The freedom movement, 1895 to 1960
Haji Farah Omar (Xaaji Faarax Cumar)
Haji Farah Omar (died 1948 or 1949) was one of the first modern Somali nationalists in British Somaliland. After he was dismissed from colonial service and exiled to Aden, he founded the Somali Islamic Association there in the 1920s, the first Somali political association. He petitioned the British for schools and fair treatment, and is remembered as a man who, like Gandhi, sought change by peaceful means.
Haji Farah OmarXaaji Faarax Cumar · Haji Farah Omar Ileye
- Lived
- 1864 or 1879 to 1948 or 1949
- Known as one of
- The freedom movement, 1895 to 1960
- Era
- Partition and the Dervishes, 1884 to 1920; Toward independence, 1920 to 1960
- Sources
- 2 sources
Who was he?
Haji Farah Omar was a Somali nationalist from the British Somaliland protectorate (Wikipedia, Farah Omar). Castagno writes that he "is today regarded as a national hero, a man who, like Mahatma Gandhi in India, sought change by peaceful means" (Castagno, Historical Dictionary of Somalia, 1975, "Haji Farah Omar").
Early life
Wikipedia gives his birth as 1879 in Xagal, near Berbera (Wikipedia). Castagno gives 1864 (Castagno 1975). His family is Habar Jeclo (Isaaq) (Wikipedia). He studied the Qur'an and Arabic in Berbera, then went on to study in Aden (same source).
In colonial service
In the 1910s he worked as a civil servant and then an officer in British Somaliland (Castagno 1975). A British commander once asked him what was enough for a Somali in pay and rank. He replied that what was good enough for a European was good enough for a Somali (Wikipedia). He was later dismissed on the basis of a letter that Wikipedia describes as forged (same source).
India and Gandhi
He studied law at Aligarh Muslim University in India (Wikipedia). He met Mahatma Gandhi there and took up his method of non-violence (same source). Wikipedia dates a visit to India to 1930 (same source).
The Somali Islamic Association
In the 1920s he was exiled to Aden for calling for social and political reform (Castagno 1975). In Aden he founded the Somali Islamic Association (same source). Wikipedia calls it the first Somali nationalist association (Wikipedia). He wrote to Aden newspapers and to members of Parliament in London (Castagno 1975). He asked for more schools and better economic services in the protectorate (Wikipedia). See resistance and protest, 1890s to 1945.
A spokesman at home
In August 1938 elders in Burao chose him as their spokesman (Wikipedia). He later gained wide backing in Hargeisa too (same source). He returned to the protectorate as an old man and died in Hargeisa (Castagno 1975).
In short
A campaigner who petitioned British authorities for Somali rights in the 1920s and 1930s, before the Somali Youth League was founded.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Farah Omar · en.wikipedia.org
- Castagno, Historical Dictionary of Somalia, 1975, "Haji Farah Omar" · archive.org
Haji Farah OmarXaaji Faarax Cumar · Haji Farah Omar Ileye
- Lived
- 1864 or 1879 to 1948 or 1949
- Known as one of
- The freedom movement, 1895 to 1960
- Era
- Partition and the Dervishes, 1884 to 1920; Toward independence, 1920 to 1960
- Sources
- 2 sources
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