Moon Sighting

With the drastic rise in the number of Kitaab Gaabs and their followers causing confusion by the day, the beauty of the once divinely revealed message seems headed for total contamination. The amalgamation of unctuous hypocrites having differing religious and ideological views who often apply pecksniffian declarations on issues beyond their comprehension regarding theological jurisdictions deserve to be treated with contempt, if not, neglected, otherwise, they could lead the Muslim Ummah into a seemingly bottomless chasm. If the Shawwal moon is sighted in Saudi Arabia and other parts of Africa, then, it would be meaningless to continue with the fast even after the new Shawwal moon has been sighted by reliable Muslims. Relying on Saudi Arabia as the maker of the final verdict or حكم on moon sightings is unacceptable. Likewise, judging the one who sights the moon by his religious sectarian inclination is unfounded and a fabrication of the Islamic requirements of moon sightings. عيد الفطر or Eid ul Fitr is the Islamic religious festival that marks the end of the month of Ramadan. A look at the different ways Muslim Madhhabs perform the Eid ul Fitr salah illustrates existing dissimilarities and performances of rituals and prayer elements. Even the required charitable contributions to the needy and elderly could be different within a city because followers rely on the final decisions of their chosen religious scholars. The person who sights the new moon must be a Muslim who is not visually impaired, must be an adult who is sane, honest, and just and must not be a known Faasiq (sinner). To ensure the one who sighted the new moon is up to task, a testimony becomes compulsory. The declaration, "I testify" should be taken into consideration because, the Qur'an states, "And take testimony from the just and honest amongst you". While Ramadan, the 9th month of the Hijri calendar is dedicated to the observance of fasting for Muslims, Eid al-Fitr is observed at the start of the month of Shawwal which is the following month. The advancement of satellite technology aside, people have different vision types. Muscular degenaration is a major problem that impacts elderly vision. When someone is afflicted by farsightedness, the ability to see near objects get easier while distant objects appear blurry and this is known as hyperopia. One could suffer from nearsightedness or short-sightedness which is a condition known as myopia; optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve and unlike other visionary influences, it can be treated with corticosteroids. Strabismus can be identified by the looks of the eyes of a person since they are wall-eyed or cross-eyed. The human eye is estimated to be about 7 times sharper than cat eyes, and 40-60 times sharper than rats and goldfish. So, when searching for a new moon, it is best to put all these visual conditions into consideration. A day and night constitute 24 hours, meaning the world has 24 time zones. Longitudinally, there is a 15 degree separation in each hour. The International Date Line (IDL) creates 3 more time zones. As internationally accepted, the Universal Coordinated Time (UCT) starts at zero degrees longitude and that is the Prime Meridian, a global dissecting line that passes through London in England and Accra in Ghana respectively. The Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is "about 334 feet east of the current Airy Transit Circle at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England." That spot is 0 or zero degrees longitude. The measurements of the Earth's rotation is linked to geodetic coordinates. The application of GMT was put into use in 1884 after a gathering in Washington, DC. However, there is still differences of opinion among geographers that the zero degree could be somewhere else because 102-meter shift has been recorded which could be attributed to conventional and geodetic deflection. Since the earth is oval like an egg or spherical like a ball or comparable in shape to a handmade globe, the zero could be somewhere else. When traveling Eastward, you add 30 minutes or 15 degrees for every imaginary line, while, when headed Westward, you substract 30 minutes or 15 minutes for every line. Let's not forget the Continental Divide Line that starts in the Cape Spring Wales in Alaska. Call it a miracle, but, geographically, it is a serpentine line that divides entire North America into two parts. All rivers on the Eastern side of the line dump their waters into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico while those on the westside flow into the Pacific ocean. The saying "East is best, West is least" is known to navigators. Strange , isn't it? Remember, wherever you are on planet earth, you're always on the top. Whether you are located on the North, South, East or West, you'll still the sky above you. To give you an example, the "Heart of America" is a small town outside of Kansas City, Missouri known as Independence where the former US President, Harry S. Truman was born. A former Haberdasher (tailor), Truman became the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953) after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The historic Harry Truman Museum and Library aren't new to me. When traveling Westward towards Kansas and Colorado States, regardless of the means of transportation, you will be compelled to do time subtraction and if going Eastward, you add 30 minutes to your time every line you cross. Remember, the lines are imaginary. I wasn't surprised when my professor who was a former colonel in the United States Army, once told our class while engaged in a subject on East Asia Studies, that geography is a piece of cake and that he previously taught in other universities without having any specialization. For sure, it isn't a piece of cake, but to the Somali who is "Jack of all trades, master of none", it could be true because, the many years of listening to the most favorite dhegadhegeysi radio enhanced one's understanding of global geography. Unquestionably, Somalis are the most widely traveled and the most multilingual ethnic group in Africa. The absence of indhoindheysi or the perfect application of visualization of the crescent moon has remained a disagreeable and a permanent recurring theme among Somalis for centuries. Since Islam does not contradict science, on April 21 2008, a conference that was held in Doha Qadar titled "Mecca: the Center of the Earth, Theory and Practice" brought together scholars and theologians under the tutelage of Sheikh Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi of Egypt to deliberate on "Ijaz al-Qur'an", meaning the miraculous nature of the Qur'an. Despite the conference objecting to the Greenwich Meridian as a colonial creation even though the former Ottoman Empire was part of the attendees and that Makkah was under it's jurisdiction, the hope that the Mecca Time would serve as a universal defining time zone did not bear fruit. Even with the raising of the largest clock in the world in Makkah, resting on the fifth tallest freestanding building in the world, the Abraj Al Bait (Towers of the House), it has failed to capture what it was intended for. Instead, P.Z. Myers, referred to the Mecca clock Time proposal as a "cargo occult science"---a term denoting pseudoscience or an imagined hypothesis. To overcome the lack of compromise on the sighting of the moon---a phenomenon that is only common at the beginning and end of Ramadan, it would be wise to have reliable telescopes and other astronomical instruments. Among modern Muslim Ulamaa, the issue of moon sighting has transformed into moon fighting. The relentless moon fighting is plainly against the following Hadith: "Do not fast unless you sight the crescent, and do not break your fast till you sight the (following) crescent." (Al-Bukhari, Vol. 3:130). Like the growing fragments of sectarian tentacular filamentations, the religious scholars divide and rule tactics that is akin to political ignominy, will remain with humanity forever.

