Islam's Influence On Somali Culture

“[J]ihad united Somali clans against a common enemy, the foreign “infidels,” Ethiopian and European,” according to Fae Miller in a study on the influences of Islam on Somali society (p. 58). While Jihad is only one aspect of Islam; Somalia has been a predominately Muslim country for centuries. It is impossible to examine Somali culture without appreciating the power of clan dynamics and religion and how pervasive they are. Miller’s observation depicts how Islam has been a unifying force susceptible to exploitation from the Abyssinian-Adal War to modern day Al-Shabaab. Regardless of generation spanning clan rivalries, Islam has been “the unifying force capable of transcending clan lines” (Terdman, 2008, p. 11). The examination of the historical context that allowed the Adal Sultanate to unite Somali clans under the banner of Islam to conquer huge swaths of the Ethiopian Empire and later how Al-Shabaab united Somalis on a larger scale to fight AMISOM and European forces demonstrates the magnitude of influence
It raised the smaller force’s morale and proved they could stand up to a superior force. For the next two years, the Adalites continued small skirmishes with the Abyssinians but remained beyond the Ethiopian highlands until the battles of Antukyah and Amba Sel in 1531. Antukya was fought approximately 55 miles south of Lake Hayq and would give al-Ghazi and his army a significant tactical advantage and the momentum needed to gain sizeable territory in Ethiopia from the north. This allowed the Adalites to move into the Ethiopian highlands, where they would kill thousands of soldiers, destroy several historic churches, and oppress the Christian Amhara and Tigray population. Amba Sel was fought by Adalites that traveled from the south. These two battles allowed the Adalites to conquer major parts of Ethiopia in the north as well as the south (Pride,