Divine Madness Mohammed Abdulle Hassan (1856-1920) by Abdi Sheik-Abdi. London: Zed Books Ltd., 1993, 226 pp.

Abstract

This book is a welcome addition to the few book-length biographies
of important African historical figures. The study, which consists of an
introduction and six chapters, offers a fresh and balanced perspective on
one of Africa's most controversial nationalists: Mohammed Abdulle
Hassan, the mullah of present-day Somalia. Not only is he relevant to
understanding modem Somali nationalism, but he also occupies a significant
role in the wider context of African resistance to western imperialism.
In brief, he represents the clash between Islamic and western values in
colonial Africa.
Divine Madness begins with an examination of the early, colonial,
and contemporary literature on the subject in various languages. In fact,
one of its strengths is the author's use of a variety of foreign and indigenous
sources. Sheik-Abdi draws extensively on archival and documentary
data in Italian, Arabic, English, French, and Somali. Moreover, he
incorporates oral accounts from Somalis to complement his archival
and documentary research, a method that enhances the indigenous perspective
on Mohammed Abdulle Hassan and his activities in the Horn
of Africa.
In addition, the author presents, in the first and second chapters, an
overview of Somaliland in its historical context. This serves as the background
in recounting Hassan’s life and times. Along with a detailed
examination of the Cushitic inhabitants of Somaliland, Sheik- Abdi discusses
the background to the mullah-led Dervish uprising by focusing on
the European colonization of Somaliland and its attendant problems.
Perhaps the main response of the colonized Cushitic people to western
imperialism was a deeper and more intense commitment to Islam and
pan-Islamic unity, which brought about religious militancy and revivalism ...