Reconciliation by removal of the clan tags

[Reeyo]

Asalaamalykum,

 

This may be a pondering thread or it may actually hold a genuine idea either way I have a not a very original idea but one that carry's great weight.

 

First lets take a little history lesson- Seerah of the Prophet sum-up:

 

During the prophet’s time (SWS), Aws and Khazraj were two warring tribes in Yathrib (now called Medina). Approximately, couple of years before their acceptance of Islam the two clans were hard core enemies and had enormous levels of enmity and hatred for each other. During one of the battles (Battle of Bu’ath) both tribes seemed set to annihilate each other.The Aws were supported by the Jewish tribes of Banu Nadir, Banu Qurayza, and by the Arab Bedouins of the Muzayna tribe. The Khazraj on the other hand were supported by other local Bedouin tribes. During the battle, the Aws and their allies initially had to retreat, but then they counterattacked and defeated the Khazraj. During the battle, the leaders of both forces were killed.

Now this has been going for generations and war was a constant reality, the Jewish community waited for the approaching time that would grant them complete control over the oasis- they knew the Arabs would kill each off.

 

The story goes on- To get to the point the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) became their hakam and put in place many measures to reconcile the two. Here is where I draw my idea, after accepting Islam and the hijra, the names Aws and Khazraj disappear and withit the feud.

 

The residents of City of the Prophet became known as the Ansar (Helpers) and the refugees from Mecca and it's surroundings Muhajirun.

 

WHY?- Simple, the intelligence of the Prophet (sws), May Allah grant him the highest statues.

 

In grouping them under the brotherhood pack, and honoring them with a new unified name 'Ansar' the two tribes' hatred for each other was forgotten and Madina flourished.

 

Such a easy thing, centuries later we have similar efforts when the ideology of Statehood was structured.

 

So a solution for Somalia, we all remove the tags of clan of our persons and place it in the rubbish.

 

[Safferz]

Clan names were banned under Siad Barre's government, so people came up with clever ways to speak of clan (not unlike they do here on SOL with terms like "sand-dwellers") or referred to their "ex-" clan. Yet clan emerged with more weight and violence after the collapse than could ever be imagined.

 

I don't think clan can or should be eradicated, it's the divisive and dysfunctional elements that need to be overcome in order to have a functioning state. Somalis have to come to understand that their Somali identity is more significant than their clan identity, otherwise the concept of national citizenship will be lost on them, and state institutions will lack the legitimacy needed to govern. That was my main issue with Doctor Kenney's suggestions in the other thread, imposing order from the top will never work especially in a context where Somalis refuse to tolerate state coercion that reminds them of their past.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Somali its self is a dysfunctional ethnic group, Somali is a language and to some extent an ethnic group depends who u speak to, to others its a Country Somalia to others its not. Siyad bare wuxu yidhi qabiil walaa aasayaa maaalintaasay ba so toostay qabyalaadi lol

Citizenship makes no sense to Somalis to be part of a country the ownership of part of the Land is far more important, thats why Somali ethno nationalism is always destine to fail.

[xabad]

Clan is not the problem, their attitude and temperament is the problem.

They are now misusing religion to cause mayhem, the issue is much deeper and bigger than clan.

[Alpha Blondy]

salaam sister Reeyo.

 

ma ogsoontahay in Rwanda it’s officially illegal to use the terms ”Hutu” or ”Tutsi”. apparently these ”ethnic identifiers” have been removed from all official documentation to ensure equality among the Rwandan people. lakinse, the Hutus are Bantu and the Tutsi are Hamitic. they look strikingly different. so different in fact, it’s a little silly not to call a spade a spade. unless, of course, it’s really a shovel, in which case you ought to call it a shovel instead.

 

how can Rwanda move past the tragedy of 1994 if you can’t even say the words “Hutu” and “Tutsi”? how can you have a meaningful dialogue without them? but if you can’t say the words, aren’t you building a fence around a central part of the discussion?

 

 

the difference between north and south korea has become very stark according to this article i was reading recently. to an outsider its fairly obvious to differentiate between the the ‘peoples’ of korea.

 

the north, according to the findings of this article still maintain a more formal korean language set. the school curriculum is based on formal korean, they’re taught korean in a regimental way including reciting traditional korean poetry by memory. of course, this is infused with the current dictatorship’s political sentiments but its also become a desired ideal particularly from older south koreans. the south due to its ‘developed’ economy speaks a more modern form of korean which the media encourages and the north claims has become diluted and can no longer be deemed ‘korean’. some south.koreas also expressed dissatisfaction with the loss of identity and loss of culture, particularly of young people.

 

similarly, the physical shapes of the two koreas is another big change. the north is said to be gaunt (due to food shortages), fitter (conscription) and ‘agile’, where the south is developing a taller stature, changes in facial looks (more paler and the desired Caucasian look has seen the increase in plastic surgery). the proximity towards warmer climates at the lower end of the peninsula has also seen toning increase in south korea.

