelle river near the Ogaden, some 206 miles north of Mogadishu, the nation's capital. The Shebelle river divides the town into east and west...
in southern Somalia. On 9 August 1913, at the Battle of Dul Madoba
Dul Madoba
Dul Madoba is a hill ridge southeast of Burao in northwestern Somalia. It is also the location of a famous battle.-Battle:The battle took place on 9 August 1913...
, a Dervish force raided the Habar Yoonis clan near Burco and killed or wounded 57 members of the 110-man Somaliland Camel Constabulary. The dead included the British officer who commanded the constabulary, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Richard Corfield
Richard Corfield
Richard Conyngham Corfield was a British colonial police officer who saw service in South Africa, Nigeria, and Somalia in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
. Hassan memorialized this action in his poem simply entitled "The Death of Richard Corfield." In the same year, the Dervish attacked Berbera and looted and destroyed it. In 1914, the Somaliland Camel Corps
Somaliland Camel Corps
The Somaliland Camel Corps was a unit of the British Army based in British Somaliland from the early 20th century until the 1960s.Camels are a necessity in East Africa, being as important as ponies are in Mongolia...
was founded as an expanded and improved version of the constabulary.
A British force was gathering against the Dervishes when they were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Among the British officers deployed were Adrian Carton de Wiart
Adrian Carton de Wiart
Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO , was a British officer of Belgian and Irish descent...
(later Lieutenant General), who lost an eye in the campaign, and Hastings Ismay, a staff officer later to be Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's chief military advisor.
By 1919, despite the British having built large stone forts to guard the passes to the hills, Hassan and his armed bands were at large, robbing and killing.
The vision of Sayyid and his followers in Jubba was similar to that of people in Sudan and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
when the Ottoman Sultanate was retreating from those other Northeast African territories.
Defeat
In the beginning of 1920, the British struck the Dervish settlements with a well-coordinated air and land attack and inflicted a stunning defeat. The forts of Hassan were damaged and his army suffered great losses. They hastily fled to OgadenOgaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
. Here, again with the help of his patriotic poetry and charisma, he tried to rebuild his army and accomplish the coalition of Ogaden clans which made him a power in the land once again.
Death
On 21 December 1920, Hassan died of influenzaInfluenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
at the age of 64, His grave is believed to be somewhere close to Imay town of the Somali region of Ethiopia; however, the exact spot of the Sayid`s tomb isn’t known, a matter that has concerned and occupied the Somali people. However, in the middle of 2009, The Somali Regional State administration expressed that they will exhume the remains of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and rebury him in his old castle at Imme. Although, most individuals who knew the exact location of the Hassan`s tomb are dead for a long time now, the Regional Information Minister Mr. Guled Casowe
Guled Casowe
-Youth:Guled Casowe, who belonged to the Ogaden sub-clan of the Darod clan family, was born in 1978 in the valley of Jijiga. His birth date marked with the defeat of the Somali army in the Ethio-Somali war. Guled and his family fled to Somalia and resided in Mogadisho Guled thus grew up in...
told on VOA Somali Section interview, that very few, senile individuals who can reveal the details of the Hassan`s grave may be alive, making the region`s search efforts attainable. The Somali Region
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
of Ethiopia is trying to sample DNA test to determine whether the remains they found in some grave yard at Gindhir, could be that of Sayid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan.
In popular culture
- The documentary film The Parching Winds of SomaliaThe Parching Winds of SomaliaThe Parching Winds of Somalia is a documentary film produced by Charles Geshekter.-Subject matter:The film provides a close look at how the nomadic inhabitants of Somalia have withstood the ravages of a harsh desert environment and the encroachment of European imperial forces by synthesizing...
includes a section on the Dervish struggle and its leader Muhammad Abdullah Hassan. - The historic romanceRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
novel Ignorance is the Enemy of Love by Farah Mohamed Jama Awl has a Dervish protagonist called Calimaax, who is part of an ill-fated love story and fights against the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, ItaliansItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
and EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
ns in the Horn of AfricaHorn of AfricaThe Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
. - A 1983, film entitled A Somali Dervish was directed by Abdulkadir Ahmed SaidAbdulkadir Ahmed SaidAbdulkadir Ahmed Said is a prominent Somali film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor.-Biography:Said was born in 1953 in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. In 1970, he began working for the Somali Film Agency as a photographer assigned to international relations and as a...
. - In the Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
episode LoyaltyLoyalty (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)"Loyalty" is the two-part season premiere episode and is the first and second episodes of the ninth season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Part 1:...
, references are made to the Dervishes and their leader. The episode also features a character purported to have been descended from Muhammad Abdullah Hassan. - In 1985, a 4 hour and 40 minute IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n-produced epic filmEpic filmAn epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
by filmmaker Salah Ahmed entitled the Somalia Dervishes went into production. With a budget of $1.8 million, it included an actual descendant of Hassan as its star, and featured hundreds of actors and extras. - In the popular comic book series Corto MalteseCorto MalteseCorto Maltese is a comics series featuring an eponymous character, a complex sailor-adventurer. It was created by Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967...
, the protagonist travels to the Horn of Africa during the Dervishes' battle against the British, and witnesses the former power storm a British fort. During these travels, he develops a long-term friendship with a Dervish warrior named Cush, who subsequently features in several other of Corto's adventures around the world.
See also
- Hasna DorehHasna DorehHasna Doreh was an early 20th century Somali female commander of the Dervish State, a state which frequently engaged in battles against the imperial powers during the Scramble for Africa.-Biography:...
- wife of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and commander in his Dervish Army. - Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-GhaziAhmad ibn Ibrihim al-GhaziAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi "the Conqueror" was an Imam and General of Adal who invaded Ethiopia and defeated several Ethiopian emperors, wreaking much damage on that kingdom...
- Somali Imam and General of the Sultanate of Adal - Mohamoud Ali ShireMohamoud Ali ShireMohamoud Ali Shire was a Somali ruler. He was the 20th Sultan of the Warsangali Sultanate from 1897 to 1960.-Titles:Also known as the Gerad, the Sultan was the sole regent and governor of the sultanate. He also enjoyed many other titles, including "Sovereign of the House of North East of...
- Sultan of Warsengeli - John Gough - Awarded a Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for his actions as a column commander during the Third Somaliland Expedition against Hassan. - Alexander Stanhope Cobbe - Awarded a Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for his actions at Erego 1902.