Lessons from Orientalism and its application to Somalis

[Periplus]

For those of you who have not come across this book, Orientalism is a 1978 book by Edward Said in which he critiques the Western study of the Orient.

To boil down what he said to a sentence or two: Said asserted that despite colonisation being over, the West still treats the Orient (rest) in a condescending manner, especially towards how Westerners study the Arab/Muslim/Asian world. When the British set out to colonise, they learnt as much about their soon to be colonies with the preconceived notion of superiority which translated to their academia and still impacts academic discourse today.

The book became a fundamental reading for anyone looking into post-colonialism and very applicable to Somalis.

Similar to the Orient, Somalis have a problem with Orientalism. During the Scramble for Africa, British travellers such as Richard Burton visited what is now Somalia and wrote about it from a preconceived notion of superiority. Today, his book "First Footsteps in East Africa" is still cited in writings about Somali people and even used in FKD on this forum, in spite of his dismissive attitude.

Even today, the Somali studies field is dominated by non-Somalis, essentially handing over the narrative of our culture and history to foreigners with preconceived notion. These academics will read kacaan-era books about Somalis which cite colonial-era books about Somalis to write their modern books about Somalis, which may not even be an accurate reflection.

This is why I recommend every Somali to read Orientalism by Edward Said as it will allow us to learn how other societies took back the telling of their narrative.

Orientalism (book) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Periplus]

This one of the turning points for me vis a vis Orientalism and Somalis.

Sir Richard Burton, author of "First Footsteps in Africa" claimed in 1856 that Somalis were superstitious for believing mosquitoes cause malaria.

In 1902, British doctor Ronald Ross wins Nobel prize for making the link between malaria and mosquitoes. Something Somalis discovered at least half a century ago.

Ronald Ross did not discover the Malaria - Mosquito link, he was the first European to.

This is the whole point of Orientalism.

 

[Aurelian]

For those of you who have not come across this book, Orientalism is a 1978 book by Edward Said in which he critiques the Western study of the Orient.

To boil down what he said to a sentence or two: Said asserted that despite colonisation being over, the West still treats the Orient (rest) in a condescending manner, especially towards how Westerners study the Arab/Muslim/Asian world. When the British set out to colonise, they learnt as much about their soon to be colonies with the preconceived notion of superiority which translated to their academia and still impacts academic discourse today.

The book became a fundamental reading for anyone looking into post-colonialism and very applicable to Somalis.

Similar to the Orient, Somalis have a problem with Orientalism. During the Scramble for Africa, British travellers such as Richard Burton visited what is now Somalia and wrote about it from a preconceived notion of superiority. Today, his book "First Footsteps in East Africa" is still cited in writings about Somali people and even used in FKD on this forum, in spite of his dismissive attitude.

Even today, the Somali studies field is dominated by non-Somalis, essentially handing over the narrative of our culture and history to foreigners with preconceived notion. These academics will read kacaan-era books about Somalis which cite colonial-era books about Somalis to write their modern books about Somalis, which may not even be an accurate reflection.

This is why I recommend every Somali to read Orientalism by Edward Said as it will allow us to learn how other societies took back the telling of their narrative.

Orientalism (book) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It always amazed me that we use his book as FKD material

 

[Periplus]

It always amazed me that we use his book as FKD material

Not only his but a lot of other "Orientalist" books.

These men were writing about Somalis with an air of superiority and were dismissive of any positive aspects of Somali culture/history.

As long as we continue to study the foreigners description of us as a legitimate narrative of our history then we will remain somewhat mentally colonised.

The Arab world and the Indian sub-continent have experienced a large post-colonial academic awakening since colonisation but Somalia has yet to experience it. Until we take control of our narrative, we should resist the use of these orientalist books that hold nefarious colonialist intent.

 

[Periplus]

Before I go to bed, I will attach a minor but also influential post-colonialist paradigm shift in the Somali academic community.

The cadaan studies controversy.

This controversy stemmed from the formation of the Somaliland Journal of African Studies and its initial publication. Despite being set up in collaboration with the Uni of Hargeisa, none of the editorial board were Somali, all but three Ethiopians were cadaan.

This resulted in Somali historian Safia Aidid critiquing the #CadaanStudies on social media. One of the editorial board members responded claiming that there were no Somali social scientists and that cadaans will dominate the discussion until it happens.

Long story short, he got into a twitter war with Somalis until he said:

"Fine, I will go. You and your friends can talk about a stupid white man who is colonising you, but I think that when you are finished talking about colonialism, you will go back to your Somali tribalism"

As a result, numerous Somali academics and social scientists wrote an open letter about this phenomena and #cadaanstudies became a heated topic of conversation.

Here is a full break down of what "cadaan studies" means and the saga.

Can the Somali Speak?

The hashtag #CadaanStudies put the spotlight on the domination of Somali Studies by whites scholars.

africasacountry.com

 

[Apollo]

I will read this book this week. Will let you know what I learned from it.

 

[Periplus]

I will read this book this week. Will let you know what I learned from it.

If you would like, here is a 7 minute video summarising Edward Said and Orientalism.

Skip to 3:00, if you just want to listen to Orientalism review.

Suggest everyone else who is interested to watch also.

 

[Sheikh Google]

Gonna add to my read list thank you once again my fellow cultured sxb.

 

[RajaaSom]

Orientalism is a foreign concept. It is an ideology that is anti- Islamic nd not a nationality.

 

[Apollo]

A few pages in, so far it reminds me of the antithesis of Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations.

 

[Periplus]

A few pages in, so far it reminds me of the antithesis of Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations.

That's a very apt description even though I'm pretty sure Orientalism precedes Huntington's book.

Bernard Lewis who was one of the originators of the term "Clash of Civilisations" was cited as an example of an orientalist scholar by Said, hence why I think the description is apt.

Edit: This what Said said in response to Huntington's book "the purest invidious racism, a sort of parody of Hitlerian science directed today against Arabs and Muslims"

 

[Periplus]

Orientalism is a foreign concept. It is an ideology that is anti- Islamic nd not a nationality.

Yes, which is why we should get rid of it in Somalia.

It is not only against Islam or anything from the "rest" but prevents us from having any renaissance or rebirth of our own.

 

[Gadhwayne]

Spoiler

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Colonialist trained African statesmen made sure their nations would never progress by banning their own indigenous languages. Another problem of colonial borders by requiring multiple ethnicities to use only a neutral/colonizer's language