Why I Cherish WardheerNews

The website www.wardheernews.com, the most "scholarly and journalistic" online magazine in the Horn of Africa, means a lot to me. I learned about WardheerNews (WDN) decades ago while in the City of San Diego in California–the city known by the nickname "America's Finest City" and named after Saint Didacus in Spanish. It came to my attention while perusing through the pages of the famous San Diego Tribune while strolling along the beautiful coastline of the Pacific Ocean where I could see from a distance some of America's finest warships, perhaps the United States Navy's best of the best and the most sophisticated Aircraft Carriers, Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Auxiliaries and frigates. The city for retirees, San Diego has the best weather in the United States with over 71° Fahrenheit in summer and above 50° in winter. In total, the city enjoys 300 days of sunny weather. To better understand the site's policies, it is best to peruse through the following lines to better understand the major requirements for posting articles and research papers: "Through admin@wardheernews.com, our readers may present their views and ideas to our Editorial Board members. Every effort will be made to respond to our readers comments without any delays. WardheerNews accepts articles that are exclusively intended for our readers. Articles are usually published after thorough scrutiny by our Editorial board." On the other hand, "WardheerNews does not publish or post articles found to be contravening the rules and regulations set forth by our editorial board team. Articles found to contain profanities or intended to malign the good names and reputations of individuals or groups will not be posted. Also articles published or appeared in other sites will not be considered for posting." The writer of the article on WDN succinctly explained how the website came to gain popularity, the names of the founders and their work stations and their educational backgrounds. It was on that material day that I learned the names of the people who made it a reality and who, up to this day, continue to make it running without any encumbrances. Even though I had known the town of Wardheer together with Walaal in the current Somali region in Ethiopia since adolescence, never at any time did I misconstrue the newly discovered WDN to have any relationship with a historical town. The title of the story, according to a close friend and honorable political leader was: "The Hassan Brothers." "The Hassan Brothers" as we now know today are Ahmed Hassan, Khalil Hassan, and Abdelkarim Hassan. Sons of the famous Abdirahman Hassan, the three have a saintly heritage and advanced and prolonged ancestral historical lineage because they hail from the most ancient city of Berbera along the Red Sea coast in the current unrecognized Somaliland State. Their great, great, great-grandfather was a man much revered by the Ottoman Empire such that they built him a beautiful palace solely for Islamic propagation. It was in 1984 while strolling with a friend Ibrahim Sambul near the palace and working for the American Engineering Firm MWK International, Limited, Incorporated that Ibrahim brought to my attention a strange historical narrative that almost jolted my nerves. My buddy requested me that we pay a visit to the occupants of the palace that required complete rehabilitation. After exchanging salaams with the generous and ebony colored ladies who served us the best quality northern Somalia tea popularly known as Barraad, my attention was altered by the beauty of the palace. After thorough observation of the finely manicured lawns and the old Ottoman Empire Arabesque design of the fountains and the general outlook of the construction design of the building, I felt perplexed by the historical legacy of Sheikh Yusuf who was offered the privilege to advance Islamic revivalism. Unfortunately, the Sheikh’s biography remains unwritten to this day. Reading has been my tradition long before the new WDN discovery and that I had been an avid reader of Newsweek and Time Magazines, some of Kenya's dailies, and the finely written weekly and that is the Weekly Review whose editor-in-chief was the Kenyan Harvard University educated Physicist and Historian Hillary Ng'weno. Mr. Ng'weno was also the founder of Nairobi Times, a paper that enjoyed good readership. While I admired the monthly publication Glamour and Drum Magazines and Somalia's Xiddigta Oktoobar, Heegan and Halgan among others, my first article on WDN appeared in the month of April 2006 respectively. The article was about the struggles of African students in the United States. After discovering the literary sagacity of the editors, is when I became a frequent freelance writer. For a long time, I've been impressed by the importance of viewing knowledge from different perspectives and that's why I chose the ways of polymathy and philomathy. The former means the ability to learn and acquire enough multifarious subjects while the later implies the love for studying and learning. From childhood up to now, I've been inquisitive of every noble subject and that specializing in a specific field has never been my long term plan. It was only two years after it was launched that I jumped on the bandwagon by contributing nonstop, a habit that continues to this day. “And”, “because”, by the way, sorry our esteemed readers, for starting a sentence with “and” or “because” is ungrammatical. What I meant is, in high school, I had devoured most of the African Writers Series written by distinguished authors such as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Taban lo liyong, Okot p'Bitek, Nurudin Farah, Ngugi wa Thion'go and others. I traveled the world over many times while a young man and no wonder it was James Hadley Chase who made my imaginary journey to the Orinoco River in South America a possibility. Chase gave me the chance to read his literary treasures like “There's a Hippie on the Highway, “An Ace Up My Sleeve”, and “The World in my pocket” and “Like a Hole in the Head” among others. Even though Commander Neil Armstrong was the first to relay back to earth the message “Houston, Tranquility Base Here, The Eagle has Landed” after traveling 240,000 to the moon on Apollo 11 in July 20, 1969 after the exhilarating landing, on the other hand, there was a 1975 book by Briton Jack Higgins that carried the same name and turned in to a film a year later. Maya Angelou was a great writer and because she was dark skinned, her poem “Phenomenal Woman”, must have been an eye opener and empowering for the millions of women who were struggling with stereotypes. If Rudyard Kipling, a man who was born in India was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his simple poem "If" for the botched Jameson Raid in Transvaal, South Africa, Maya Angelou who was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, and who left a fine legacy for humanity, was never considered for one. In my college years, my Iranian-American English lecturer, a braggadocio who spent 20 years in England, gave me an X while marking my English paper that contained the word "Briton." No wonder, another lecturer, a Mexican-American did the same since, to him, incumbent only implied a noun "the holder of an office" while mine referred to the adjective form of necessary or the responsibility of executing an assignment. Whoever said, "English was born in England, raised in America and died in Africa" must have been a literary racist vigilante whose aim was to tarnish the image of the African Continent. It is bigotry that created the different races we have today though there is only one race and that is the human race. Even though I read from a newspaper the prognostication regarding the future of computer technology while working in a small town in central Somalia with an American organization called Africare Incorporated in Jalalaqsi in 1983 in an era when the typewriter reigned supreme, it was twenty three years later when I got fortunate enough to own the old type desktop computer whose memory card was the flimsy floppy disk. After all efforts to navigate through the old type computer that was given to me by a White female co-worker after paying her a visit to her house while I was an Aircraft Marshaller (one who controls planes after landing) for Vanguard Airline failed to materialize, I sought the help of two Somalis who turned out to be “Jacks of none, masters of none” or technologically omnipotent. While an Aircraft Marshaller, there was a young man who was White and a great friend. His name was John. Those days America was so peaceful such that as a Muslim, I could perform my daily obligatory and supererogatory prayers without any suspicion from the airport employees and regular travelers. John loved to debate and discuss about religion. He was a Christian but I never bothered to ask him his denomination. In response to his question the name of the place where Muslims conduct their daily obligatory prayers, to test whether his knowledge, I responded telling him it is called 'Masjid'. “You mean Masqee”? he responded back. I was amazed by his clear pronunciation of the prayer house many pronounce as Mosque. Masjid and Masqee almost sound alike in pronunciation. In the 16th and the early 17th century, there was the Masque ceremony in Europe which should not be misinterpreted or associated with John’s pronunciation. Despite being college students, they were the types Somalis refer to as “waan daadshey”, a portmanteau implying blagging, bragging or “little knowledge is too dangerous.” Both were of the opinion that the computer was useless and outdated. However, after severe scrutiny and seeking guidance from reading a few books on computer studies, the gift of Karen, the lady who gave it to me as a gesture of goodwill, eventually opened up for me new corridors related to Information Technology (IT). Daily reflective practices and continuous craving engrossment devoid of procrastination gave me the option to pay attention to detail. After saving enough money to purchase a used desktop computer, I started writing exhaustively materials that were worthy of posting on WDN. Focus and critical thinking enabled me to come up with new topics that were commensurate with the editors' preferences. After discovering that the editors were literarians who emphasized the significance of eleemosynary work that could benefit humanity, I got immersed in more writing by putting together more educational tutorials of varying subjects. Philanthropy or acts of kindness are multidimensional from Islamic and philosophical perspectives and that's why I felt compelled to educate our youth through unstoppable writings on WardheerNews. The name Wardheer in Somali is a combination of 'War' for 'news' plus 'dheer' implying 'afar'. Thus, when joined, it means "News from Afar." Unlike other sites that give preference to articles and research papers written by their tribal members, act as mouthpieces for the warlords and fundamentalist groups they have lineage with, and those who fund them through corrupt means plus the retinue of political rejects who share with them contemptuous and distorted ideological formations, WDN is open for debate and inclusivity of opinions from contributors from all walks of life. Even though I don't know if the trend has vanished altogether, from what I gathered from fellow Somalis scattered worldwide, back in the nineties there was a website that was managed by tribal minded editorial team whose corrupt policy was "pay a little" or as they say in Kiswahili “Toa Kitu Kidogo” abbreviated TKK to have an article posted. Such demands to have articles posted on WDN have never happened in the past and present time. WDN is interested in the exchange of ideas without regard to tribe or clan, gender and sex, political or religious affiliation and place of origin. The site has been established to educate humanity. A look at our contributors on the "About Us" section contains a balanced approach to the names of unique foreign writers notably Professor Georgi Kapchits, a man who has mastered the Somali language, was a former broadcaster of Radio Moscow Somali Service, an author of numerous books written in Somali and currently engaged in releasing a dictionary containing 5,000 Somali proverbs. Amazingly, in a previous email exchange with the distinguished professor of Somali and Amharic languages whose friendly response began with "Gacaliye Aadan", on questioning him if he ever lived in Somalia in the past, he wrote back that he was in Puntland for two weeks only in 1992 in his lifetime. Dr. Kapchits is a Russian citizen and the author of Soothsayer Tasted-Somali Folktales. The digitized site also prides to have Marco Zoppi (PhD) who is a fellow at Roskilde University in Denmark with special interests in the welfare conditions of Somalis in Scandinavian Countries. WDN contributors are not chosen on tribal affiliation by the editorial board, but their commitments to the service of research and disseminating knowledge that are worthy of sharing with the readers. Some of WDN contributors are authors who have written books while others are reputable individuals who served international level jobs. WDN Contributors include the prolific writer Hassan Abukar, author of Mogadishu Memoir, Ismail Ali Ismail (Geeldoon) who authored Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia, Faisal Roble who was a former Editor-in-Chief of WDN and currently holding a higher position with the City of Los Angeles, Safi Abdi who resides in Turkey and author of Offspring of Paradise and Said Jama Hussein who is known for his proficiency in Somali linguistics and etymology and author of Safar Aan Jaho Laheyn. Amazingly, the previously mentioned Professor Georgi Kapchits new dictionary written in Somali that contains 5,000 Somali proverbs. The beautifully cover crafted book with the new title Qaamuuska Casriga Af ee Maahmaahda Soomaaliyeed meaning A Modern Dictionary of Somali Proverbs has been released and is up for grabs for those willing to learn more about Somali proverbial expressions. I cherish WDN because of the amalgamation of writers from all walks of life who gave me the chance to learn diverse knowledge that touch on different subjects. It is a venue for those interested in grasping everything pertaining to “Somalinness.”

Collapsing Nomadic Lifestyles

In the past, Western writers described Somalis as a nomadic community, pastoral nomadic and other times as peripatetic community. With the wealthy Somalis taking pride in camel ownership by purchasing the Somali dromedary in their hundreds at the famous Arbaca Bashaq livestock market on Wednesdays in Garissa, the current poor camel owners of the past, after suffering compounding drought and famine and various contagious diseases that decimated the beasts of burden they treasured most, finally made dangerous moves by settling in villages and towns to survive on handouts from the government and other philanthropic organizations like the Red Cross and other parties who are committed to the care of those in need. It is a new social change created by economic transformation since the pride of the herdsman that was the one humped camel has now been taken over by business magnates who established permanent ranches that are never short of water and pasture. Land Cruisers that are meant for rough terrain now navigate with ease through lands that were once impenetrable, out of bounds and impassable to the former nomad who was bereft of modern technicalities that require money and minds. Veterinarians keep watch over the camels health while wage earning herdsmen provide the necessary protection within certain ranges in protected ranches that are far from the reach of livestock rustlers and wild carnivores. With the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic and the closure of schools for the containment of the virus, the wealthy camel owners pack up for vacationing that is more comfortable than what we know as tourism. Loaded with tents, mattresses, bedsheets and duvets, kitchenware and cutlery, hiking shoes, mosquito nets and mosquito repellants, and other necessities such as dry food and bottled water for the grand material world allurements, the journey forward is one intended to introduce the children to a new world of adventure. By covering new ground, the children's exposure to new sceneries get ingrained in their minds for future recollections as they age in their lifetimes. For those Diaspora children whose return journeys got interrupted by the pandemic, such vacations become once in a lifetime experience. As the wheels of the convoys of vehicles

roll with precision and guidance, the sights of the various fauna and flora never seen before instill unforgettable historical events worth retelling to friends and relatives in later years. Like a family touring botanical gardens for the first time, annual, biannual, and perennial trees and plants capture their visions with some appearing thorny and others thornless. As for the fauna, the redheaded salamander lizards cross the rough terrain with tremendous speed as the driver struggles to evade rocks, potholes, and speeding dik diks. Terrified and afraid of the approaching unknowns, the proud Somali male daaxuur, the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut much-adored Papio hamadryas baboon boisterously makes a sudden twist and turn with the intention of defending its territory from strangers. Mouths agape, the children focus on the strange animals they've never seen before. Then to their amazements, the world of acacia trees along the roadsides usher them into the 1773 trees specifications of the Swedish Botanist Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy and the creator of binomial nomenclature in botanical, zoological, and taxonomical sciences. Using their modern smart phones and tablets loaded with unlimited internet data, each one struggles to uncover the names of the strange thorny acacias lining both sides of the unpaved roads. Some take snapshots to compare with the images appearing in their search engines. Names like Acacia albida, Acacia senegal, and Acacia seyal and other unheard of species appear in their searches. Unfortunately, their searches suddenly get interrupted as the convoys of vehicles continue with their arduous journeys into rocky plains and deserts resulting from soil erosion, abandoned fields with reddish colored lineups of anthills and towering accumulated sand dunes. After hours of cruising through areas that suffered land degradation, one of the drivers relays the message that they are about to enter Libaaxlow or the Lion Haven. Within minutes of hearing the shocking news, fear grips the hearts and minds of the rambunctious children who were raised in lands that were devoid of beastly wild animals.

