Moreover, it is a concept created outside of the Somali peninsula. It was created by foreigners (namely, the Italians) in order to give legitimacy to a central governing authority that ruled over all of the Somali peninsula and people who have absolutely nothing to do with each other. It is also based on the childish myth of the existence of a Somali ethnic group, which itself is a concoction by foreigners that was imposed on the diverse peoples living in the Somali peninsula.
Ever wonder why German nationalism or say Japanese nationalism has such a unifying effect on the people and is largely a successful political agenda, but Somali nationalism does not and has failed every time it has been tried? Because the former two are actually based on solid ideas (i.e the existence of a German and Japanese ethnic group), while the latter is based on nothing substantive. Before the foreigners came to the Somali peninsula, no prominent intellectual or leader acknowledged the existence of a 'Somali' people or a 'Somali' identity. It was only a language spoken by largely unrelated and diverse peoples with vastly different ethnic origins and heritages. It's not unlike the situation in South America where people of completely different ethnic origins and heritages all speak the same language and broadly practice the same set of customs and culture. That doesn't mean you can ever unify all of these peoples as under the 'Spanish' ethnicity and under one country because that would simply never work or be accepted by the masses.
@Somali nationalists: How can you continue to push for a concept that has failed time and time again and is not based on modern facts and reason, but rather emotion and myths? Qabil is the only thing that has any substance in the Somali peninsula, and qabil states/kingdoms are the only type of governance the people have historically accepted and with a track record of long-term success. If there is anything close to the idea of an ethnic group as understood by most, it would most certainly be equivalent to the vastly different tribes (Hawiye, Darod, Isaac, etc) that reside in the Somali peninsula.
Ever wonder why German nationalism or say Japanese nationalism has such a unifying effect on the people and is largely a successful political agenda, but Somali nationalism does not and has failed every time it has been tried? Because the former two are actually based on solid ideas (i.e the existence of a German and Japanese ethnic group), while the latter is based on nothing substantive. Before the foreigners came to the Somali peninsula, no prominent intellectual or leader acknowledged the existence of a 'Somali' people or a 'Somali' identity. It was only a language spoken by largely unrelated and diverse peoples with vastly different ethnic origins and heritages. It's not unlike the situation in South America where people of completely different ethnic origins and heritages all speak the same language and broadly practice the same set of customs and culture. That doesn't mean you can ever unify all of these peoples as under the 'Spanish' ethnicity and under one country because that would simply never work or be accepted by the masses.
@Somali nationalists: How can you continue to push for a concept that has failed time and time again and is not based on modern facts and reason, but rather emotion and myths? Qabil is the only thing that has any substance in the Somali peninsula, and qabil states/kingdoms are the only type of governance the people have historically accepted and with a track record of long-term success. If there is anything close to the idea of an ethnic group as understood by most, it would most certainly be equivalent to the vastly different tribes (Hawiye, Darod, Isaac, etc) that reside in the Somali peninsula.
