Opinion: Finding the Light Through the Ashes: A Reflection on Somalia’s Path

“I have reason to believe that Somalia’s story is still being written, and I refuse to give up. I refuse to become hopeless because of insecurity, disunity or injustice. I know that wandering does not mean being abandoned, and I am certain that the door out of confusion exists, even if it has not yet been found.”

Somalia has lived through cycles of instability, leadership struggles, and governance confusion, indeed governments have come and gone, political agreements have been signed and broken, and hopes have risen and fallen repeatedly. This is why we continue to ask difficult questions such as; Why do we seem to move in endless circles? Why does progress appear close every time, only to disappear again? Why has the nation struggled to find a clear and lasting direction?

 Many explanations can be offered, some may point to political failures others to foreign interference, security threats, economic hardship, or the legacy of colonialism, however there is another dimension for many believers that cannot be ignored and that is about the spiritual and moral condition of a society, they say; Even the most sophisticated political reforms can fail if the heart of the nation remains unreformed. Let us try to breakdown some of the potential answers and elements related to our context in Somalia.

1. The Spiritual Dimension of Wandering

 There are times when Somalia’s journey feels similar to the concept of Tīih mentioned in Islamic understanding a state of wandering and confusion. In the Qur’an, Banī Isrā’īl wandered in the desert for forty years, not because Allah had abandoned them but because of their own disobedience, ingratitude, and failure to trust in divine guidance, and remember they were a people blessed with prophets and miracles, yet they repeatedly turned away.

The lesson from such stories is not simply historical, it instead reminds us that nations and communities can also lose their direction when justice weakens, when trust is broken, and when people move away from the principles that Allah commands. You may say what does that mean and how it relates but think with me, for Somalia, this wandering has many faces starting with the endless cycle of transitional governments, the failure of peace conferences, the rise of armed groups, and the fragmentation of national identity into competing loyalties.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (Sūrat al-Ra‘d, 13:11)

This verse carries a powerful reminder to all of us, it clearly indicates that change does not begin only with governments, systems, or leaders, it begins within people themselves, and even it also begins with values, intentions, and actions, indeed we cannot and we must not expect different results while repeating the same mistakes. For example, for decades Somalia has returned to the same model of power sharing based on clan quotas (4.5 formula) yet the same grievances, exclusion, corruption, and marginalisation remain, and this is the reason why I believe that without a deeper moral reckoning structural reforms and good programs alone cannot break the cycle.

2. Clan, Justice, and the Problem of Dulmi

 For many years Somalia has experienced intense competition for power which often driven by individual or group interestsshaded by the name of a clan, heavily determined by personal ambitions and mistakenly shaped by short term calculations. I am sure you agree with me that Clan identity itself is not the problem, indeed Islam recognizes tribes and communities as part of human identity. Allah says:

“O mankind, we created you from a male and a female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you.” (Sūrat al-Ḥujurāt, 49:13)

Our problem begins when identity becomes a tool of division, exclusion, or personal gain, when power becomes more important than justice, and when loyalty to individuals becomes stronger than loyalty to truth and this is not unique to us but it is common that societies begin to lose balance when they enter to such bad territories. For instance, how many qualified Somali professionals, doctors, engineers, scholars have been passed over for positions simply because they lacked the “right” clan backing? How many honest leaders have been silenced because they refused to play the political game? This is not right and it has deep consequences in every angle of our life not only to the person that commit.

Another important Islamic concept is Dulmi, which means injustice, let us think through and remind ourselves what are our Holly Qur’an and Islamic teachings? Throughout the Qur’aninjustice is repeatedly condemned because its consequences extend beyond individuals and affect entire societies. Corruption, dishonesty, abuse of authority, and oppression do not disappear with time, they rather accumulate. Perhaps part of Somalia’s present condition is the burden of accumulated injustice over many years, and this could be from the Siad Barre regime’s brutal repression to the civil war, to the culture of normalizing civil war and impunity. These are not just political problems but also a spiritual one.

3. Hope is Not Naivety

Regardless of challenges Islam does not teach hopelessness even in the darkest moments, instead Allah’s mercy remains greater than human failure. We have recall that difficulties are never permanent. Allah says:

“Indeed, with hardship comes ease.” (Sūrat al-Sharḥ, 94:6)

 This however does not and will never mean that ease arrives without effort, it rather means that hardship itself carries opportunities and pathways toward relief, this is why Muslims are taught not to surrender to despair because despair closes the doors that Allah can open, I have seen many people disappointed and here I say I understand you but please consider the story of Prophet Yūnus (peace be upon him) in the darkness of the whale’s belly. It was in the deepest darkness that he made his famous supplication: “Lā ilāha illā anta, subḥānaka, inniīkuntu min al-ẓālimīn.” And Allah responded.

Let us say it loudly; that Somalia does not simply need another government that repeats the patterns of the past thirty years, we instead need a new beginning and I mean a New Somalia built upon foundations that are stronger and more sincere, and for this reason let me try to explain what do I mean by New Somalia.