Islam and Colonialism

The first states on the Somali coast developed through the interaction between Arab immigrants and local inhabitants between the 8th and 10th centuries AD, and led to the spread of Islam throughout the region. Muslim city-states flourished during the following centuries, becoming important centers of trade and learning. Starting around 1415, conflicts with Christian Ethiopia led to the decline of the Muslim power along the Gulf of Aden. However, Mogadishu and other cities in south-west Somalia continued to thrive for some time, their religiosity reinforced by the growing importance of Sufi Orders. Portuguese rule along the coast disrupted the local economy during the 17th and 18th centuries, but their declining influence after 1728 led to the incorporation of Somalia into the Omani and Turkish spheres of influence. During the late 19th century, European intervention drastically transformed the political landscape of the Horn of Africa. British, French and Italian colonizers competed with Ethiopia for control over the area populated by the Somali clans, leading to the partition of the territory. Somali resistance to this occupation was led by Mahammad Abdille Hasan, the charismatic leader of a Sufi order, who led a violent resistance against the Ethiopians and British that lasted from 1899 to 1920. Italian colonial holdings in southern Somalia were largely spared this violence and became relatively prosperous under Fascist rule. During the Second World War, Italy first conquered and then lost its holdings in the entire Horn of Africa. After the war, Somalia was once again split among the colonial powers, but under a UN mandate that called for independence by 1960. Many Somalis, however, hoped to establish a Greater Somalia encompassing all Somali-populated territories, including those held by Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya.