THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN SOMALIA: A Study of the Islah Movement, 1950-2000
Author :
By Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow)
There is very little scholarship on the history of political Islam in Somalia that takes seriously both historical forces as well as the very ideas and internal organization of the Islamic movements. This book reconstructs the history of modern and moderate Islamic movement in Somalia. It covers 50 years of turbulent Somali history, in which civilian governments, military dictatorships, armed opposition factions, and Islamic movements were interacting and shaping the Somali history. It divides Islamic development in Somalia into four historical periods: the Islamic revival (1800-1950), the Islamic consciousness ( 1950-1967), the Islamic awakening (1967-1978) and the Islamic movements (1978-2000).
The book provides a detailed and empirically rich narrative of the Islah Movement as a case study which has influenced and made an impact on other Islamist organizations in recent decades. The author provides an insider's view of the Islamic Movement being one of the leaders of Islah.
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Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow) was born in 1954 in Somalia. He combines a rare quality of being a military officer (19971-1986) and electronic engineer with being an Islamic scholar and activist.
Dr Abdullahi obtained MA &PhD in Modern Islamic History from the Islamic Institute, McGill University, Canada. He is one of the founders of the Mogadishu University and currently the Chairman of its Board of Trustees. He was a presidential candidate in the 2012 election in Somalia and also the leader and founder of the National Unity Party since 2014.
Besides a political career, civil society activism and being one of the Islah Movement leaders, Dr. Abdullahi is a prominent Islamic scholar who has contributed immensely in the development of Somali studies. He has participated in many academic conferences and has published a number of academic papers, book chapters and feature articles in Arabic, Somali and English languages.