 

with the change in physique and the social fabric, the two koreas have become more and more different in a few generations. the article also added the two koreas may experience a change in their ethnic compositions too and this may further lead to ‘new ethnic’ groups of koreans. change is certainly inevitable but with such major changes occurring within 100 years is largely unheard off.

 

i feel the changes in our recent history, particularly the trouble and strife years, may have serious ramification of our own culture.

 

maxaad u maleyn walaashay?

[Reeyo]

Saf, I never knew that, but I know Siyaad was a Social Communist, so I believe there is where the problem is with his policy.

 

I also strongly believe Somalia needs a strong authoritarian governance, nothing less will do. A civil structure needs to be built and a grass-roots approach will just not work, we are not disciplined enough and do not have the capabilities nor skills.

 

Clan needs to be eradicated, everything that is going wrong has one source, it brings all social ills and divides us.

[Alpha Blondy]

<cite>

@Reeyo

said:</cite>

 

Clan needs to be eradicated, everything that is going wrong has one source, it brings all social ills and divides us.

 

on the contrary clan is liberating. it's the only tangible form of identity we have. everything else is fake lakinse qabil is real, sometimes all too real. i don't understand why folks like to silence folks into political correctness.

 

certain clan folks are disgusting. they know who they are. i won't mention their names on here balse we all know who they are.

[Dhagax-Tuur]

That Mr Hargeisa was a good study of people over years.

 

To the poster, need I point the obvious?

 

I ain't going beyond that.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

People are missing the point here with out a clan how can u be a Somali , Somalis are a patrinial society with out a clan you cant be a Somali. Being Somali is belonging to a tribe a sub clan and a sub clan and than hail from a village. For example ninkaasi wa reer hebel wuxu ka yahay reer hebel wuxu ka soo jeeda tuula hebel its an identification. If you say i am a Somali what does that mean?. You cant remove clan identities from Somalis its deeply rooted its most of the time much stronger than the nationality , since Somalis say nationality Somalia and Djibouti and Somaliland nationalism are colonial delineations but our clan and tribal identities predates the nationalism created 100 years ago. in Somalia there is no dominating tribe which is a problem in most countries there are dominating tribe also another problem Somalia is named after its ethnic group. It says Somali but the tribal identity is much and much stronger ,because Somali was never a state for all Somalis , Somalis will identify with their tribe more than anything especially since 1991 and its now interlinked to Politics.

[Alpha Blondy]

^ u sheeg.

 

 

[galbeedi]

The clan tag could be removed. To be realistic , it is difficult, but society is transformed by systems, conditions, technologies and some times selfish interests. If you look back, the Somali technocrats of sixties and early seventies were ashamed to say loudly their clan affiliations.

 

In my opinion, the way of life of the people must be transformed. As Reeyo said, the companion of the prophet were transformed to a group of people who should strive and work for something bigger than their tribe. After the colapse of the people left hostile areas of the country to find sanctuaries in their respective tribal towns.

 

Today the tribe is the de facto social insurance of the individual. If he dies the tribe will bury him, If he feels insecure he will say Tolaa'ayeey and somebody will assist him whether he is wronged or not. Compare this to the modern nation state. If you feel sick you go to hospital, if you feel insecure you call the police and access the justice system. You contribute daily for the well being of the state, because that is your last resort. When you retire and unable to work the state pension will take care of you. All of these makes the citizen to rely on the state. People should have some thing else to replace for their tribal loyalties. We can not ask them to throw their social insurance without replacing some thing more valuable.

 

It could probably take one generation to dismantle certain aspects of tribe, especially if we consider meritocracy on jobs and hiring practices. Those of us who live in north America, we care about the prosperity and well being of the States, provinces and cities we live. Another good news is most of the young are not attached to the tribal tag like their fathers.

 

Why are we the only people who failed once and refusing to start again?. every where nations minimize the sectarian tendencies of their societies. Look at Kenya , when the election dispute became violent , about 1000 people died within two weeks. Who knew if Kofi Anan and others did not rescue it could have been worse.

[Safferz]

Well said, galbeedi. Clan is a base political unit and collective, nothing more. It has also transformed over time and continues to evolve - the qabiil of today is hardly the qabiil of our forefathers, contrary to some of the primordialists in this thread seem to think.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

ofcourse it transformes Somalis are not fighting over camels like in the 18 century but are fighting for other scare resources and tribal homeland. The state and citizenship means little because Somalis do not grasp real statehood that every one is equal to the law and all of that.Somalis love the law of the jungle and he who gets the throne will try to enrich his clan using the state resources to subdue others his opponents , so equality to the state can never exist as people want unless Somalis all change as people and change their behavior which i doubt they can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Khayr]

I am touched by Reeyo's romanticism of Somalis.

Its just that in your example, they were Men of God رجالُ الله.

[Tillamook]

Only laangaabs have beef with Somalia's clan system.