Divine Madness

Abstract

This book is a welcome addition to the few book-length biographies of important African historical figures. The study, which consists of an introduction and six chapters, offers a fresh and balanced perspective on one of Africa's most controversial nationalists: Mohammed Abdulle Hassan, the mullah of present-day Somalia. Not only is he relevant to understanding modem Somali nationalism, but he also occupies a significant role in the wider context of African resistance to western imperialism. In brief, he represents the clash between Islamic and western values in colonial Africa. Divine Madness begins with an examination of the early, colonial, and contemporary literature on the subject in various languages. In fact, one of its strengths is the author's use of a variety of foreign and indigenous sources. Sheik-Abdi draws extensively on archival and documentary data in Italian, Arabic, English, French, and Somali. Moreover, he incorporates oral accounts from Somalis to complement his archival and documentary research, a method that enhances the indigenous perspective on Mohammed Abdulle Hassan and his activities in the Horn of Africa. In addition, the author presents, in the first and second chapters, an overview of Somaliland in its historical context. This serves as the background in recounting Hassan’s life and times. Along with a detailed examination of the Cushitic inhabitants of Somaliland, Sheik- Abdi discusses the background to the mullah-led Dervish uprising by focusing on the European colonization of Somaliland and its attendant problems. Perhaps the main response of the colonized Cushitic people to western imperialism was a deeper and more intense commitment to Islam and pan-Islamic unity, which brought about religious militancy and revivalism ...