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Abstract
Photomechanical copy of typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, 1972. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 400-412).
... Church-provided schools were established in both the North and South of the country including major towns such as Mogadishu, Berbera, Jowhar, Jamame and others. Christian organizations with strong presences and established schools include the Sudan Interior Mission, the Swedish Overseas Lutheran Church, the Mennonite Mission, and the Roman Catholic Mission, among others (Eby, 1963;Shenk, 1973;Hussein, 2005). ...
Education is a fundamental human right crucial for individual growth and societal progress. In Somalia, modern education started during the colonial era with a focus on producing clerical workers for the colonial administration. Western Christian missionaries arrived to establish "modern schools," but suspicions of Westernization and proselytization led to their expulsion. This case study delves into the history of Somali education, highlighting persistent conflicts over objectives, management, and outcomes. Disagreements persist over language of instruction, curriculum unification, resource sharing, and mandates, hindering effective education implementation. The study adopts a qualitative case study approach, collecting data through interviews to shed light on the complex issues plaguing Somalia's education system. It emphasizes that the system remains rudimentary and reliant on external support due to insufficient local investment and ownership. Notably, the research reveals that parents and guardians invest more in their children's education than the government, challenging the belief that donor organizations heavily fund education in Somalia. The study proposes key recommendations. First, it calls for prioritizing education to meet the needs of all school-age children, including the millions out of school. Second, it suggests increasing the education budget to 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), aligning with neighboring countries' norms. Third, it advocates for clarifying constitutional mandates, roles, responsibilities, and resource sharing at all government levels. In summary, education's pivotal role in human development and societal advancement is underscored in Somalia's context. The study's findings illuminate the historical struggles and current challenges facing the education system, emphasizing the need for increased investment, clear mandates, and resource allocation to ensure quality education for all Somali children and youth. Keywords: History of Somali education, modern education, literacy campaign, post-conflict education, education in fragile states.
The purpose of this biography is to document the life of an ordinary boy who became an extraordinary man. Aweis, courageous yet humble, did not want this biography to be written, but he was dragged into it kicking and screaming. He finally relented and reluctantly started cooperating. This work is intended to benefit present-day and future generations of Somali Christians and the expatriates who love the Somali people. This biography is also a reminder to Somali Muslims that the notion “to be a Somali is to be a Muslim” is erroneous. While I had access to the biographee’s personal voice and contacts, I had the final say in the tone and the content of this book.
Severe persecution has been an on-going phenomenon in Somalia since the disintegration of Somalia‘s central government in 1991. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the persecution of Christians and its influence on the growth of the Church in Somalia. The objectives of the study were to: examine selected episodes of persecution of the church throughout history and their effect on church growth, discover the challenges that persecution poses to the Church in Somalia, determine if the Church in Somalia has a locally developed distinctive theology of persecution, assess the role ministers play in this church during severe persecution, and draw conclusions that could contribute to the understanding of the relationship between Christian persecution and church growth in Somalia. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. A sample of 220 respondents who included Christian clergy, Christian lay leaders, Christian elders, Christian lay members, and Muslims was selected using non-probability sampling methods, namely purposive and convenience sampling methods. Data was collected using open-ended questionnaires. Content and construct validity were ascertained by incorporating the experts‘ opinions, consisting of university supervisors and examiners.
Severe persecution has been an ongoing phenomenon in Somalia since the disintegration of Somalia’s central government in 1991. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of persecution of Christians and its influence on the growth of the Church in Somalia. The objectives of the study were to: examine selected episodes of persecution of the church throughout history and their effect on church growth, discover the challenges that persecution poses to the Church in Somalia, determine if the Church in Somalia has a locally developed distinctive theology of persecution, assess the role ministers play in this church during severe persecution, and draw conclusions that could contribute to the understanding of the relationship between Christian persecution and church growth in Somalia. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. A sample of 220 respondents who included Christian clergy, Christian lay leaders, Christian elders, Christian lay members, and Muslims was selected using nonprobability sampling methods, namely purposive and convenience sampling methods. Data was collected using open-ended questionnaires. Content and construct validity were ascertained by incorporating the experts’ opinions, consisting of university supervisors and examiners.