https://wardheernews.com/somalias-electoral-transition-requires-immediate-national-deliberation/

Garissa County Governor: The Responsible Administrator

https://wardheernews.com/garissa-county-governor-the-responsible-administrator/

Apartheid in Somali?

While I'll be using Somali-Bantu and Somali-Jareer interchangeably in my essay, the two names mean the same. The term 'jareer' implies kinky or hard haired. Having kinky hair is not limited only to communities having Bantoid features, because there are uncountable number of pride filled Somalis with the same hair types. Likewise, there are Somalis with charcoal colored skin pigmentations, broad nosed, flat lips, and who are extremely uglier than the Somali-Bantu. While some Somali scholars claim that the Somali-Bantu experienced apartheid before the collapse of Somalia in 1991, such claims appear complete exaggerations. The terminology apartheid is of Afrikaans origin, a language spoken in South Africa and brought in the 19th century by the expansionist Dutch invaders from Holland. Afrikaans is a hybridized language or a kind of creole that incorporates Malay, Indonesian, Portuguese, Khoekhoe and the San languages. From Apart meaning separateness or apart-hood where the 'hood' in Afrikaans is 'heid', claiming that Somali-Bantus suffered apart-hood, separateness or apartheid in Somalia is a misnomer. Somali-Bantus never experienced apartheid in schools in Somalia like in South Africa where separateness affected the Black community in education, transportation, access to medical centers and specific areas within cities that were exclusive to Whites only, and even separate toilets and water fountains that were reserved for only Blacks. In Somalia, there was no separation of communities along beachfronts since everyone had access to swimming in the two waters of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea respectively. While South Africa had ten homelands for the Black community, in Somalia, it was unheard of because, to the contrary, Somali-Bantus had towns and villages of their own. It would be futile to mention 'apartheid' imposed on Somali-Bantus in anyway or form whatsoever in Somalia before and during the military regime. They served in the police and military forces, enjoyed privilege in educational institutions as pedagogues, as administrators in government and private institutions, and above all, pioneered business entrepreneurships. The Somali-Bantus of Somalia, when compared to the United States racial discrimination practices of the sixties, had more freedom than the African-Americans who were denied equal treatment by the Whites who even slammed church doors on the progenies of those who were forced into slavery to cultivate sugarcane plantations against their wishes across the Trans-Atlantic in delapidated ships. In Somalia, Somali-Bantus had ablutions with their fellow Somalis from the same streaming taps and stood up for prayers, five times a day, with shoulders and feet touching each other without any sense of trepidation.

FAISAL ROBLE: CLIMBING THE LADDER OF SUCCESS

 September 6, 2020

By Adan Makina

Faisal Roble has been a friend and a brother for a long time, and since then our common interests and feelings of confidence continued to blossom non-stop. Our passion for writing made us strong philosophical and ideological brothers, and to this day no conceivable obstacles prevent us from discharging our literary responsibilities to the cause of humanity. Having followed his writings for all those years, the targeted gross weights of criticisms and praises by people of divergent ideologies remain uncountable. Taking note from my years of observing his behavioral mannerisms, the internationally acclaimed prolific and influential writer is not the type that harbors grudges.

Faisal Roble

Undoubtedly, Faisal is a reputable humanitarian and civil rights activist, a political analyst with a wide array of advanced psychobiography of global phenomenal confirmations affecting our world and a man with a good grasp of modern leadership qualities as well as debilitated leadership ineptitudes that undermine human growth and progress. ” My formative years were shaped by a good dose of early exposure to radical political ideas and the unending fight against injustice no matter who is at the helm of the commission of it.” Faisal told WardheerNews for their recognition of 2016 person of the year.

In fact, his character could be equated to the most misunderstood Somali ‘Hangool’ whose real definition is ambition (Han) and gool (lioness). Like the ambitious lioness that is protective of its cubs more than the ‘aar’ (male lion), Faisal does not shy away from telling the truth when tempted to hit the nail on the head. 

Hangool

A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (City of Angels in Spanish), Faisal has been the Principal City Planner in the City of Los Angeles for the last five years, and has been a recipient of top medals, international awards, letters and certificates of appreciations.

Started as a Planning Assistant right after he graduated from UCLA prestigious Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning (GSAUP), prior to that a B.A. in Geography from the one institution that is close to his heart – Lafole College – Faisal reached the highest position in the City’s civil service ranks. In 2015, he became the first Black to earn the position of Principal City Planner. Beyond this rank, General and Deputy General managers are only by appointments. Now that he is appointed to the Chief Equity Officer his story is worth retelling to our young professionals.

Established over hundred years ago, the City Planning Department of Los Angeles with its still growing 450 employees is the largest Planning Department in the United States.

It is worth noting that the City of Los Angeles, with a metropolitan population of over 14 million according to the last census conducted this year, is also the largest city in California and the second in the United States after New York City. Unlike in corruption-ridden Africa and many other countries in Asia and South America, for one to be entrusted with such a great responsibility, requires hard work, dedication, and visible accomplishments. Faisal has carefully navigated a highly political and racial environment to achieve his professional goals.

As from the 22nd of June of this year, profoundly determined Faisal Roble, after tough deliberations by his higher authorities, unanimously agreed to entrust him with the positions of Chief Equity Officer (CEO) to responsible for Equity, Racial Justice, Economic Development and Reconstructive Planning. He will be responsible for coming up with a Reconstructive Plan to be used as a five-year budget plan for 2020-2025. The position requires one to be an exemplary figure having the will and strength to deliver genuinely acceptable and the necessary budget without any inconsistencies. As this piece goes to publication, Faisal has successfully submitted his first draft of Action Plan to the Mayor Office.

