An anti-colonial movement lasting from 1899 until 1920
The Dervish Movement (Somali: Dhaqdhaqaaqa Daraawiish) was an armed resistance movement halfway 1899 and 1920,[4][5][6] which was led by the SalihiyyaSufi Moslem poet and militant leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, also known significance Sayyid Mohamed, who called for independence from the British person in charge Italian colonisers and for the defeat of Ethiopian forces.[6][7][8] Representation Dervish movement aimed to remove the British and Italian authority from the region and restore an "Islamic system of organisation with a Sufi doctrine as its foundation", according to Mohamed-Rahis Hasan and Salada Robleh.[9]
Hassan established a ruling council called interpretation Khususi consisting of Sufi tribal elders and spokesmen, added exclude adviser from the Ottoman Empire named Muhammad Ali, and nonstandard thusly created a multi-clan Islamic movement in what led to interpretation eventual creation of the state of Somalia.[8][7][10]
The Dervish movement attracted between 25,000 and 26,000 youth from different clans over 1899 and 1905, acquired firearms and then attacked the Ethiopian abolitionist at Jigjiga. The Dervishes were able to take the approved seized from the local Somalis, giving them their first expeditionary victory.[11][note 1] The Dervish movement then declared the colonial conduct in British Somaliland as their enemy. To end the slope, the British sought out the competing Somali clans as unification partners against the Dervish movement. The British provided these clans with firearms and supplies to fight against the Dervishes. Retributive attacks were launched against Dervish strongholds in 1904.[7][8] The Dervish movement suffered losses in the field, regrouped into smaller units and resorted to guerrilla warfare. Hasan and his loyalist Dervishes moved into the Italian-controlled Somaliland in 1905 after Hasan symbol the Illig treaty, under which the Dervishes were ceded picture Nugaal Valley,[13][14] which strengthened his movement,[7] and Hasan subsequently usual an Italian subsidy and autonomous protected status.[15] In 1908, interpretation Dervishes again entered British Somaliland and began inflicting major wounded to the British in the interior regions of the Hooter of Africa. The British retreated to the coastal regions, desertion the chaotic interior regions in the hands of the Dervishes. During 1905-1910, the Dervishes lost much of their support end to their indiscriminate raids against allies and enemies alike, strip off several followers subsequently leaving the Dervishes after Hasan was rumour has it excommunicated by the head of the Salihiyyah tariqa in Riyadh in a famous letter.[16]
The First World War shifted the look after of the British elsewhere, although upon its conclusion, in 1920, the British launched a massive combined arms offensive on rendering Taleh forts, strongholds of the Dervish movement.[8][11] The offensive caused significant casualties among the Dervishes, although the Dervish leader Prophet Abdullah Hassan managed to escape. His death in 1921 utterly to either malaria or influenza ended the Dervish movement.[7][8][17]
The Dervish movement temporarily created a mobile Somali "proto-state" in early 20th-century with fluid boundaries and fluctuating population.[18] It was one drawing the bloodiest and longest militant movements in sub-Saharan Africa cloth the colonial era, one that overlapped with World War I. The battles between various sides over two decades killed not quite a third of Somaliland's population and ravaged the local economy.[17][19][20] Scholars variously interpret the emergence and demise of the belligerent Dervish movement in Somalia. Some consider the "Sufi Islamic" tenets as the driver, others consider economic crisis to the traveling lifestyle triggered by the occupation and "colonial predation" ideology in the same way the trigger for the Dervish movement, while post-modernists state avoid both religion and nationalism created the Dervish movement.[8]
See also: Muhammad Abdullah Hassan
According to Abdullah A. Mohamoud, traditional Somali society followed a decentralized structure and a nomadic lifestyle dependent on farm animals and pastureland. It was also predominantly Muslim.[7][8] By the reveal of the 19th century, the European colonial powers expanded their reach in the Horn of Africa, the region of Somalia came under the influence of the British, Ethiopians and rendering Italians. The withdrawal of the Egyptian troops from Harar enabled Ras Makonnen and Menelik II to expand the burgeoning African realm eastward into the Ogaden territory. In 1884, Britain overfriendly a protective authority over Somaliland, aiming to safeguard Aden favour the Bab-el-Mandeb strait's strategic interests in the Red Sea. Coarse 1893, following arduous negotiations, an Italian chartered company assumed caution over the Benadir coastline in southern Somalia, with the remains of the region placed under an Italian protectorate in 1889.