Saints and Somalis

Saints and Somalis
Author: I. M. Lewis
Publisher: The Red Sea Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1998
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781569021033

This collection of essays based on first-hand anthropological field research spanning many years, brings together in a single volume the author's collected material on characteristics of popular Islam amongst the Somali of the Horn of Africa. Rigorous, outspoken, and backing his arguments with reflections based on a lifetime of research and scholarship, Lewis makes a major contribution to understanding the place and role of religion in Somali society.

The Mayor of Mogadishu

The Mayor of Mogadishu
Author: Andrew Harding
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2018-04-26
Genre:
ISBN: 9781849049511

The Mayor of Mogadishu tells the story of one family's epic journey through Somalia's turmoil, from the optimism of independence to its spectacular unravelling.Mohamud 'Tarzan' Nur was born a nomad, and became an orphan, then a street brawler in the cosmopolitan port city of Mogadishu - a place famous for its cafes and open-air cinemas. When Somalia collapsed into civil war, Tarzan and his young family joined the exodus from Mogadishu, eventually spending twenty years in North London. But in 2010 Tarzan returned to the unrecognisable ruins of a city largely controlled by the Islamist militants of Al-Shabaab. For some, the new Mayor was a galvanising symbol of defiance. But others branded him a thug, mired in the corruption and clan rivalries that continue to threaten Somalia's revival.The Mayor of Mogadishu is an uplifting story of survival, and a compelling examination of what it means to lose a country and then to reclaim it.

Peoples of the Horn of Africa

Peoples of the Horn of Africa
Author: I. M. Lewis
Publisher: Red Sea Press(NJ)
Total Pages: 228
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781569021057

This book has, from its first publication, been an essential reference tool for research of any aspect of society, history and culture in this part of Africa. Originally published in 1955 as part of the International African Institute's landmark Ethnographic Survey of Africa series, it was reprinted in 1969 with a new bibliography. This new edition contains further supplemental and previously unpublished material based on Professor Lewis' later field research on land-holding systems in the Somali reverine regions.

The Shaping of Somali Society

The Shaping of Somali Society
Author: Lee V. Cassanelli
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Anniversary Collection
Total Pages: 336
Release: 1982
Genre: History
ISBN:

By combining oral tradition with traditional historiography, Cassanelli reveals the interplay of the precolonial environmental, social, economic, and religious forces.

The Gaboye of Somaliland

The Gaboye of Somaliland
Author: Elia Vitturini
Publisher: Ledizioni
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2023-07-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 885526981X

The book explores the history of a minority group, the Gaboye, in Somaliland, and, using a historical ethnographic approach, addresses two main issues. First, the analysis addresses the transformation and reproduction of the social boundary which separates an ascribed status-based minority group within the society: what symbolic, political, economic and social apparatuses have articulated the boundary and the belonging to this minority group? How have these apparatuses changed? Second, the analysis adopts the trajectory of the minority members in the town of Hargeysa as a perspective on the history of north-western Somali society: from the point of view of an ascribed status-based minority group, what can we see of the social, economic and political changes which occurred during the decades of slow colonial penetration into the area, of urban expansion, of postcolonial state consolidation and collapse, civil war, mass displacement, peace building, and the contemporary waves of diasporisation of this society?

Getting Somalia Wrong?

Getting Somalia Wrong?
Author: Mary Harper
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2012-02-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1780321058

Somalia is a failed state, representing a threat to itself, its neighbours and the wider world. In recent years, it has become notorious for the piracy off its coast and the rise of Islamic extremism, opening it up as a new 'southern front' in the war on terror. At least that is how it is inevitably portrayed by politicians and in the media. Mary Harper presents the first comprehensive account of the chaos into which the country has descended and the United States' renewed involvement there. In doing so, Harper argues that viewing Somalia through the prism of al-Qaeda risks further destabilizing the country and the entire Horn of Africa, while also showing that though the country may be a failed state, it is far from being a failed society. In reality, alternative forms of business, justice, education and local politics have survived and even flourished. Provocative in its analysis, Harper shows that until the international community starts to 'get it right' the consequences will be devastating, not just for Somalia, but for the world.

Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community

Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community
Author: Abdullahi Haji-Abdi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2013-12-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317928067

Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community equips new researchers with a simplified knowledge of critical realism suitable to the degree of their comprehension. Moreover, it offers a step by step example of research using all levels of critical realism. This book resulted from the endeavour of a researcher, new to critical realism who, however, sought to apply all parts and phases of critical realism to his subject matter. The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 provides an outline of the three phases of critical realism: original/basic critical realism, dialectical critical realism and the philosophy of metaReality. Part 2 presents a case study that applied critical realism as a research-theory framework. The case study explores the formation of the Somali Community Organisations in the UK and develops a retroductive model that outlines their role in engaging the Somali Diaspora Community with the issue of sustainability. Part 3 presents reflections towards the geo-historical study of Somalia and explains the origins of the civil war and the dispersal that resulted in the formation of Somali Diaspora Communities in different parts of the world. This book will be of interest to Critical Realists, researchers on and in Africa, agencies interested in Somali affairs, researchers on diaspora and refugees, Somali Community Co-ordinators and local council authorities in the UK and Europe.

THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN SOMALIA

THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN SOMALIA
Author: Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow)
Publisher: Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2015-04-30
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1912234033

There is very little scholarship on the history of political Islam in Somalia that takes seriously both historical forces as well as the very ideas and internal organization of the Islamic movements. This book reconstructs the history of modern and moderate Islamic movement in Somalia. It covers 50 years of turbulent Somali history, in which civilian governments, military dictatorships, armed opposition factions, and Islamic movements were interacting and shaping the Somali history. It divides Islamic development in Somalia into four historical periods: the Islamic revival (1800-1950), the Islamic consciousness ( 1950-1967), the Islamic awakening (1967-1978) and the Islamic movements (1978-2000).The book provides a detailed and empirically rich narrative of the Islah Movement as a case study which has influenced and made an impact on other Islamist organizations in recent decades. The author provides an insider's view of the Islamic Movement being one of the leaders of Islah.

Recovering the Somali State

Recovering the Somali State
Author: Abdurahman Abdullahi "e;Baadiyow"e;
Publisher: Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2017-03-01
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1912234025

Somalia is often used as an emblem of a collapsed state. This is somewhat of a paradox given that in previous decades the country was one of the most unified states in Africa and one of the first democracies on the continent. In the last three decades however the country has faced enormous challenges including civil wars and extremism in the name of Islam.The book - probably one of the first to link Islam, Islamism and Transitional Justice with the Somali State recovery project - offers unique analyses of these themes and argues that recovering the Somali state will largely be contingent upon the skillful reconciliation between tradition and modernity, Islam and state and between the secular and the sacred.

Peace Clan

Peace Clan
Author: Peter M. Sensenig
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2016-03-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1498231012

What happens when North American Mennonite Christians arrive in Islamic Somalia? The answer, according to Peter Sensenig, is that something new emerges: a peace clan. From the first schools and medical work in the 1950s up to the educational partnerships of the present day, Somalis and Mennonites formed a surprising friendship that defied conventional labels. Peace Clan is the story of two deeply traditional communities as they encounter change. How can Somalis apply the profound peacemaking resources of their culture and faith in a society fragmented by violence? And how can modernizing Mennonites make sense of their peace convictions in the context of civil war and military intervention? In struggling with these questions over the course of six decades, Somalis and Mennonites held a mirror up to one another. The author shows how the common quest to transform enmity brings out the best in both communities, and suggests what a fruitful partnership might look like in the present challenges. Students, academics, and lay readers alike will find on these pages a compelling invitation to join the peace clan.