The Office of Racial Justice, Equity, and Restorative Planning is the main foundation office to oversee upper mobility, curtail racial discrimination and promote diversity as wells social and economic equanimity. Moreover, this office will reorient the hundred years racialized planning paradigm and practices from one that contributed to disparity of the city’s 35 community plans area to a new approach of promoting equity and social justice from the perspective of urban design, housing, mobility, and economic opportunities for people of color.

With California being the largest economy in the United States and the fifth in the world, Faisal will have to surround himself with remarkable and reliable working partners. The office of Racial Justice, Equity, and Reconstructive Planning will be responsible for correcting what went wrong with the city since 1920. And that is not a small feat. In other words, a new planning approach to urban development that reimagines how our cities equitably grow will be the focus for Faisal’s new responsibility. 

Economic Development and Reconstructive Planning both deal with the factors that diminish human growth and development. To attain economic equilibrium, these two branches of planning will have to work with the major sustainers of employment opportunities in the region, such as the Los Angeles Airport (LAX), industries, LA ports, and other business enterprises and partners. It was during the turbulent era that followed the civil war when President Andrew Johnson fought vigorously to envisage the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that propelled the newly enfranchised blacks to have a voice in government even though the rise of the Ku Klux Klan regained supremacy in the south. 

Faisal’s elevation, if effectively managed, could catapult marginalized communities such as African Americans and Latinos and others to greater heights. An Americanized immigrant from impoverished, war-ravaged and beleaguered Somalia in the Horn of Africa, Faisal’s vision, talent and his relentless aspiration to change things for the better in the planning of the City of Los Angeles kicked-off the first day he got hired. Despite the prevailing economic, social, and educational disparities among the assortments of communities from around the world, the newly appointed CEO for Racial Justice and Equity prides to have knowledge beyond the scope of many struggling immigrants.

In addition to thirty years of professional planning experience, he has graduate degrees in Regional and Urban Planning as well as in Afro-American Studies with emphasis on Urban Political Economy. Inclusivity for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and the observance of commitment to equity, diversity, and structured composition of all people without regard to disabilities, abilities, and health care needs will require his utmost attention. Borrowing a leaf from the adage, “where there is a will there is a way”, as long as Faisal remains on the helm in this new position, with the support and encouragement of his workmates, the City of Los Angeles will hopefully experience tremendous equitable growth in the near future. Congratulations Faisal and may Allaah help you in your future endeavors.

On the material day of Faisal’s presentation to a select City Council panel, he gave a brief biography of himself and an introduction of the prevailing political conditions in the United States especially the killing of the innocent 46 years old African American George Floyd who was intentionally suffocated by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.

Faisal said, “I am PROFOUNDLY HONORED to serve the City in this capacity. As mentioned, I arrived at the City Planning Department about thirty Years ago. I was here in 1992 when the civil unrest, also known as the Rodney King unrest, took place. I am here now when the nation is gripped by the gory murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The phenomena of killing Black men and women by police forces who were supposed to protect them is as American as apple pie.” 

“Thanks to the millions of citizens in this country and elsewhere, we have been awakened to a systemic and structural racism that permeates in all our civic life. Some of us not only knew about such a systemic racism in our society that thrives under the rug, but we have experienced and lived through it both inside and outside our workplace.”

Faisal went on to tell the select Council Committee that “It is within this context that I accept this appointment and look forward to critically assessing past practices, and whether the City departments have provided safe, enriching, and nurturing workplace to Blacks and to People of Color. As the Chief Equity Officer, I will be responsible to ENSURE RACIAL JUSTICE, CREATE SAFE WORKPLACE for BLACKS and for COMMUNITIES OF COLOR (COC).”

In addition to the national and regional interviews he has given thus far, Faisal will be a guest speaker at the prestigious  University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School of Communication to talk about his vision for Los Angeles. Faisal, you have been through all those specifications and you still have a lot of obstacles ahead of you. Keep up the good work and let us know how your new responsibility works out as you go forward navigating your modern world. One last request: can you Faisal please publish your powerful presentation to the Council so that our young generation may get a healthy dose of encouragement? 

Adan Makina
WardheerNews
Email: adan.makina@gmail.com

ARAGTIDAYDA “QAAMUUSKA CASRIGA AH EE MAAHMAAHDA SOOMAALIYEED” EE UU QORAY GEORGI KAPCHITS

October 18, 2020

Aadan Makina

Waxaan maqli jiray ilaa yaraanteydii, maahmaahda ah “ma anaa waalan mise Cadan baa laga heesayaa.” “Dhegaheyga kuma maqal dhaayahayga kuma arag”, in aqoonyahan u dhashay dalka Ruushka in maanta oo Axad ah (Oktoobar 11, 2020) uu ila soo xidhiidho asagoo ila socodsiinaya in Qaamuuska Casriga Ah ee Maahmaahda Soomaaliyeed oo uu ku hawlanaa gu’yaal badan la daabacay. Buugga kuma qorna afkiisa hooyo ee Ruuska balse waa mid ku qoran afkeena hodanka ah ee Soomaaliga. Qaamuuska wuxuu aqoonyahanku ku ururiyay ilaa 5,000 oo maahmaahyo soomaaliyeed ah. In kastoo horey loo yidhi “Soomaali been kuma maahmaado”, qoraaga oo ah Dr. Georgi Kapchits wuxuu mudan yahay in ciddaan aqoon hadda loo bandhigo taariikh nololeedkiisa si mowlac aan loo kala hadhin loogu casumo goortay noqotaba, laguna shubo caano dhaay ah, taas oo muujineysa qaddarinta iyo qiimaha ay u hayso ummadda Soomaaliyeed.

Intaanan u gudaggelin dulucda Qaamuuska Casriga Ah ee Maahmaahda Soomaaliyeed, waxaan jecleystay bal inaan idinla wadaago taariikha Qoraa Dr Georgi Kapchits oo in dhoweyd maqaal aan qoray, welina aan la soo saarin ku taagtaagsaday qaybta ama doorka lixaadka leh ee uu ka cayaaray horumarinta af Soomaaliga. Magac dhawgii Georgi maqaalkaygii hore waa mid iila eg xusuus kedis ah (coincidence). Taasi waxay muujineysaa, anoo qalbiga ku hayo ayuu si kedis ah iila soo xidhiidhay. Georgi oo iigu yeedha “Gacaliye Aadan” ama “Walaalkayga iga yar” goortaan isweydaarsaneyno qoraallada xidhiidhka elektirooniga ah, waa mid igu weyn dhanka aqoon isweydaarsiga. Muddo ka badan 10 sano ayaanu is naqaanay, waxaan ka faa’ideyna lama soo koobi karo. Waxaa jidha odhaah afka qalaad ee ah “lean on the shoulders of giants” oo la micne ah ‘ku tiirso garbaha maadaanleyaasha/maadiinleyaasha.’ Waxaan u soo qabsaday odhaahdaa in Georgi yahay garab Soomaali oo dhammi ay ku tiirsan kadho.