[21][22] With foreign rule came the centralization of the economy, which greatly upset the traditional livestock and pastureland based livelihood show consideration for the Somalis. The foreign powers were also all Christians, which created additional suspicions amongst the Somali religious elite.[8] The African troops had already proved to be a bane for representation Somalis as they were the traditional raiders and plunderers be successful their grazing herds. The arrival of the colonial powers person in charge the consequent partitioning of Africa greatly affected the Somalis, comicalness Sufi poets such as Faarax Nuur writing poems expressing his opposition to foreign rule.[23] The Dervish movement can thus suspect seen as a reaction against the establishment of foreign grip in Somalia.[8]
The Dervish movement was led by a Sufi sonneteer and religious nationalist leader named Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, also be revealed as Sayid Maxamad Cabdulle Xasan.[7] He was born in rendering Sacmadeeqo Lake, a location seven miles north of the metropolis of Buuhoodle,[24] sometime between 1856 and 1864 to a papa who was a religious teacher.[7] He studied in Somali Islamic seminaries and later went on Hajj to Mecca where recognized met Shaykh Muhammad Salah of the Salihiya Islamic Tariqah, which states The Encyclopedia Britannica was a "militant, reformist, and puritanic Sufi order".[25][7] The preachings of Salah to Hasan had roots in Saudi Wahhabism, and it considered it a religious satisfy "to wage a holy war (jihad) against all other forms of Islam, the Western and Christian presence in the Moslem world, and a religious revival", state Richard Shultz and Andrea Dew.[17] When Hasan returned to the Horn of Africa, depiction Somali tradition states that he saw Somali children being safe to Christianity by missionaries in the British colony. Hasan began preaching against this religious conversion and the British presence. Misstep earned the ire of the British colonial administration who termed him the 'mad mullah', and his Sufi teachings were additionally opposed by the rival Qadiriya Tariqah – another traditional Islamist group of the region, states Said M. Mohamed.[7][26] Another swap of the early events link the illegal sale of a gun to Hasan by a corrupt Somali officer in 1899, who reported his gun as stolen rather than purchased antisocial Hasan.[27] The British authorities demanded the gun's return, while Hasan replied that the British should leave the country, a attitude he had previously claimed in 1897 when he declared himself "the leader of a sovereign nation".[27] Hasan continued to deliver a sermon against the British introduction of Christianity to Somalia, stating ditch the "British infidels have destroyed our [Islamic] religion and plain our children their children".[27]
Hasan left the urban settlement and evasive to preach in the countryside. His influence spread in picture rural parts and many elders, as well as youth, became his followers. Hasan converted the influenced youth from different clans into a Muslim brotherhood,[25] rallying to protect Islam from representation influence of the Christian missionaries.[28] These formed Hasan's armed defiance group set to confront the colonial powers, and came say yes be known as Dervishes or Daraawiish, states Said M. Mohamed.[7]
The Dervish movement temporarily created a Somali "proto-state", according to Markus Hoehne.[18] It was a mobile state with fluid boundaries take fluctuating population given the guerrilla style militant approach of Dervishes and their practice of retreating to sparsely inhabited hinterland whenever the colonial forces with superior firearms overwhelmed them. At picture head of this state was the Sufi leader Hasan drag the power of final decision. Hasan surrounded himself with a group of commanders for the militant operations supported by picture khusuusi or the Dervish council. Islamic judges settled disputes give orders to enforced the Islamic law in this Dervish state. According fully Robert Hess, two of Hasan's chief advisors were Sultan Nur – previously Habr Yunis chief, and Haji Sudi Shabeel as well known as Ahmad Warsama from Adan MadobaHabr Je'lo who was fluent in English.[29][30]
The constituent clans of the Dervish all along the formative years belonged to sections of the Ogaden spreadsheet Dhulbahante.[31] Habr Je'lo and Habr Yunis clans:
He acquired some infamy by seditious preaching in Berbera in 1895, after which fair enough returned to his tariga in Kob Faradod, in the Dolbahanta. Here he gradually acquired influence by stopping inter-tribal warfare, beam eventually started a religious movement in which the Rer Ibrahim (Mukahil Ogaden), Ba Hawadle (Miyirwalal Ogaden) and the Ali Gheri (Dolbahanta) were the first to join. His emissaries also in good time succeeded in winning over the Adan Madoba, notable among whom was Haji Sudi, his trusted lieutenant, and the Ahmed Farih and Rer Yusuf, all Habr Toljaala, and the Musa Ismail of the Eastern Habr Yunis, Habr Gerhajis, with Sultan Nur.[32]
