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AN OPEN LETTER BY SAYID MOHAMED ABDULLE
HASSAN TO THE BRITISH PEOPLE, JUNE 1904
“I wish to rule my country and
protect my religion. We have both suffered considerably in
battle with one another. I have no forts, no houses. I
have no cultivated fields, no silver or gold for you to
take.
If the country was cultivated or
contained houses or property, it would be worth your while
to fight. The country is all bush and that is no use to
you. If you want wood and stone you can get them plenty.
There are also many anthills. The
sun is very hot. All you can get from me is war, nothing
else. If you want peace I also content. But if you want
peace, go from my country to your own,”
Sayid Mohamed Abdulla Hassan,
June 1904
This letter was taken from the new book, Somalia: A
Chronology of Historical Documents 1827 - 2000 . By:
Abdiwahid Haji)
If you are interested buying this book,, please contact:
Abdiwahid Hagi
E-mail: afgoi@rogers.com
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Siyad Mohamed
Abdulle Hassan and his struggle
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In 1889, Muhammad
Abdullah Hassan, an Islamic teacher known to the
British as the "mad mullah," gathered an
army called the dervishes.
Their goal was to
rid Somalia of all outside influences. Abdullah
was so successful in his attacks against the
British that he forced them to retreat from
Northern Somalia. The British would not return
until his death in 1920.
Hassan's revolt
was symbolic in that it showed the Somali people
no longer wanted to be controlled by the
Europeans.
There were also
conflicts between the largest European influences
in Somalia: the British and the Italians.
At the start of
World War II, the Italians drove the British from
Northern Somalia and took their land. One year
later, in 1941, the British returned, drove out
the Italians, and recaptured Northern Somalia.
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First
Jihad of the "Mad Mullah" 1899-1905 -
On War .com |
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