By Abdulkadir Osman Farah
On the 7th and the 8th of January 2026, the Somali owned and exclusively Somali funded Think Tank and Research Centre Dhaxalreeb organized its 4th annual conference. This time with the main title of “The link between Islam and State.” Scholars from inside the country and abroad attended the conference in Mogadishu. Participants presented illuminous research papers, covering diverse topics, analyzing the link between religion and state in general, and particularly the dynamics between the Somali society and the processes of state formation.
On route to the conference, together with some friends, we came into talk with a gentleman who told us that he was fortunate to be among the youth who, in1972, witnessed the performance of a renown Somali play written and directed by among others Somali intellectuals and poets including Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame (Hadraawi), Mohamed Hashi Dhamac (Gaariye), Said Salah Ahmed, Muse Abdi Elmi (Muuse Gadhle). The name of the theater-play was “Aqooni waa iska halkeedee, afgarad baa ka horeeya” (collective understanding/convention precedes knowledge and wisdom). The play portrayed the challenges confronted by a modernizing Somalia at the time, and might still do, with the existence of substantial gap between its privileged educated academic elite and the ordinary masses in the mainstream society.
A gap that the gentleman who remembered the play did not go into details about but confidently concluded “If Somalis back then listened to the insightful propositions, demarcations, the wisdom and the aims of that historic cultural play, Somalis today could have been a leading respected member of the G20”. G20 consists of about 20 countries that together formed an alternative organization, when the G7- consisting of the wealthiest countries of the world- became narrow and dysfunctional.
The main aim was yet again attempts of hegemonic countries reframing and maintaining the prevailing global economic order and dominance. It is possible, as the obviously disappointed gentleman suggests that Somalia, if reasonably governed, would have been a critical member in several prominent global organizations. However, as we know, the Horn of African country currently remains at the bottom of global indexes with the obvious potentiality and hopefulness of rising, if the society and its leadership consciously and imaginatively attend and manage public institutions properly.
In another different occasion, two gentlemen came to discuss the persisting troubles with the declining social and political conditions of the Somalis and the essence of Somaliness. One of them claims “There are two kinds of Somalis: a nomadic reer baadiye Somalis and agrarian beeraley Somalis. The nomad-reer baadiye Somalis are notoriously courageous, expressive, battle-tested and not shy from engaging conflicts if they find it necessary. The agrarian Somalis, on the other, are more settled, quitter and more restricted in their approach, but often act anxious, envious, and un-generous.” The great social scientist scholar Ibn-Khaldun presented the distinction between the nomadic versus the urbanite/sedentary social organization, mentality, and efforts, during transformations occurring in his time. Proposing the idea that societies consist of members of urbanized hadara versus members of a semi-agrarian and nomadic badawa. Civilizations or statehood processes usually emerge from the dialectics of the two – often the badawa group of the society gradually overpowering and conquering the sedentary urbanized hadara. The badawa normally succeed because of possessing energetic and amplified hierarchical solidarity resting on assabiya– emotional lineage-based solidarity- making them stronger and united, compared to the diversified and often competing/quarrelling more horizontal urbanized hadara societies.
With the Dhaxalreeb conference, though educated youth contributed to the success of the gathering, a key figure was a former Minister of Somalia, a profile from the civil society, an educator and media personality, Abdi Ahmed Baafo. I met Baafo years ago. More recently, in a brief visit to Mogadishu some years back, he invited me for a group meeting where the theme of the discussion was establishing a Think Tank and a research centre that focused on building bridges among the earlier generations that experienced a functioning state and society and the younger generations that might have born or grown up during the destruction of the civil war. The aim was to transmit/educate recent Somali history to the younger generations. The decades long Somali civil war did not just create material devastation and human displacement, but also deep psychological trauma and immense brain-drain, where Somali human capital and knowledge became dispersed/undermined. Therefore, it was not just an issue of transmitting history to younger generations, but also genuine attempts to reverse brain-drain, so the society can gather itself and potentially recover. Obviously, the mission called Dhaxalreeb (Preserving Legacy) succeeded and has now become a platform of not just national and regional development, but also global knowledge generation and dissemination, not just from elders to youngsters- but also among and within the diverse generations.
This confirms that history maintains and develops human potential/capabilities. Marcus Cicero, a Roman thinker and a politician, who lived for more than 2000 years ago, noted about the idea and the significance of learning and preserving history and the past “A person who does not know what happened before coming to the world, that person will remain a child/immature for the rest of his/her life”. Certainly, people concentrate on the present for survival and existence, but when people know about the past, they might be able to act reflexively today and seriously consider future potentialities. For centuries, when Somalis solved internal conflicts, they often stressed “Tagto daayoo, timaado ogow” meaning do not exclusively focus on past grievances/sufferings, instead concentrate on the future and the hopefulness of what is to come/happen. Another classical Somali proverb links the past with the present, so society can collectively and prosperously move forward “Hortaa jira wal weydii, Jeedaa jira welin sheeg” (The one in front of you, you better inquire, the one behind, you better inform).
