Halima aden upset at being called of Arab origin

[Som]

Maybe its because we are in the Arab league they just automatically think we are Arab.

From my experience it depends which arab country we consider. Some of them think we are arabs some others don't.
Most maghrebis(moroccan, tunisians and Algerians) don't really know much about us and assume we are just african muslims
-many egyptians are genuinely convinced we are arab to the point they will start speaking arabic when they meet a somali. They even get surprised if you say you dont know arabic.They think we are some kind of black arabs like the sudanese.
-most Sudanese, Saudis and Yemenis know who we are and don't consider us arab but still feel we are connected to their culture.
The rest of the arab world(Syria,Iraq, palestine, Lebanon etc ) either don't know much about us or think we are some kind of afro-arabs.
But most in my experience most of them don't really consider us arabs except for egyptians

 

[Apollo]

@Apollo

Arabs have a hierarchy with North Africans at the bottom as entertainers and mistresses. Black people? Slaves, maids and charity cases.

Somalis have everything to lose by claiming Arab.

For Somali celebrities or politicians in the West they shouldn't deny it/speak badly about it, as just going along with those identities could help them with their career (i.e. getting more fans or voters from those demographics).

 

[Som]

really? Do they claim Oromos as arabs? What about Habeshas?? They are more closely related to arabs than we are.

They don't claim oromos because only half of them are muslim and they are also newer to islam since the converted only about 400-300 years ago
Somalis have a much longer islamic history and trade relation with arabs.
Habeshas on the other hand have nothing to do with modern arabs , they sre related to pre islamic semitic groups which may sound like it's the same but it's not. Habeshas are also christian so arab muslims have no interest in claiming them.
However some muslim groups in eritrea (beja and tigré) may be associated with arabs because of their culture

 

[Som]

There are several reasons why some arabs think somalis are also arabs:
1) all somali clans claim arab lineage from the prophets family, none of this is proven but it seems some arabic sources accept Darood claims. Some other arabic sources like the book of zanj describe somalis as being arabs. Some Yemeni tribes also accept Darood as having arab origins or at least they accept a cultural link, even though we should take this too seriously.This is very similar to some pakistani and indian muslim tribes who claim arab descent, they know it's false or at least shady but they have told this lie for so long that everyone pretends to believe it.
2) the somali elites before Independence used arabic as a second language and often traveled a lot to the arab world. Every written corrispondence before Independence in Somalia was written either in arabic or in af somali with arabic characters. Most of the sultanates in modern day somalia like Ajuran, Adal, ifat etc used Arabic and had trade relations with arabs
3) Somalis are heavily arabized because of islam and geographic proximity to the arab world. Somalis became more arabized in the last 200 years or so, but we have been in close contact with arabs for more than 10 centuries
4) Somalia joined the arab league. Actually when we joined we were accepted mainly for the reasons I stated above, the Arab League members probably didn't consider us as legit arabs but it was close enough for them. They probably wouldn't have admit other muslim subsaharan countries except Somalia and Djibouti. Countries like Senegal or Mali wouldn't have been accepted because their historical cultural ties with the arab world are much weaker.
In conclusion, we are NOT arabs not linguistically, not culturally and not ethnically however we are the most arabized non-arab subsaharan African nation

 

[Som]

For Somali celebrities or politicians in the West they shouldn't deny it/speak badly about it, as just going along with those identities could help them with their career (i.e. getting more fans or voters from those demographics).

I don't mind if people think we are arabs but it can be difficult in the west for somalis to be labeled as such. Currently somalis suffer both anti black and anti arab stereotypes

 

[Apollo]

In conclusion, we are NOT arabs not linguistically, not culturally and not ethnically however we are the most arabized non-arab subsaharan African nation

Chad (the country, not the meme) is also fairly Arabized. They speak even more Arabic there than in Somalia, but because they look 'too black' and the presence of 39% Christianity they are usually not listed as an Arab country.

 

[Som]

Chad is also fairly Arabized and they speak even more Arabic there than in Somalia, but because they look 'too black' and the presence of 39% Christianity they are usually not listed as an Arab country.

Chad is different. They speak arabic for the same reason they speak french, they use it as a lingua franca because they have different languages.
Black chadians include nilosaharian speakers who don't have much to do with arabs except for islam
Arab chadians are basically like the sudanese, they are afroarabs and some of them are just arabic speaking blacks almost indistinguishable from other black folks, but most of them have some arab admixture.
Tuaregs are basically berber+africans and are partially arabised.
Chad has an observer status in the arab league though. I think the main reason why they aren't considered arabs is because the arabs themselves never saw any connection with black chadians and viceversa black chadians never claimed arab origins

 

[Apollo]

@Som

Do you think Eritrea has a shot of obtaining full membership? They got 50% Muslims + those Christian Habeshas with Yemenite ethnogenesis stories.

 

[Sloane Ranger]

There are several reasons why some arabs think somalis are also arabs:
1) all somali clans claim arab lineage from the prophets family.

Hawiyes do not claim to be Arab. Stop the lies.

 

[Apollo]

Hawiyes do not claim to be Arab. Stop the lies.

Some Somalis claim that Samaale was an Arab. Not joking, look up the Samaale wikipedia page.