The researcher, after pretesting the questionnaire in the pilot survey in a city code-named L0, conducted reliability testing using interrater reliability testing since the questionnaire had many open-ended questions. After carrying out the study in three cities code-named L1, L2 and L3, the results so obtained being predominantly qualitative were analysed using Microsoft Excel and Maxqda 2020. The quantitative results were analysed using SPSS 26. Based on the findings of the study, the null hypothesis of this research which states that persecution of Christians is not related to the numerical growth of the targeted Church in Somalia was rejected. On the contrary, the results of the study proved that persecution contributes to the numerical growth of the Church in Somalia. The findings of the study indicated that the church in Somali is a Creative Access Christian (CAC) model with no expatriate and non-Somali membership. The study further indicated that the period between 1994 and 1996 was the period when the church experienced the greatest persecution (65%); and there was evidence that this persecution led to a period of sustained growth, as reported by 6.7% of believers who reported coming to faith between 1900 and 2000; 26.3% between 2000 and 2010, and 67.5% of respondents who were believers for less than ten years.
The data collected suggest that an understanding of extreme persecution, martyrdom, and the way in which those events gave birth to their community of faith is a foundational part of the identity and the collective memory of the Somali CAC believing community. The research recommendations are that the Somali Church must live a Christ-like life, facilitate an effective interfaith dialogue, harness the provisions of the clan system, and have a good relationship with the government. The study recommends the use of interfaith dialogue (IFD) to create an IFD movement of all people in Somalia. This IFD incorporates active nonviolence with inclusivity which reduces exclusivity of the Muslim majority allowing religious pluralism in the context of IFD. This study will therefore contribute to the understanding of the relationship between persecution and church growth in the Somali context.
The Somali Bible Society Journal is the official biannual journal of the Somali Bible Society.
This issue is: Volume II, Issue 1, June 2021
The purpose of this article is to highlight the benefits of denominational ministries among Somali people. There has been a trendy policy among some mission organizations since 1950s that insists on not planting denominational churches among Somalis but to encourage only generic Christianity with no denominational labels and foundation. Such mission organizations very rarely attempted even to call the fruits of their labour "churches" identifying them instead as “fellowships.” Missionaries avoided calling the organized, regular gathering of Somali Christians “church” since recognizing the gathering as such could result in a community of faith with its own unified doctrinal and theological persuasions.
For many people, “Somali” and “Christian” are oxymoron but history is littered with enough evidence that this assumed oxymoron is one big fallacy. The purpose of this brief history is to highlight the long and consistent engagement of Christian missions among Somali people in the Horn of Africa. This work will review few of the most prominent mission organizations among Somali people, the challenges and success of these organizations in Islamic Somalia. This review will also elaborate the rebirth of the Protestant mission work in Somalia in the 1950’s and the impact the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991 still has on the church in Somalia. Somalia has 128 years of continuous Christian presence which started in 1881. Unbeknownst to many, there are numerous established Christian house-churches in Somalia today. While the exact number of these Somali Christian congregations in Somalia is hard to know, estimates range from few dozens to several dozens. There are also thriving Somali Christian congregations in the Somali inhabited regions of Kenya and Ethiopia. Sustained missionary work among Somalis started in northern Somalia in 1881 when Roman Catholic fathers opened an orphanage in what was then British Somaliland. The first Protestant mission work was established in southern Somalia in 1896 when Swedish Overseas Lutheran Church (SOLC) opened mission work in what was then Italian Somaliland. While the Roman Catholic mission quickly faced intense objections from the local Somalis, the SOLC encountered minimum opposition from the local people. Through their orphanage ministry, the Roman Catholics witnessed the conversion of many children while the ministry of SOLC produced numerous adult believers in a short span of time. Both mission organizations were eventually expelled from the Somali lands by the colonial powers but some of the local Christian communities they left behind hung onto the faith despite the intense persecutions they faced from the Somali Muslims
(PDF) A Brief History of Christian Missions in Somalia. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349870794_A_Brief_History_of_Christian_Missions_in_Somalia [accessed Mar 08 2021].
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