Taariikh kooban Georgi Kapchits

Georgi waa Aqoonyahan ku talaxtegey afafka Amxaariga iyo ka Soomaaliga, wuxuuna ku dhashay dhulkii baaxadda weynaa ee la odhan jiray Midowga Sofyeeti sannadkii 1939, waana xilli ku aadan billowgii Dagaalkii Labaad ee Adduunka. Sannadkii 1967 ayuu ka qalin-jebiyey Jaamacadda Lomonosov oo ku taalley magaalada Moosko. “Walaalkeyga iga weyn” waa sida aan ugu jawaabo e, Dr Georgi, sida aan ka dhuuxay taariikhdiisa, wuxuu sannadkii 1967 ku biiray Raadiyaha Moosko, asagoo noqday wartebiye iyo tarjubaan, wuxuuna hawshaas waday ilaa 1994. Sannadihii 1994 illaa 2014 ayuu “Idaacadda Codka Ruushka” daadihinayey Qaybta faaqidaadda iyo faallada. “Waa yaab, yaabkiis iyo ammakaage”, “walaalkeyga iga weyn” “wuu ku dhalan gaadhay” waxyaabaha la halmaala idaacadaha iyo wartebinta, waana sida ay Soomaalida tidhaahdo goortuu qof meel ku raago.

Cilmi raadis da’ ma celisee, sannadkii 2000 ayuu gacanta ku dhigay shahaadada PhD, taas oo ku saabsaneyd naxwaha af Soomaaliga. Waxaa intaas u sii dheer in uu af Soomaaliga ka dhigi jiray jaamacado ku kala yaal magaalooyinka Moosko iyo Baarliin. Halkaas yeynan kaga tagine, ugu dar toban buug oo af Soomaali ah oo uu qoray, kuwaas oo yaalla maktabado iyo degellada ganacsiga caalamiga. Sidoo kale, wuxuu qoray maqaallo aan tiro lahayn oo dhammaantood ku saabsan suugaanta Soomaaliyeed. Intaa aynu ku dhafno milicsiga kooban ee taariikhda Dr Georgi aynuna u leexanno dhanka falanqeynta buuggiisa dahabiga ah.

U-kuurgalka Buugga Cusub ee Diiwaanka Maahmaahda Soomaaliyeed

In shakhsi uu isku xilsaaro dhigaal socday sanooyin badan waa arrin culeyskeeda leh. Dr Georgi in uu qoro qaamuus xambaarsan 5,000 oo maahmaahood waa dhaxal ay isla wadaagi doonaan Soomaali weyn iyo inta qaddarisa af Soomaaliga ku sugan baylahda weyn. Kala-guurkii billowgii 1991 markii dawladdii dhexe ay burburtay ayaa sababtay in ay meesha ka baxdo muhimaddii af Soomaaliga lahaakaalintiisiina ay baddeleen afaf qalaad siiba Carabiga iyo Ingiriisiga inkastoo dad tiro yar dadaal u galeen in ay badbaadiyaan. Isweydiin ma leh in ay jiraan luuqado sii baaba’aya sannad walba. Matalan, bishii labaad sannadkii 2010, jasiiradaha Andaman (Andaman Islands) oo hoos yimaadda dalka Hindiya waxaa ku geeriyootay haweeney la odhan jiray Bo Sr oo da’deedu ahayd 80 jir, taas oo ahayd qoftii ugu dambeysay ee ku hadasha af qaddiimi ahaa ummaddii ku hadli jidhayna cudurro is daba joog ah cidhibtireen. In luuqad baa’ado kuma saleysna baaba’a dadka ku hadla keliya. Waxaa sababi kara afafkii gumeystayaashii ay ku khasbeen ummadihii ay dhulkooda qabsadeen sida Ingiriiska, Faransiiska, Isbaanishka, Boortuqiiska iyo kuwo kale. Loolankii kala-qaybsiga Afrika ee afka qalaad loo yaqaan The Scramble for Africa ama The Partition of Africa ee kulankiisa lagu qabtay magaalada Baarliin sannadihii 1884 – 1885 ee ay hor boodaayeen madaxdii Beljiyam iyo Jarmalka, wuxuu sababay dhaawac weyn oo gaadhay luuqado badan oo looga hadlo qaaradda Afrika.

Wax kasta oo ku saabsan dhigaal ama qoraal wuxuu u baahan yahay maareyn wakhti (time management) illeyn wakhti lumay dib looma soo celin karo e. Waxaad u baahan tahay waxyaabo badan sida cunto, cabbitaan, ama dhaqaale kugu filan inta aad ku hawlan tahay dhigaalka. Waxaa kuu sii dheer cilmibaadhid, saaxiibbo kaa caawiya waxaad garan weydo ama kula qabta hawlo kala geddisan. Dalbashada buuggaagta kuu sahlaysa geeddisocodka dhigaalka, waxaad ka raadin maktabadaha iibiya buuggaagta taxan degellada, kuwa jaamacadaha oo mararka qaar u baahan inaad sugto muddo iyo kuwa dukaammada caadiga ah ee buuggaagta lagu gado. 

 Isbeddelka cimilada sida xilliga qaboobaha ayaad ku turunturoon kadhaa oo kaa reebaya socdaal kastood damacdo. Gurmad iyo tacsi qaraabo iyo ehel ama deris aad booqato waa waxaan laga tegi karin haddaad leedahay damqasho aadminnimo. Sideedaba, qof waliba wuxuu gabbadaa (libiqsadaa) 15 illaa 20 jeer daqiiqaddii ama 900 ilaa 1,200 saacad walba. Wadar ahaan waa 20,000 maalinkii, ilaa 130,000 toddobaadkii, iyo 5 ilaa 7 malyuun sannadkii. In aad dul fadhido aalad iftiin bixinaya saacado badan, waxay dhaawici kadhaa nuurka indhahaaga, in kastoo gabbashadu ay caawiso aragga indhaha. In la daryeelo indhaha waa waajib, waayo, waa xubinta keliya jirka aadmiga aan la beddeli karin (transplantation).   

Waa maxay maahmaah?

Maahmaah waa hadal gaaban oo si dadban loo yidhi, kuna fadhiya micne dadban. Maahmaahyada af Soomaaliga waa kuwo hore iyo kuwo hor leh. Maahmaahda “rag waa raggii hore, hadalna waa intuu yidhi” waa hadal qadiimi ah, laakiin “rag waa shaah, dumarna waa sheeko” waa odhaah cusub, waayo shaah wuxuu na soo gaadhay ‘sannadkii biyo fuud’ oo ku beegan 1920 markii imberedooriyaddii Ingiriiska ee fadhiday Kiiniya billowday beerashada qasabka iyo caleenta shaaha. Sannadka loogu magac daray “biyo fuud” ujeedduu leeyahay. Maadaama dadka aysan haysan fiijaamo, koobab ama bakeeriyaal, waxaa la isticmaali jiray ‘xeero’ oo marna loo yaqaan ‘kur’ iyo ‘fandhaal’ oo isna magaciisa kale yahay ‘mooqa’. Labadaasi weel ayaa lagu fuudi ama cabbi jidhay shaaha waagaa.

