THE ARAB FACTOR IN SOMALI HISTORY | THE LAND THE PEOPLE & THEIR CULTURE | CH1: P1: | by A. A. Hersi

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INTRODUCTION

To a reader who is aware of the Somali Democratic Republic's membership in the Arab League but not intimately acquainted with Somali society, the very title of this dissertation - "The Arab Factor in Somali History" - would sound somewhat anomalous. How can anybody speak of the "Arab factor", one may legitimately ask, if the Somali Democratic Republic is an Arab state? Is there more to Somali than its "Arab factor"?
It is not only the title of this dissertation that is paradoxical however, but also the very nature of Arab-Somali relations is problematic. A Somali asked to trace his or her descent will unhesitatingly recite the names of a long list of forebears which invariably ends with an Arab Sheikh, usually with one of Prophet Muhammad's immediate relatives or with one of his not-far-removed Quraishite companions. The claims of noble pedigree in these genealogies by themselves constitute sufficient grounds for doubt. Indeed, even before a surface digging is carried out their doubtful authenticity becomes self-evident. To begin with, the existence of many non-Arab names in the genealogical chain clearly attests to their spurious nature. Stronger evidence is provided by the very Somalis who make these claims. For strange as it may sound, and despite the universal currency of these claims, the Somalis do not consider themselves as

Arabs ethnically or even culturally.
Today the Somali Democratic Republic is in the Arab League. This League consists of some twenty states who were brought together primarily by a shared sense of belonging to Arab nation, rather than by any other commonality of interests. Any independent Arab state whose application has been approved by the Council of the League can become a member. He may mention here that the League has never attempted to legally define who is an Arab or what constitutes an Arab state. Over the years, however, scholars and Arab statesmen have made various pronouncements as to who is an Arab, and today there exist some "vaguely delimited" but generally accepted definitions formulated around linguistic and cultural characteristics which are said to be the common possession of the members of the Arab nation. Judged by

these criteria alone, the Somali Democratic Republic's membership in the League of Arab States would be questionable.
Considering these preliminary remarks, perhaps the title of this dissertation will not sound so paradoxical after all. Behind the adoption of this title, and as partially Intimated in these remarks, is the assertion that the Somali society should not be considered merely as a derivative Arab-Muslim subculture but should rather be seen for what it is - a veritable and independent African cultural unit into the development of which one major set of influences came from the Arab and Islamic world. This work will concern itself with the search for the origins of Arab-Somali ties, and will trace the development and vicissitudes of the Arab cultural influences upon the Somalis which have resulted in this anomalous position for the Somali Democratic Republic in Africa and the Near East.
Chapter one constitutes a survey of contemporary Somali culture, pointing out the outstanding Arab features embedded within it. This is followed by a chapter seeking the roots of Arab-Somali relations in their ancient and classical beginnings. Chapter three chronicles the various Arab and

other Southwest Asian migrations to and settlement in the Somali Horn of Africa from the rise of Islam to the beginning of the sixteenth century. The fourth chapter is devoted to the rise of Islam in Somaliland, the ways and means by which it was spread, and by whom it was propagated among interior, as well as coastal, Somalis. Chapters five and six evaluate the role which Arab and other Southwest Asian immigrants played in the evolution of economic opportunities and political structures before A.D. 1500. The seventh chapter examines the following three centuries in which Arab posture, interests, and influences in Somaliland were threatened by combined external and internal hostile factors. The study is brought to the present by an eighth chapter, dealing with colonialism and Islamic revival, which are considered as the two most significant factors bringing the Somalis and the Arabs Into their present-day intimate association. Quick recapitulations of the important conclusions of the individual chapters will finally be brought together in the concluding general remarks contained in chapter nine.
The chapters of this work (with the exception of one, two, and eight) derive their information mainly from the writings of medieval Arab geographers and historians. Some of these works have been previously published. Others are that its admission into this Arab club was based on more inclusive considerations than the cultural and linguistic criteria implied in the League's covenant.