Bashir Yussuf

Sheikh Bashir Yussuf (Somali: Sheekh Bashiir Yuusuf, Arabic: الشيخ يوسف بشير‎‎, born c. 1905 in Taleh, northern Somalia) was a Somali religious leader.

Biography

In 1945, Yussuf emerged as a leader in the former British Somaliland. Yussuf, who is said to have been related to Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan on his mother's side, was devoutly religious and of a philosophical nature, a conscientious practitioner of the mystical sect of Salihiyya based in Saudi Arabia.

The popular impression at the time among the British colonial officials in Burao was the nationalistic teachings of Farah Omaar. Conversely, Yussuf was collecting arms and men with a view to establish his authority over the northeast portion of the protectorate. It was also freely rumoured that it was his ultimate goal to drive out the British; he was strong enough to lead a religious expedition against British rule. He organized headquarters in the east of the Burao region of the former British Somaliland, and quickly attracted a following because of his genius and religious influence.

During May 1945, Yussuf's force raided the European officials and military areas like the District Commissioner's residence in Burao. Before being counterattacked, Yussuf managed to move his troops during the night and retreated to his domain. His force was greatly outnumbered, possibly by hundreds. These men held a number of hills, which rose steeply from the light bush beside the wide sandy riverbed, which is known as Togdheer. There were only a few men to cover a front of 900 yards, and most of them had never been in action before, but they were determined that no British troops should force their way in unchallenged. The fight they gave was a lesson in determination which the British troops signally failed to emulate. Yussuf himself was in his natural element when fighting in the bush, but here he was given a position to hold and had no opportunity to use his bush tactics.

The British campaign against Yussuf's troops proved abortive after several defeats as his forces kept moving from place to place and avoiding any permanent location. No sooner had the expedition left the area, than the news traveled fast among the Somali nomads across the plain. The war had exposed the British administration to humiliation. The government came to a conclusion that another expedition against him would be useless; that they must build a railway, make roads and effectively occupy the whole of the protectorate, or else abandon the interior completely. The latter course was decided upon, and during the first months of 1945, the advance posts were withdrawn and the British administration confined to the coast town of Berbera.

Yussuf settled many disputes among the tribes in the vicinity, which kept them from raiding each other. He was generally thought to settle disputes through the use of Islamic Sharia. He was attributed with the possession of supernatural powers, and gathered around him a strong following.

Death

The British administration recruited Indian and South African troops to fight against Yussuf and had intelligence plans to capture him alive. When he was eventually killed, Yussuf became a martyr and was held in great reverence. His family took quick action to remove his body from the place of his death at Geela-E.g. mountain, about 20 miles from Burao.

References

• A. Ibraham Mohamed (Qorade), A Nation in Tatters: Somalia, 2008