Editing History of Somalia (section)

=== Dervish Movement ===
News of the incident that sparked the Dervish rebellion and the 21 years disturbance according to the consul-general [[James Hayes Sadler (colonial administrator)|James Hayes Sadler]] was spread by Sultan Nur of the [[Habr Yunis]]. The incident in question was that of a group of Somali children that were converted to Christianity and adopted by the French [[Catholic missions|Catholic Mission]] at [[Berbera]] in 1899. Whether Sultan Nur experienced the incident first hand or whether he was told of it is not clear but what is known is that he propagated the incident in the [[Tariqa]] at Kob Fardod in June 1899, precipitating the religious rebellion that later morphed into the Somali Dervish.<ref>F.O.78/5031, Sayyid Mohamad to the Aidagalla, Enclosed Sadler To Salisbury. 69, 20 August 1899.</ref> In one of his letters to [[Deria Hassan|Sultan Deria]] in 1899, Hassan said that the British "''have destroyed our religion and made our children their children''" alluding to Sultan Nur's incident with the Roman French Mission at Berbera. The Dervish soon emerged as an opposition of the Christian activities, defending their version of Islam against the Christian mission.<ref name="Fageoliver2">{{cite book|editor1=J. D. Fage |editor2=A. D. Roberts |editor3=Roland Anthony Oliver|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0zZKCpGmfkC|title=The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 7|date=1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0521225051|page=196}}</ref> In several of his poems and speeches, Hassan insisted that the British and the Christian [[People of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]] in league with the British were bent upon plundering the political and religious freedom of the Somali nation. He soon emerged as "a champion of his country's political and religious freedom, defending it against all Christian invaders." Hassan issued a religious ordinance that any Somali national who did not accept the goal of unity of Somalia and would not fight under his leadership would be considered as ''[[kafir]]'' or ''gaal''. He soon acquired weapons from the Ottoman Empire, Sudan, and other sympathetic Muslim countries, and appointed ministers and advisers to administer different areas or sectors of Somalia. In addition, Hassan gave a clarion call for Somali unity and independence, in the process organizing his follower-warriors. His Dervish movement had an essentially military character, and the [[Dervish movement (Somali)|Dervish movement]] was fashioned on the model of a Salihiya brotherhood. It was characterized by a rigid hierarchy and centralization. Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea; he committed the first attack by launching his first major military offensive with his 1,500 Dervish equipped with 20 modern rifles on the British soldiers stationed in the region.

He repulsed the British in four expeditions and had favorable diplomatic relations with the [[Central Powers]] of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] and [[German Empire]]s.