A disputed rifle incident sparked Sheikh Muhammad’s formal defiance of the British
Evidence
In 1899, a small party of the Administration’s tribal constabulary – known as Illalos (from the Somali, Illaali to watch over) visited the sheikh and one of them surrendered his rifle for, it is said, four camels. On their return to Berbera, the Illalos reported, perhaps mendaciously, that Sheikh Muhammad had stolen a rifle and the Consul sent a curt letter requesting its return. Sheikh Muhammad replied equally curtly, with what amounted to a declaration of defiance. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 209
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: A disputed rifle incident in 1899 triggered the Sayyid’s open defiance of the British.