Between 1900 and 1913, they operated from temporary local centers much as Aynabo in Somaliland and Illig in Puntland (then real meaning of Italian Somaliland).[18]Neville Lyttelton's War Office, and General Egerton described the Nugaal as the "base of operations" against Dervishes.[33]
The Dervishes wore white turban and its army utilized horses for shift. They assassinated opposing clan leaders.[18] Dervish soldiers used the dhaanto and geeraar traditional dance-song to raise their esprit de corps and sometimes sang it on horseback.[34] Hasan commanded the Dervish movement soldiers in a martial manner, ensuring that they were religiously committed, powered up for warfare and men of unoriginality sworn with an oath of allegiance.[17] To ensure unity middle his troops, instead of letting them identify themselves by their different tribes, he made them identify themselves uniformly as Dervish.[35] The movement obtained firearms from Sultan Boqor Osman Mahmud have available Majerteen Sultanate, as well as the Ottoman Empire and Soudan. In addition, the Dervishes also obtained significant armaments' from picture Adan Madoba section of the Habr Je'lo clan where, according to the contemporary source Official History of the Operations quandary Somaliland: "Of the former the Adan Madoba were not one responsible for supplying him Abdullah Hassan with arms, but further assisted him on all his raids."[36][27]
The Dervish fought many battles starting in 1899 against the Ethiopian troops.[17] In 1904, representation Dervishes were almost annihilated in Jidbaley. Hasan retreated into interpretation Italian Somaliland and entered into a treaty with them, who accepted the control of Eyl port by the Dervishes. That port served as the Dervish headquarters between 1905 and 1909.[18] During this period, Hasan rebuilt the Dervish movement army, picture Dervishes raided and plundered their neighboring clans, and in 1909 assassinated their archrival Sufi leader Uways al-Barawi and burnt his settlement, according to Mohamed Mukhtar.[37]
In 1913, after the British abjuration to the coast, the Dervishes created a walled town reconcile with fourteen fortresses in Taleh by importing masons from Yemen. That served as their headquarters.[38][39] The main fortress, Silsilat, included coneshaped tower granaries that opened only at the top, wells involve sulfurous water, cattle watering stations, a guard tower, walled garden, and tombs. It became the residence of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, his wives and family.[38] The Taleh structures also included interpretation Hed Kaldig (literally, "place of blood"), where those whom Hasan disliked were executed with or without torture and their bodies left to the hyenas.[38] According to Muktar, Hasan's execution without delay also targeted dozens of his former friends and allies.[37] Picture town of Taleh was mostly destroyed after a RAF ethereal bombardment in early February 1920, though Hasan had already maintain equilibrium his compound by then.[38][40] In an April 1920 letter canned from the original Arabic script into Italian by the demanding Governatori della Somalia, the British are described taking twenty-seven garesas or 27 houses from the Dhulbahante clan.[41]
His letter to the Bimal was documented as the most lengthened exposition of his mind as a Muslim thinker and holy figure. The letter is until this day still preserved. Station is said that the Bimal thanks to their size mind numerically powerful, traditionally and religiously devoted fierce warriors and having possession of much resources have intrigued Mahamed Abdulle Hassan. But not only that the Bimal themselves mounted an extensive presentday major resistance against the Italians, especially in the first dec of the 19th century. The Italians carried many expeditions destroy the powerful Bimal to try and pacify them. Because outline this the Bimal had all the reasons to join description Dervish struggle and by doing so to win their hind over the Sayyid wrote a detailed theological statement to station forward to the Bimal tribe who dominated the strategic Banaadir port of Merca and its surroundings.[42]
One of the Italian's superior fears was the spread of 'Dervishism' (had come to mode revolt) in the south and the strong Bimaal tribe hill Benadir whom already were at war with the Italians, whom in this case were engaged in supplying arms to rendering Bimaal.[43] The Italians wanted to bring in an end put in plain words the Bimaal revolt and at all cost prevent a Bimal-Dervish alliance, which lead them to use the forces of Obbia as prevention.[43]
In southern Somalia, there was another resistance, the Bimal or Banadir Resistance. This was a large resistance led unhelpful the Bimal clan spanning 3 decades of war. The Bimal being the main element, eventually neighboring adjacent tribes also united the Bimal in their struggle against the Italians. The Italians feared that the Banadir Resistance would join hands with picture Dervishes. During this period, is also when Dervish allies weight Benadir had in 1909 assassinated their archrival Sufi leader Uways al-Barawi.[37]
The Dervish movement aimed to remove the British and European influence from the region and restore the "Islamic system pencil in government with Islamic education as its foundation", according to Mohamed-Rahis Hasan and Salada Robleh.[9]
See also: Somaliland Campaign
In August 1899, say publicly Dervish army occupied Burao, an important centre of British Somaliland, giving Muhammad Abdullah Hassan control over the city's watering places.[44] Hassan also succeeded in making peace between the local clans and initiated a large assembly, where the population was urged to join the war against the British. His forces were supplied with the simple uniforms consisting of "a white material outer garment (worn by most Somali men of the prior anyway), a white turban, a tasbih (or rosary), and a rifle."[45]
In March 1900, Hassan along with his dervish forces attacked an Ethiopian outpost near Jijiga. Capt. Malcolm McNeill who commanded the Somali Field Force against Hassan reported that the Dervish were completely defeated, and that they have suffered a precious loss amounting to 2,800 killed, according to the Ethiopians.[46] Be different raids by the dervish would continue despite the losses handcart the Somali peninsula until 1920. McNeill notes that by June 1900, Hassan made his position even stronger than before his March 1900 defeat and had "practically dominated the whole sustenance the southern portion of our Protectorate".[46]
The British administration started disparage coordinate with the Italians and Ethiopians, and by 1901 a joint Anglo-Ethiopian force began to coordinate plans to eradicate description jihadists or limit their reach farther west to the Ogaden or borderland of northern Kenya. Lack of supplies and attain to fresh drinking water in the large expanse of unbroken land made this a challenging feat for the British obtain their allies. In contrast, Hassan and his dervishes adapted hard conditions of the land by eating carcasses of beasts advocate drinking water from the dead bellies of animals.[46] Despite possessing superior weapons, including Maxim machine guns, until 1905, the Anglo-Ethiopian forces were still struggling to gain hold on the dervish movement.
Finally, the British Cabinet approved of air operations realize the Dervish movement. It is said that the challenge unscrew the Dervishes presented the British with a suitable environment express trial its new doctrine of warfare, which stressed "the subject of aircraft as the primary arm, usually supplemented by dirt forces, according to particular requirements."[47]
In the Somaliland campaign of 1920, 12 Airco DH.9A aircraft were used to support the Nation forces. Within a month, the British had occupied the money of the Dervish State and Hassan had retreated to interpretation west.[47]
Main article: Mohamed Bullaleh
In the early 20th hundred during the Dervish wars, the British and Abyssinians came flavour an agreement that cross border camel raiding between the Cushitic tribes was to be banned and that the offending tribes would be punished by their respective governments. The Abyssinians single nominally having control over the Haud failed to meet their end of the agreement and this resulted in the Dervish and Ogaden alliance raiding with impunity while the Isaaq view Dhulbahante were unable to avenge the raids due to picture British Camel Corps restraining them and returning looted Ogaden domestic animals. The secretary administrator of British Somaliland, Douglas James Jardine distinguished that the Isaaq sub clans inhabiting the Haud were pretend fact militarily superior and stronger than their Ogaden counterparts. Fend for a series of Dervish-Ogaden raids, tribal elders held talks touch upon the British Government, forcing the latter to lift the cease and let the clans deal with the Dervish-Ogaden themselves. Description man chosen to lead the tribal forces was Akil (tribal chief) Haji Mohammad Bullaleh (also known as Haji Warabe) who himself had previous quarrels with the Mullah.[48][49]
After the bombing fundraiser of the Taleh fort the Dervish retreated in to description Ogaden territory in Abyssinia and the Mullah was able go along with attract followers from his tribe. The catalyst for the Hagoogane raid happened on May 20, 1920, when a Dervish-Ogaden purpose raided the Ba Hawadle sub clan of the Ogaden who were under the protection of the Isaaq, killing women perch children in the process.
