Asharaf
The Asharaf, also spelled Ashraf (from the
sharīf, an originally Arabic term designating those who claim descent from the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1]
Belonging to the larger group of Somali clans living in the southern parts of the country called the Benadiri, they fall outside of the traditional Somali clan structures and are often marginalized within Somalia.[2] As a minority, they have been the target of violent Islamist groups such as the al-Shabaab.[3]
Contrary to most other
Fatima.[5] Like the claims of other Somali clans in this regard, this alleged genealogy is historically untenable.[6]
Clan structure
The claimed genealogical structure of the Asharaf clan is as follows:[7]
- Hasan ibn Ali
- Mohamed Sharif
- Sharif Ali
- Sharif Ahmed
- Ashraf Sarman
- Unnamed others
- Husayn ibn Ali
- Reer Sharif Magbuul
- Sharif Ahmed
- Sharif Balaaw
- Unnamed others
Notable figures
- Sharif Hassan[8]
- Ashraf poet, mystic and Islamic scholar. She composed her poetry in the Bravanese dialect spoken in Barawa.[9]
- Sharif Aydurus, a famous scholar of Islamic and Somali history and pan-Islamic leader[10]
- Shariif Imaankeey, Mayor of Mogadishu from September 1963–1965
- Shariif Caydaruus, Mayor of Mogadishu from 1966–1970
See also
- Demographics of Somalia
- Samaale, legendary forefather of many other Somali clans, also claimed to be descended from the (wider) family of Muhammad
- Sharif, the Arabic word from which the clan derives its name
References
- ^ Lewis 2008, p. 5; Mukhtar 2003, pp. 11, 68. On the two spellings, cf. also Anon. A 2010, p. 1.
- ^ Abbink 2009, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Yoshimura 2009, pp. 19–20. Cf. Anon. A 2010; Anon. B 2010.
- ^ Lewis 1961, pp. 11–13; cf. Mukhtar 2003, p. 62.
- ^ Abbink 2009, p. 37.
- ^ Lewis 1994, pp. 102–106, esp. p. 105.
- ^ Abbink 2009, p. 37.
- ^ June 2012 The Galgale In Somalia: Third-class citizens in their homeland Sharif Hassan from the Asharaf clan, page 12 Sharif Salah http://allafrica.com/download/resource/main/main/idatcs/00040315:40b8440c1c8a08b8c79febe8120327f9.pdf Archived 2016-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Declich, Francesca. Sources on Islam Composed in the Vernacular: Somali Women's Religious Poetry". Islam in East Africa: New Sources. Rome: Herder. pp. 297–330.
- ^ Ahmed, Ali Jimale. The Invention of Somalia.
Sources cited
- Abbink, G. J. (2009). The Total Somali Clan Genealogy (second edition). Asc Working Paper Series. Vol. 84. Leiden: African Studies Centre. hdl:1887/14007.
- Anon. A (9 July 2010). "Australian Government – Refugee Review Tribunal – Country Advice: Somalia" (PDF).
- Anon. B (23 November 2010). "Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: Responses to Information Requests: SOM103613.E" (PDF).
- ISBN 9780852552803.
- ISBN 0-932415-93-8.
- ISBN 978-0-231-70084-9.
- Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji (2003). Historical Dictionary of Somalia. African Historical Dictionary Series. Vol. 87. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810866041.
- Yoshimura, Daisuke (2009). Clans in Somalia: Report on a Lecture by Joakim Gundel, COI Workshop Vienna, 15 May 2009 (Revised Edition) (PDF). Vienna: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation.