# Hassan Sheikh Mumin (Xasan Sheekh Muumin)

> Hassan Sheikh Mumin (1931–2008), author of the play Shabeelnaagood (Leopard Among the Women), poet and Radio Mogadishu broadcaster.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/hassan-sheikh-mumin/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
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## Who was he?

Hassan Sheikh Mumin was a Somali poet, playwright, broadcaster, actor and composer ([Wikipedia, Hassan Sheikh Mumin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sheikh_Mumin)). His play *[Shabeelnaagood](/en/books/shabeelnaagood-mumin/)* is one of the best-known works of Somali literature.

## Early life

He was born in 1931 in Zeila, in what was then [British Somaliland](/en/history/british-somaliland-1884-1960/). At nine he moved with his family to [Boorama](/en/regions/awdal/), where he finished school and studied at a local madrasa ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sheikh_Mumin)). His family is Gadabuursi (same source).

## The Youth League and the radio

He joined the [Somali Youth League](/en/history/somali-youth-league/). He wrote his first published poem for a League rally in Boorama in the early 1950s ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sheikh_Mumin)).

After independence he worked at Radio Mogadishu from 1965 to 1968 as resident poet, playwright and lecturer. He later worked in the national Department of Education and Culture ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sheikh_Mumin)). Some of the best-known songs of the singer [Magool](/en/society/somali-music/) used his words, such as "Shimbirayahow heesa" and "Waa qaali malabkuye" ([Wikipedia, Magool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magool)).

## Shabeelnaagood

His best known work is the play *Shabeelnaagood* (1965). It deals with the place of women in society, life in the growing towns, changing customs and the importance of education ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sheikh_Mumin)). He wrote both the play and its music (same source).

The heroine, Shallaayo, is tricked into a false marriage by the "leopard" of the title (same source). The play is still taught in schools.

In 1974 Oxford University Press published it in English as *Leopard Among the Women*. It was translated by B. W. Andrzejewski, who added an introduction on the history of Somali drama ([Castagno, *Historical Dictionary of Somalia*, 1975, "Theater"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

## Later years

After the army took power in 1969, some cultural works were banned, including his poetry. He left Mogadishu for Djibouti and later settled again in Boorama ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sheikh_Mumin)). He died on 16 January 2008 (same source).

## In short

A playwright and poet whose 1968 play Shabeelnaagood dealt with how women were treated. See [Somali poetry](/en/society/somali-poetry/).

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