The Zack Posted June 23, 2008 Sunday, June 22, 2008 Sheikh Ibrahim Abdalla Mah, the 1991-98 chairman and spiritual leader of the ****** National Liberation Front (ONLF), died this morning in Abu Dhabi. The 67-year-old was among the founding members of the Ethiopian Somali rebel group, now posing a serious threat to the Ethiopian army. Mr Ibrahim Abdalla Mohamed "Mah" belonged to the Somali minority in Ethiopia, which is mainly living in the ****** region. The scholar, who had studied in a Mecca university, became engaged in Somali nationalist politics in the 1970s, shortly after his return to ******. In 1984, the ONLF was founded to fight against the Derg, the military dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, and Mr Ibrahim was one of six founding members. The ONLF was one of the major forces behind the 1991 defeat of the Derg, together with current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF). The fall of the Derg coincided with the election of Mr Ibrahim as chairman of the ONLF, a position he held until 1998. He presided over the decision to take part in the Ethiopian elections and opted for peace in 1991. But he also presided over the decision to wage an armed struggle after an Ethiopian government attack on ONLF headquarters. The ONLF and the people of the ****** town of Wardheer saved Sheikh Ibrahim from an assassination attempt by the Ethiopian Army in February 1994. More than 80 civilians from Wardheer died in saving him. The attack hardened the ****** Somali people's insistence on independence from Ethiopia and greatly served to make the ONLF a force recognised by most ****** Somalis as representing them as a nation. An ONLF spokesman today told afrol News that Mr Ibrahim is considered one of the greatest leader figures of the ******, both as an ONLF leader and as a spiritual leader. "Sheikh Ibrahim was a father, a leader and a very spiritual person who believed in tolerance and the right of all people to live together peacefully," the spokesman said. Mr Ibrahim was open to a solution of Ethiopian rule over an autonomous ****** - a region that is relatively homogenously inhabited by Somalis - instead of an attachment to a Greater Somalia. "He believed that free people who form voluntary associations is the best solution to the problems in the Horn of Africa," the ONLF spokesman told afrol News. After retiring from the ONLF leadership in 1998, Mr Ibrahim moved to the Arab Emirates, where he continued doing representation work for the nationalist movement and was engaged in writing books and articles. Since 2007, the conflict in ****** has intensified strongly, with the ONLF launching several major and successful attacks on the Ethiopian Army. ONLF is currently led by Chairman Mohamed Osman, who is a stronger advocate for total independence from Ethiopia and is known for a more militant view than Mr Ibrihim. Source: afro News, June 22, 2008 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Abtigiis Posted June 23, 2008 ^ Sheekh Ibrahim Cabdall geesi iyo waxgarad. Iyo nin ilaahay. Your legacy will live on. Alla yarxam! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Zack Posted June 23, 2008 ^He will be missed indeed but his legacy will stay like you said. Allaha u naxariisto! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Zack Posted June 23, 2008 The Background of Sheikh Ibrahim Sh. Ibrahim Abdalla was born in Qalaafo (Kelafo) ****** in 1941. He finished his primary education in the ****** and went for further studies to Saudi Arabia in 1958 where he did his secondary education and University. He graduated From Imam Mohamed Bin-Sacud University in Mecca in 1970. In 1973 he came to Somalia and became a teacher in the Secondary Schools in Hargheisa-Northern Somalia. He joined WSLF in 1976 and became WSLF representative in Abu Dhabi in 1981. He was also elected to the Central Committee of WSLF. In 1984 Sh. Ibrahim Abdalla became one of the Founding members of ONLF. He came to the ****** and attended the First ONLF Congress in the ****** in 1991 and was elected its chairman. He was the Chairman of ONLF until 1998. He retained his Central Committee seat and was an active member of ONLF until he deceased. 1n 1999 he formed the institute of Strategic Studies of the Horn of Africa. Sh. Ibrahim abdallah was a writer and wrote the following books and many articles in different newspapers in the Middle East. Sh. Ibrahim Abdalla strongly believed in the Right to self-determination and freedom of the Somali people under Ethiopian rule. Sh. Ibrahim spirit will always be beside the Somali Fighters in the ******. Sh. Ibrahim Abdalla left behind four boys and four girls and their off springs who reside in Kenya, UK, USA and Ireland. Some of the Books Sh. Ibrahim wrote are 1. The Third Defeat of the Abyssinians -1982 in Arabic 2. Explaining the History (of the Struggle). Somali & Arabic 1992 3. Explaining the History (of the Struggle). Somali & Arabic 1992 4. ******ia Stops the Ethiopians- Somali 1996 5. The Sum of Books (History of the Struggle) 2001. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Som@li Posted June 23, 2008 Rabi ha u naxariisto. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thierry. Posted June 23, 2008 Inah Illahi wa ina Illah rajicun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted June 23, 2008 ALLAH HA U NAXARIISTO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nephissa Posted June 23, 2008 Janadii Fardowsa Allaha Geeyo. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xiinfaniin Posted June 23, 2008 Sh. Ibrahim allaha u naxariisto. He was a very brave man. Remember the battle of Wardheer. Allow janadii gee... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paragon Posted June 23, 2008 Aamiin ducada Allahayoow! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qandalawi Posted June 23, 2008 Inaa Lilaahi waa inaa Ilayhi raajicuun... I didn't know the Marxuum but reading his CV shows how great and resourcful the man was to the Somali community... Allhow kuu naxariiso, Aamin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Haneefah Posted June 24, 2008 He was a great leader. May Allah forgive him and have mercy on his soul. I am expected to call the family, but quite honestly, I find it difficult to give condolences in person. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faarax-Brawn Posted June 24, 2008 Brave Great Leader,ilaah dambigiisa dhaafo. Originally posted by Haneefah: He was a great leader. May Allah forgive him and have mercy on his soul. I am expected to call the family, but quite honestly, I find it difficult to give condolences in person. Brave it,its even worse if you dont call dear. Do the usual gig & say-- ilaahay sabar iyo imaan haa kaa siyo, kulu nafsu da'iqatal mawt,kuligeen ayuu naga dhintay & May allah grant him Jannah.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
