Muslim reformist madrassas planted early anti-colonial nationalism in Somali youth

Evidence

Galkayo was the first town of any size Hussen had ever seen, but the energetic young boy felt at home as one of his sisters lived there with her family. Hussen immediately enrolled in the local madrassa, managed by Sheikh Mohamed Issa. The teacher was influenced by progressive Islamic teachings and would often ask his students in Arabic, “Limaada ta’akhara Al Muslimuum was taqadama qayrahum?” (Why have the Muslims fallen behind and their equals progressed?). Hussen recollects that this message brought home to him the nature of colonialism and that this was the first nationalist message he received, although he was too young to appreciate its significance. The Italian colonial authorities suspected that this madrassa was a hotbed of Islam and kept an eye on its operations. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 189

Categorization

• SEED: The madrassa teacher asking ‘why have Muslims fallen behind’ as a deliberate pedagogical tool is a fascinating angle for an essay on how colonial-era religious schools became incubators of nationalist consciousness.