Farah Omar

Haji Farah Omar
Xaaji Faarax Oomaar
الحاج فارح أومار
Personal details
Born1879
Xagal, Isaaq Sultanate (now Somaliland)
Died1949
Hargeisa, British Somaliland (now Somaliland)

Haji Farah Omar (Somali: Xaaji Faarax Oomaar, Arabic: الحاج فارح أومار) (1879–1949) was a famous politician and Somali nationalist in the former British Somaliland Protectorate (today Somaliland). He was one of the first modern politicians to emerge in the Protectorate and later became one of the first initiators and pioneer leaders of the political struggle between Somali people and colonial forces.[1][2] He is credited for the formation of the first Somali association, the Somali Islamic Association, created in 1925 for publicising Somalis' claim to independence.[3][4][5]

Haji Farah Omar is described in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World as a reformist, modernist Islamic leader.[6] Omar was exiled to Aden by the British administration for his protests against excesses of colonial administration, and campaigning for the improvement of economic facilities and expansion of education in the Protectorate.[7]

Omar visited India in 1930, where he met Mahatma Gandhi and was influenced by Gandhi's non-violent philosophy which he adopted in his campaign in British Somaliland Protectorate.[4]

  1. ^ Touval, Saadia (1963). Somali nationalism: international politics and the drive for unity in the Horn of Africa. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674818255.
  2. ^ Horn of Africa Conflict. Ministry of Information & National Guidance. 1982.
  3. ^ Griffiths, David J. (2002-01-01). Somali and Kurdish Refugees in London: New Identities in the Diaspora. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-1701-3.
  4. ^ a b Uwechue, Raph (1981). Makers of Modern Africa: Profiles in History. Published by Africa Journal Ltd. for Africa Books Ltd. ISBN 978-0-903274-14-2.
  5. ^ Abdullahi (Baadiyow), Abdurahman M. (2015-04-30). THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN SOMALIA. Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-1-912234-03-5.
  6. ^ Esposito, John L. (1995). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World: Sata-Zurk. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506613-5.
  7. ^ Peil, Margaret; Oyeneye, Olatunji Y. (1998). Consensus, Conflict, and Change: A Sociological Introduction to African Societies. East African Publishers. ISBN 978-9966-46-747-8.