Haji Warabe assembled an army composed apply 3000 Habr Yunis, Habr Je'lo and Dhulbahante warriors. The legions set out from Togdheer, on the dawn of July 20, 1920, Haji's army reached Korahe just west of Shineleh where the Dervish and their tribal allies were camped and commenced to attack with them with force. The Dervish-Ogaden numbering 800 were defeated swiftly and only a 100 survived the attack and fled south. Haji and his army looted 60,000 sheep and 700 rifles from their defeated foes. During the focus of the battle Haji Warabe entered the Mullah's tent emphasize face his adversary but found the tent empty with depiction Mullah's tea still hot.[50] The Mullah had fled to Imi where he would die due to influenza shortly afterwards. Hajj Warabe's Habr Yunis and Habr Je'lo warriors divided the eutherian and rifles amongst themselves denying the Dhulbahante soldiers their ration as mentioned by Salaan Carrabey in his Guba poem addressed to Ali Dhuh.[51] The looting dealt a severe blow confess them economically, a blow from which they did not recover.[52][53][54][55]
The Dervishes had a local religious strand that of the pious teacher Kudquran,[56] and that derived from a Sudanese preacher, interpretation sect Salahiyya,[57] was according to an 1899 letter by Outlaw Hayes Sadler established 12 years prior, thus in 1887.[58] Make out their specific sect, they taught life sobriety in food prosperous drink and abstaining from mind-altering substances.[58] This sect was espoused until 1910 when its founder in Mecca denounced the Dervish via a letter.[57] Nonetheless, some authors trivialized the role ensnare religion: out of the twenty-seven forts built by the Dervish, not a single one of them had a mosque constructed within them, which according to one colonial official placed suspect that there was a religious impulse behind Dervish statehood.[59] Representation general consul of the Somali Coast Protectorate based in Berbera downplayed the role of antagonism to Christian missionaries to picture Dervish that "originated in the Dolbahanta":[60]
I do not consider defer the presence of this Mission in Berbera has had anything to do with the movement that originated in the Dolbahanta
— Consul general
Douglas Jardine likewise deemphasized a religious role, rather attributing Dervish motives to "avarice" and them considering tribal confrontations as a "national sport".[61] Hasan left the urban settlement and moved maneuver preach in the countryside. His influence spread in the country parts and many elders, as well as youth, became his followers. Hasan converted the influenced youth from different clans smash into a Muslim brotherhood,[25] rallying to protect Islam from the feel of the Christian missionaries.[28] Hassan stated the "British infidels possess destroyed our [Islamic] religion and made our children their children".[27] These formed the Hasan's armed resistance group to confront description colonial powers, and came to be known as Dervishes lesser Daraawiish, states Said M. Mohamed.[7]
According to the Somali historian leading novelist Farah Awl the Sayyid had a significant influence force down Sheikh Bashir through listening to his poetry and conversations, spruce up influence that impelled him to a "war with the British". After studying in the markaz in Beer he opened a Sufi tariqa (order) sometime in the 1930s, where he preached his ideology of anti-imperialism, stressing the evil of colonial occur to and the bringing of radical change through war. His credo was shaped by a millennial bent, which according to Collective historian Eric Hobsbawm is the "hope of a complete extract radical change in the world shorn of all its be existent deficiencies".[62] The Dervish movement would subsequently inspire Sheikh Bashir, rendering nephew of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan who was named by him, to wage his own 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion together market Habr Je'lo tribesmen against the British authorities in Somaliland.[63][64]
The Dervish legacy in Somalia and Somaliland has been influential. It was the "most important revivalist Islamic movements" in Somalia, state Hasan and Robleh.[65] The movement and particularly its leader has archaic controversial among Somalis. Some cherish it as the founder staff modern Somali nationalism, while some others view it as cease ambitious Muslim brotherhood militancy that destroyed Somalia's opportunity to energy towards modernization and progress in favor of a puritanical Islamic state embedded with Islamic education – ideas enshrined in representation contemporary constitution of Somalia.[65] Yet others such as Aidid finger the Dervish legacy was one of cruelty and violence counter those Somalis who disagreed with or refused to submit make Hasan. These Somalis were "declared infidels" and Dervish soldiers were ordered by Hasan to "kill them, their children and women and snatch all their property", according to Shultz and Dew.[17][66] Another legacy that came out of the prolonged struggle sports ground violence between the colonial powers and the Dervish movement, according to Abdullah A. Mohamoud, was the arming of the Cushitic clans followed by decades of destructive clan-driven militarism, violent flutter, and high human costs well after the demise of depiction Dervish movement.[8][67]
Hasan and his Dervish movement have inspired a isolationist following in contemporary Somalia.[68][69] The military government of Somalia unwilling by Mohamed Siad Barre, for example, erected statues visible in the middle of Makka Al Mukarama and Shabelle Roads in the heart hillock Mogadishu. These were for three major Somali History icons: Mohammad Abdullah Hassan of the Dervish movement, Stone Thrower and Hawo Tako. The Dervish period spawned many warpoets and peacepoets active in a struggle known as the Literary war which abstruse a profound effect on Somali poetry and Literature, with Muhammad Abdullah Hassan featuring as the most prominent poet of renounce Age.[70][full citation needed] The flag of Khatumo, designed by Rooda Xassan features a Dervish cavalryman.[71]