Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan (Somali: Sayid Maxamed Cabdille Xasan or Sayyid Mahammad Abdille Hasan), (April 7, 1856, in northern Somalia - December 21, 1920 in Imi, Ogaden) was a Somali religious and nationalist leader. Referred to as the Mad Mullah by the British, he led an armed resistance in Somalia for a period of over 20 years against British, Italian, and Ethiopian forces. The author of this book was Secretary to the Administration, Somaliland, 1916-21.
Military history of all the expeditions between 1900-1920 (when the Mullah was finally defeated by the employment of airpower). Lists of Commands & Staff, Orders of Battle. The author was Secretary to the Somaliland Administration,1916-21.
In the late nineteenth century, the British Empire commanded the seas and possessed a vast Indian Empire, as well as other extensive dominions in South East Asia, Australasia, America and Africa.To secure the trade route to the glittering riches of the orient, the port of Berbera in Somaliland was taken from the feeble grasp of an Egyptian monarch, and to secure that port, treaties were concluded with the fierce and warlike nomad tribes who roamed the inhospitable wastes of the hinterland, unequivocally granting them 'the gracious favour and protection of the Queen'. But there arose in that wilderness a man of deep and unalterable convictions; the Sayyid, the 'Mad Mullah', who utilised his great poetic and oratorical gifts with merciless and unrelenting fury to convince his fellow nomads to follow him in an anti- Christian and anti-colonial crusade. At great expense, four Imperial expeditions were sent to crush him and to support his terrified opponents; four times the military genius of the Sayyid eluded them.It was at this point that the rising voice of Winston Churchill convinced his Liberal colleagues to abandon the expensive contest and retreat to the coast. By this betrayal, one third of the British 'protected' population perished.It wasn't until after the Great War that Churchill, now Minister for both War and Air, as well as a major influence in the rise of Air Power, was able to redeem this betrayal. The part he played in the destruction of the Sayyid's temporal power at this point was substantial, and the preservation of the Royal Air Force was also secured. By unleashing Sir Hugh Trenchard and giving his blessing to a lightning campaign, his original betrayal was considered to be redeemed in part and his honour belatedly and inexpensively restored.In this enthralling volume, Roy Irons brings to life this period of dynamic unrest, drawing together a number of historical accounts of the time as well as an evocative selection of illustrative materials, including maps and portraits of the main players at the forefront of the action. Personalities such as Carton de Wiart, Lord Ismay, and the much decorated Sir John 'Johnny' Gough, VC, KCB, CHG feature, as do the vaunted Camel Corps, in this eminently well-researched narrative account of this eventful and controversial episode of world history.As featured in Essence Magazine.
During the early 1900s, Africa gradually became so populated that there were only a few places left where an adventurer may hope to flourish. But there was still the Eastern Abyssinian border, a territory challenging to infiltrate, inhabited by wild tribes. Of the many tribes inhabiting this wild land, the author writes about the Somali tribe of British Somaliland. They form one of the most prominent ethnic groups on the African continent and cover one of the vastest landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa. The Somalis have deeply religious tendencies and are the strongest of all tribes on the border. They are considered true wanderers and the most hard-working peple ever. The author and traveler Henry A. Rayne described the tribe with great detail and accuracy. He wrote about their early history, religion, trade, location, economy, and many more.
A book about Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, the Dervish leader who spearheaded the Somali resistance to British colonial interests in the early twentieth century; known by his followers as the Sayyid ("Master") and in the colonial literature as the "Mad Mullah". This book, which took Abdi more than ten years to complete, examines from a social and historical perspective the rise of the Sayyid and his movement. It consists of an introduction and six chapters.
In 1950, as a young bride, Margaret Laurence set out with her engineer husband to what was then Somaliland: a British protectorate in North Africa few Canadians had ever heard of. Her account of this voyage into the desert is full of wit and astonishment. Laurence honestly portrays the difficulty of colonial relationships and the frustration of trying to get along with Somalis who had no reason to trust outsiders. There are moments of surprise and discovery when Laurence exclaims at the beauty of a flock of birds only to discover that they are locusts, or offers medical help to impoverished neighbors only to be confronted with how little she can help them. During her stay, Laurence moves past misunderstanding the Somalis and comes to admire memorable individuals: a storyteller, a poet, a camel-herder. The Prophet’s Camel Bell is both a fascinating account of Somali culture and British colonial characters, and a lyrical description of life in the desert.