 

[Som]

@Som

Do you think Eritrea has a shot of obtaining full membership? They got 50% Muslims + those Christian Habeshas with Yemenite ethnogenesis stories.

If they were muslim majority they would already be part of the Arab League. I don't think they will obtain full membership though. First of all as you said half of them are christian and the main issue is also that their ruling class is mostly composed of tigrigna Christians.
When it comes to the yemenite origins of habesha I don't think arabs care about that, as i said habeshas have a pre arabic semitic influence (which is by the way exaggerated) ans arabs are probably more interested in a connection with modern arabs.
Anyway if Afars had their own country i think they would definitely be accepted , same with Tigré muslims and Bejas in eritrea. Even Hararis ethiopians would certainly be part of the arab league if they had a country

 

[Sloane Ranger]

Some Somalis claim that Samaale was an Arab. Not joking, look up the Samaale wikipedia page.

I have seen that page. But I meant Hawiyes specifically do not say our forefather was an Arab immigrant and so on.

 

[Som]

Hawiyes do not claim to be Arab. Stop the lies.

Most of them don't but Hawiye are from Samaale who is considered to be son of Hiil who allegedly migrated from Yemen before islam and was a descendent of Aqil ibn Abu Taleb. Samaale had a brother named Sab who is considered the fore father of most rahanweyn
All ethnic somalis are paternally either Samaale (Dir+Hawiye) Sab(rahanweyn) or Darood and all of these claim arabic origins.
Smaller ethnic somali clans like sheekhaal, Ajuran who associate with Hawiye also claim arab origins. Let alone benadiris who truly have arab ancestry.
Basically the only people in somalia who don't have arab ancestry mythologies are Jarrweyne

 

[Apollo]

Let alone benadiris who truly have arab ancestry.

There are also shenanigans going on with Benadiris. Many of them are not paternally Arabian, but are paternally Uzbek, Somali, Iranian, Swahili, Pakistani, Indian.

 

[Som]

I would also say that the main reason we aren't arab today is because luckily we were never conquered by them. Arab immigrants in somalia influenced us but never colonised us, actually they assimilated with us as you can see with benadiris who speak somali as their first language. If the arab empires conquered somalia like they did with Sudan we would be considered legit arabs , luckily it didn't happen.
All arabs are actually arabized non arabs like berbers in north africa, nubians in sudan, copts in egypt, assyrians and other pre arab semites in Syria,Lebanon Iraq etc. The only true arabs are Gulf Arabs+Saudis (but some of them have persian roots) and Yemenis.

 

[Finesse]

Well done Halima

We are not Arabs.

That said, our culture is much closer to Arab culture than it ever would be to other Africans, aside from Cushitic Muslims.

Anyways, you will only get humiliation out of claiming something you are not.

 

[Sloane Ranger]

Most of them don't but Hawiye are from Samaale who is considered to be son of Hiil who allegedly migrated from Yemen before islam and was a descendent of Aqil ibn Abu Taleb. Samaale had a brother named Sab who is considered the fore father of most rahanweyn
All ethnic somalis are paternally either Samaale (Dir+Hawiye) Sab(rahanweyn) or Darood and all of these claim arabic origins.
Smaller ethnic somali clans like sheekhaal, Ajuran who associate with Hawiye also claim arab origins. Let alone benadiris who truly have arab ancestry.
Basically the only people in somalia who don't have arab ancestry mythologies are Jarrweyne

We are of course descendants of Samaale but we are not on the Ana Arab bandwagon. So it doesn't apply to us.

 

[Som]

There are also shenanigans going on with Benadiris. Many of them are not paternally Arabian, but are paternally Uzbek, Somali, Iranian, Swahili, Pakistani, Indian.

Yes, benadiris are confederation basically, i think they don't even have actual arabic abtirsis like other somalis.
What about the Ashraaf ? I'm not familiar with them but they claim to have arab ancestry and are associated with the prophet. Their claim seems to be stronger than Darood claims but when you see them most Ashraaf don't even look benadiri. They are basically indistinguishable from other Somalis

 

[Apollo]

I would also say that the main reason we aren't aran today is because luckily we were never conquered by them. Arab immigrants in somalia influenced us but never colonised, actually they assimilated with us as you can see with benadiris who speak somali as their first language. If the arab empires conquered somalia like they did with Sudan we would be considered legit arabs , luckily it didn't happen.
All arabs are actually arabized non arabs like berbers in north africa, nubians in sudan, copts in egypt, assyrians and other pre arab semites in Syria,Lebanon Iraq etc. The only true arabs are Gulf Arabs+Saudis (but some of them have persian roots) and Yemenis.

It could also be because Somaliweyn is disconnected from the rest of the Arab world. Notice that the areas where Arabic is spoken as a first language are on a continuous landmass. If Ethiopia got Arabized and North Sudan to Somalia were on a continuous L1 Arabic linguistic zone, then it probably would have happened (language shift).

 

[Som]

We are of course descendants of Samaale but we are not on the Ana Arab bandwagon. So it doesn't apply to us.

it's true that you guys don't usually claim to have arab roots but the myth of Samaale having arab ancestry is common knowledge among all somali clans.There is also another tradition mentioned by historians were Samaale is described as son of Hiil son og Ram Nag who was allegedly an Ethiopian(local horn african) or an Arab.