Haddaad maqasho odhaahda ah “horaa loo yidhi”, waa in aad ogaataa in waxa soo socda yahay maahmaah. “Af daboolan, waa dahab” waxaa lagu micneyn karaa oo kale “hadal badan haan ma buuxsho.” Hadal badnaan awgeed yaan lagu dhaleeceynine, adoo iska aammusa ayaa kuu dhaanta, weeye ujeeddadu. “Abuur iyo waano, abuur baa horreeyay” waa hadal ku saleysan in waanadu aanay qofka dabeecaddiisa waxba ka beddeli karin. “Aan wada hadalno, waa aan heshiinno” waa xaalka aynu ka wada xaajoono si aan heshiis uga gaadhno.

“Af jooga looma adeego” ama “nimaan hadlin habartiisna wax ma siiso” way isa shabbahaan. Uma baahnid in laguu hadlo, adoo awoodo in aad baahidaada u soo bandhigto qofka aad wax ka dooneysid. Carruurta yaryar way ooyaan goortay gaajoodaan ama xanuunsadaan, hooyaduna way dareentaa, deetana tallaabo qaaddaa.

Soomaalaay, haddaad horey u maqasheen “kab iyo xaarkeedba waa laysla tuuraa”, kolley ma habboona in cagta kugu jidho kab xaar ku larnaato, waayo, urka xaarka ka hor waa cayb in rag kula mid ah aad la xaajootid, adoo cagtaada seyreysa ur aan loo adkeysan karin. Hadalkaa waxaan uga golleeyahay, waa in aad iska tuurtaan heeryada guumeysiga ee aad sida biyaha u qudhqudhineysaan, waana afafka shisheeye ee hooyadii caloosha 9-bilood kugu sidday aysan kula fahmeyn. Sow wax laga yaqyaqsooda ma aha in boqol wiil oo Soomaali ah oo laga soo kala ururiyay dhowr waddan oo ka tirsan Yurub in la geeyo geyi Soomaali si ay ugu tartamaan kubbadda cagta, deetana loo kala tarjumo maadaama ay ku kala hadlayeen afaf shisheeye?

Gunti iyo gebagebadii, “waayeel wedkiisa wuu yaqaannaa.” Inta goori goor tahay, dhaxalka “walaalkeyga iga weyn” yaanan loo deymo la’aan. Buug qaamuus ah oo ka kooban 347 bog ma aha wax la dhayalsan karo. Dr Georgi Kapchits waxa uu inoo qabtay hawl weyn oo aan Soomaali ahaan innagu baylihinay. Aad bay u mahadsanyihiin aqoonyahan Dr Geoergi iyo madbacadda Laashin oo iyadu daabacday suurtana gelisay soosaarista buuggan qiimaha weyn ugu fadhiya ummadda Soomaaliyeed.

W.Q. Aadan Makiina

Email:adan.makina@gmail.com

WardheerNews

SOMALI HISTORY FROM ANCIENT TIMES

September 27, 2020

By Adan Makina

Editor’s Note: With much of the historical content in this article taken from the attached video “This is Somalia: A Rich Heritage and a Bright Future”, the writer captured at his best to deliver an article whose historical contents deserves worth revisiting by researchers having the desire to learn more about the Somali people and the Horn of Africa at large. As one Somali oral historian put it, “Western writers gave little attention to the mighty history of Somalis and the rest of the African Continent because they were engrossed in the study of the Arabs who were closer to them in terms of color and the succession of the former Axum kingdoms they admired for their inclination to Orthodox Christianity.” As the studies of anthropology, archeology, and paleontology proliferate now and in the future, every new unearthed discovery will have a lot to be desired.
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Somalia is a country on the East Coast of Africa and has a horn-like appearance. To Ancient Egyptians, it was known as the Land of the Gods; the ancient Persians called it the Land of the Tall Men; the ancient Greeks called it the Land of Cinnamon; the Romans called it the Land of Fragrance, while the ancient Chinese called it the Land of the Unicorn.  It is the world’s largest producer of spices, and to this day, the Catholic Church gets spices from Somalia.

The first place camels, especially the single humped species were raised was in the Somali region that corresponds to  2,500 years before Jesus, Peace Be Upon Him, even though some historians add 1,000 years to get to a total of 3,500 (CE).  Before being exported to previous ancient regions such as Egypt and some Arab territories, it is evident that the Somalis were the first to raise camels, and today, half of the world’s camels live on Somali soil. While the dromedary camel is 99% in terms of population, the remaining 1% is reserved for the two-humped Bactrian camels that is predominantly native to a few Central Asian countries especially those that straddled the ancient Silk Trade that diminished after the Age of Discovery (1453-1660 CE). 

The number of poems that have been recited by famous Somali poets in praise of their horses are many.  Like the most cherished camels, during droughts or scarcity of water, Somali horse breeders fed those select ones with camel milk to overcome dehydration and weight loss. A recent study found that caves were discovered in Somalia using Carbon Dating, estimated to be 5,000 years old for various anthropomorphs in Laas Geel Caves between Hargeisa and the coastal town of Berbera. Successions of rulers in Somalia during the Medieval Age (500-1,500) such as Harlaa, Ifat, Adal, Warsangali, Ajuuraan and the Dervishes era exclusively used these horses that are now wild in the Nugaal Valley. 

The Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama was assassinated by the sultan of Adal. Somalis also pioneered the use of canon rifles that were brought to Africa by the Ottoman Empire to strangle the powerful Ethiopian Christian kingdoms that held sway over the Horn of Africa. The coins used by the Somali rulers of medieval times have been found in Iraq, Dubai and Turkey.  In the 13th century, a Somali explorer traveled to Arab countries, India and China.  In the 14th century, the Maldives Island was ruled by the Somali Sultan Abdiaziz.

Despite originating in Ethiopia, it was Somali traders who spread Arabica coffee around the world. The Somalis’ use of the Beden or Badhan ship, which was never known in other countries as it was hand-stitched like mats, made it easier for them to prevail over anyone who opposed their commitments. The seventh leading producer in the world and the top in the African Continent, Ethiopian coffee is reputedly the best in the world.

The Ajuuraan dynasty, one of the greatest empires in Africa, founded in the 13th century, finally collapsed in the 17th century. It was succeeded by the smaller Hiraab and Geledi Imamates. The Sultanate of Ajuran, as it is sometimes called, specialized in modern methods of hydrology, extracting and using water to appease hostile nomadic Somali tribes.