An interesting additional twist in the conference was that debating scholars suggested that one of main challenges confronting Somalis is that they often mix Diin with the immediate/mundane social and the political transformations. The idea implies that Diin should remain separate as an abstract form. But empirically, Diin teaches and classifies societies into diverse socio-political groups including “Muminun, Mutaqun, Muslimun, Muhajirun, Mustadafun, Mushrikun, Munafiqun, Mufsiduun, Musrifuun, Mutakabirun” and others. Meanwhile Diin also instructs people to choose proper political leaders/authorities that constantly engage shura (consultations and dialogue within and around the society), actively seeking compromise, forgiving and politically prioritizing and particularly elevating the wellbeing and the protection of the society, most particularly, the politically, socially and economically vulnerable and disempowered groups in the society.
Apart from emphasis on an Islamic state highlighting justice (adl), Mercy (rahma), and fairness for all members of the society, most participants highlighted the significance for two main concepts of such statehood: Proper leadership and expanded Public Good. Leadership that will have to emerge from elections/selections and consultations (shura) – a kind of selfless non-transactional leadership that focuses not on own interest and personal enrichment but on purely the public priorities and wellbeing. Paradoxically, in Today’s Somalia, leaders, from multiple fields, the politics, the economy and the education and cultural sectors, are all in search of leadership, although they are themselves in a position of leadership.
The question is, who do they expect to lead the society, if current leaders are looking for leadership and do not necessarily see themselves as leaders. “Haddii dabku dhaxamoodo, maxaa lagu diiriyaa” (If the fire feels cold, where do options to warm it up exist)?
The hopelessness here consists of the people who should have led and protected the society, they seem and often act upon as people lacking and seeking leadership and protection from others, including externals.
Another point raised in the discussion was the issue of publicity (public goods/collectivity). An idea that long have tormented Somalis in not differentiating private ownership from public properties/attributes. Although the two intersect and often connect, people should know and see the difference between what one owns personally and what belongs to the public domain and society. If such distinction does not exist, then chaos and disorder prevail. Most participants agreed that sacred texts and the Somali constitution confirm each other and clarify what belongs to private domains versus what qualifies as public aspects- and where the boundaries- that regardless of how powerful people might assume of themselves, exist, in which none can legitimately transgress.
In this regard, there are so many cases and experiences to learn from. For instance, not just past historical societies, on how their civilizations rose, becoming mighty and how these states eventually declined and evaporated. Similarly, people can also learn from simple natural creatures. For instance, the ants and how they socially and politically organize. In (Q: 27:18)- “And when they came across a valley of ants, an ant warned, “O ants! Go quickly into your homes so Solomon and his armies do not crush you, unknowingly. A committed leader of the ants mobilizes/organizes his/her constituent/society, letting them aware of the looming dangers on the horizon – by stressing the public good and the collectivity, the wellbeing, and the welfare of the society, by wisely forestalling risks and suffering prior to its occurrence. In response, a society consisting of ordinary ants, not holding an organizational/institutional position, follows stated leadership prescriptions/warnings, thereby collaboratively achieving joint common stability and wellbeing. This proves the importance of an organized merit-based professional hierarchy that fully focuses on the wellbeing of the members of society. In reaction, a typical Somali might respond to this suggestion “Quraanjo miyaan kuula ekahay?” (Do I look like an ant to you?).
Similarly, in reflection, one might say that the academic gathering highlighted the importance of the character of a leader and the duty of the professional enterprise. For instance, Prophet Yusuf characterized how to genuinely seek access to top professional task, emphasizing trustworthiness knowledgeability and wisdom (hafiidun with caliimun). A situation closer to the trajectories in which global Somali transnational communities currently perform. Similar to Prophet Yusuf, transnational Somali professionals, though not genealogically/historically belonging to their adopted host societies, many of them made it to top professional enterprises in politics, economy, and culture, successfully contributing to both their host and home societies. Prophet Yusuf’s career transformed from his siblings’ attempted murder, enslavement by aristocrats, imprisonment for uncommitted crimes, to the eventual rise as a leading governmental senior official in highly organized and sophisticated non-religious Egyptian society.
Accordingly, today, transnational Somali communities maintain their identity while combining it with substantial professional success and achievements in diversified occasionally multi-religious or non-religious complex societies. Obviously, Somalis in general, and particularly within the country, currently require balanced straightforward unity (Q: 3:103)- “And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you—by His grace—became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit, and He saved you from it.”
Similarly, the Somali culture stresses the indispensability of the quest for collective public good and unity “Walaalayaaloow, aan iswaheshanno, walaalayaal, aan wadajirno walaalayaal, wadajir bay labo gacmood wax ku qaban karaane” (Oh, Brothers and Sisters, let us stay together and unite, togetherness can two hands accomplish more) https://youtu.be/wkOblKQklYg?si=-ffx6JlzQelQo2qj
Dr. Abdulkadir Osman Farah
Email: osmanfaraha@gmail.com
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Dr. Abdulkadir Osman Farah teaches at Copenhagen University and is associate of Urban Sanctuary, Migrant Solidarity and Hospitality in Global Perspective with Aalborg and Ryerson Universities. Dr. Farah is also currently associate researcher of Tswane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.