Britain was not the first to navigate East and South Africa.  During the reign of the vast Monomotapa or Mwenemutapa kingdom that was headed by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, it controlled the whole of South Africa.  However, Somalis were the first to use the Sofala Port and transport gold from the area.  The name Sofala in Somali means “go dig gold.”  Qubilaay Qaan (Kublai Khan), the leader of the Tatars or Mongols, twice sent spies to Somalia and was unsuccessful as his men were captured and imprisoned in Mogadishu.

Somalis are reputedly the oldest nation to embrace Islam. The Muslim emigrants who migrated from Makkah fleeing from the ignorant Quraysh, and the first to settle in the Horn of Africa landed on the shores of the Aksum Kingdom. The geographer, philosopher and Greek historian Strabo acknowledges that Somalis were the first to distribute spices to the rest of the world using the Monsoon Winds.

The double Qibla Mosque in Zeila in present day Somaliland, was built 1,400 years ago, making Somalis the first people in Africa to convert to Islam. In 1580, the Ajuuraan Sultans in collaboration with the Ottoman Empire liberated the Swahili people from the brutal, domineering Portuguese rule. In the same century, the Ajuuraan rulers invaded Zanzibar, killing the Omani sultan and freeing thousands of blacks from slavery.

 To exaggerate the history of Europe and to believe it without reference to the real history, is unfortunate and outright ignorance.  The first maritime movement was made by Portugal in all of Europe, finally finding its way to India.  Spain crossed over to the Americas in North and South America or all over the vast masses of the Western Hemisphere.  The Netherlands moved to Southeast Asia and had more than 4,000 ships.  The late British had 2,000 ships and a small number of others.  The European movement began at a time called the Age of Discovery (1418-1957).

 Before the 15th century, all Europeans were obsessed with sea travel, ocean mercantilism and slavery.  The Warsangali dynasty was established in 1298, and collapsed in 1886. The Adal Sultanate was founded in 1415, and collapsed in 1577. The previous Ifat Sultanate was established at the end of the 13th century (1285–1415) and lasted for 130 years.  It was preceded by the Makhsumi Kingdom based in the city of Harla (896–1286).  As far as we know, Harla are people of Somali origin who currently live in the Somali region of Ethiopia. In Somali they are known as Xarla and the use of references like proto-Somali by modern researchers doesn’t make any sense at all to the Somalis who know their complete past and present history.

 The kingdom of Harla was founded in Eastern Ethiopia and originated in the year 501, and its collapse is unknown, but according to ancient oral Somali historians, they were a blessed people who disbelieved in God. That is what caused them to be punished and buried underground. Before converting to Islam, the Harla people were polytheists, however, the remnants of Harla converted to Islam in the 7th century. Archaeologists have unearthed fossils in 2017.[i] It is believed that Harla collapsed 500 years after its emergence.

Figure 1. The ruins of a 12-century mosque in Harlaa, eastern Ethiopia. Credit: Timothy Insoll, University of Exeter

The experts who made the Harla excavations, presented the Harla artifacts from Madagascar, the Maldives, China and Yemen, Egypt and India.  A mosque similar to the one found in Tanzania dating back to the 12th century has also been excavated in Harla.  If the living Harla of today speak a language other than Somali, it may be due to their small numbers that forced them to merge with larger populations.  Today, Harla, near Harar, has 82 mosques and 102 visited cemeteries, according to UNESCO.

The city of Harlaa was nicknamed by the locals the “City of the Giants” because the stones they used to build the houses or walls they left behind, were so big and heavy that people of today cannot lift them. However, excavations and research are still underway and what is to come from the new discoveries, could be heart wrenching.  The Harlaa people specialized in the art of gold, such as beads for girls, etc.  The Coptic school of thought, which originated in Egypt arrived in the Kingdom of Axum in 333. Islam came to be 367 years later.

In the 15th century, Somali sailors discovered a port in Yemen that became more valuable later.  The first Sri Lankan settlement, known as Beruwala, was started by a Somali explorer.  Ethiopian coffee was exported through the port of Berbera, and was led by Somali businessmen.  So, let the world know that the best coffee sipped in the Western Hemisphere was first delivered by Somalis to the world.

 The closest language to Somali is that of the Rendille, a tribe known to Somalis as “ReerDiid”, meaning those who rejected them and took a different path during the great migration from Egypt after an encompassing political crisis around 2,600 BC forced uncountable majority of the human race to navigate the Nile River southwards to the Horn of Africa and other destinations. While Somalis say Qorrax to refer to the sun, to the ReerDiid, it is ‘Qoor Raac’. Because the ancient Egyptians as well as the ancient Greeks found it difficult to pronounce the consonant ‘C’ or ‘Cayn’ as in Somali and Arabic, the sun they worshiped was known as Amon Ra in Hieroglyphics which is, in fact, a Somali name. Thus, it would have been a portmanteau of ‘Hamuun’ and ‘Raac’ that translates to ‘the one who is observant of us’. The word Gowrac, in the ReerDiid or Rendille language, is ‘Goy Raac’ which means ‘we slaughter for the one who follows the neck with us’. The place where the disbelieving Rendille buried or burned their dead was Korondile, which in fact, is Qur’an Dile (Qur’an killer). Unknown to a few Somalis, the Rendille have two religious holidays, pray five times a day in a Mosque, and still believe they are part and parcel of Somalis. 

The stick called Hangool, is Han (ambition) and Gool (lioness) and it is finely Somali as well. The ancient Pharaohs used to carry Hangool as they had Han or ambition like the lioness that was protective of its cubs. A male lion in the language of Hieroglyphics was known as ‘Aar’, just like in the Somali language. On the same length, like in ancient Egyptians Hieroglyphics, ‘hees’ means a song while male organs is ‘Qoora’. The historic maritime navigation of Queen Hatshepsut to the ‘Land of Punt’ or the ‘Land of Gods’ has a deeper meaning. It is not Punt; it could have been ‘Buun’, meaning the sea shell Somalis use as a trumpet during celebrations or to create awareness in the cases of dangers or something else. If it would have been a single syllabic Bun instead of Buun, it would imply coffee which had not been discovered during that era. The goatee beards worn by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs could have been copied from the Land of Gods.[ii] The logic behind the goatee is that the male goat is responsible for leading the rest of the herd and that he is the Commander-in-Chief. Those who deny that Somalis preceded European civilization deserve to dig into the true history of Somalis.

Adan Makina
Email:adan.makina@gmail.com
WardheerNews

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Reference
[i] Sci-News, Staff (2019). Archaeologists Unearth Ancient, Forgotten City in Eastern Ethiopia. Retrieved from
[ii] Montet, P. (19640. Eternal Egypt, P. 23.