"To be Somali is to be Muslim"
Among Somalis it is a commonly held idea that, “All Somalis are Muslim and if there are any Somalis who say otherwise they are only being paid to do so.” Even Somalis who are not particularly devout in their practice of religion will claim allegiance to Islam. Although there is a growing number of Somali young people being trained in Islamic theology, the main barrier to believing the Good News among the Somalis is not so much a theological barrier as it is the societal view that, “To be a Somali is to be a Muslim”. Many people in Muslim majority countries have similar ideas and attitudes.
Questioning:
On the other hand, all of the infighting and killing going on across clan lines among the Somalis in recent years has led to some questioning Islam. Some ask, “Why has Islam not kept us from killing each other?”. Other Somalis who have lived in Muslim societies, such as Saudi Arabia or the Gulf States, have experienced a certain amount of discrimination causing them to become more open to the Gospel. At the same time Somalis who were fairly nominal in their practice of Islam in Somalia (where they were “all Muslim”) often take more seriously their Islamic identity and practice when they come to the West. They do this as a means of coping with the feared loss of identity and contamination by the evil aspects of Western society.
Flag of Somalia
Map of Somalia
Prayer starters:
* Pray that Somalis could see the true value of the kingdom (Mt.13:44-46). God’s forgiveness and abundant life in the Messiah are present realities of that kingdom.
* Pray that the Somalis who come to faith in the Messiah would not only be seen as rebels by their families. May they have opportunities to demonstrate that they can be culturally Somali and followers of Jesus at the same time.
Testimony from Somalia
Libaan spent years outside of Somalia in several different countries. Eventually, he received a portion from the Injil (Gospel). He was impressed by what he read. The text was beautiful with a deep message. After two more years he fully believed the message and entrusted his life to Isa Al Masih (Jesus the Messiah). Afterwards he experienced deep joy and peace about his future. God’s forgiveness filled him with hope! Libaan’s relatives heard that Libaan had become a Gal (Somali word for a pagan). Most Somalis can’t imagine that Christians may also be people who fear God, because they assume that Christians live a very worldly lifestyle (including drunkenness and immorality). Returning to see his family Libaan insisted that he not be called a Gal. In his view he was submitted to God, the Almighty. While his family received him well at first, later they rejected him. This experience broke his heart. Somali believers are few in number. They experience loneliness and rejection even from their most beloved family members. Only encouragement and comfort from God helps them to overcome.
Video: I Against My Brother - a Somali Story
One muslim woman's journey of faith that challenges her ideas about what it means to be a Christian, and drives her to a decision that could cost her everything... (Editors Note: wonderful video!)
Background Information on SOMALIA is Here →
+ Gospel Language Link: Hear the Good News in the SOMALI language
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I know Somali people, and I don't believe any Somali person who was born as a Muslim will change his religion to another it's impossible !!!!!
I'm a Somali person who has been disenfranchised by the growing extremism in Somalia. There's been shift in attitude among the youth, such as my self, that Islam has raped our culture, language, identity, etc.
Say what you will, but for me, leaving Islam was by far the best thing to have happened to me. Islam DEMANDS ignorance for/from its followers and spreads through fear and violence. In fact, to be a good Muslim, one must live as though they're in the 7th century Arabia. Well, I'm not an Arab and it's not the 7th century. It preys on the poor and the ignorant.
There are far too many flaws to mention. However, the answer is education, for you see, a person is Muslim 'til they're freed/educated.
what are you now if not Muslim?
Well as a Somali person, I am educated finished higher education and read a lot more than you could imagine. And guess what, I'm proudly Muslim. (Shock,horror!). What fear and violence that you see is not part of Islam itself but rather a reaction from people living in Muslim-Majority countries such as Afghanistan/Iraq etc that have seen invasions from what they see as -Galo attacking them for being Muslim.Its much more complicated than that ofcourse but that is one major angle-US hegeony in the Muslim countries and meddling (for eg. Palestine/Israel.)
Im sorry you think we have to be Arabs to be Muslims, but that shows you are ignorant about Somalia. Beause Somalis have their culture, and its their culture that is killing them. We are stubborn clannish people, when Islam says a Muslim is the brother of a Muslim.
Anwyay, good luck with your life/Afterlife.
CORRECTION
** Islam has been in Somalia for 1400 yrs and the war and suffering started 0 yrs ago. no need to blame Islam for that!
Islam had been in Somalia for nearly seven hundred years and did not spread like wildfire at the time of its arrival on our shores, rather, it was a gradual process. Somali people had their own religions (such as Waaq worshipping and others) before the Arabs conquered the area and converted the populace/region gradually to all things Arabism.
The war of the Islamists began with the spread of Wahabism Islam into Somalia since the state collapse. I think Islam has a lot to do with the war, the ignorance, the poverty and the utter backwardness that is prevalent in our country because once a nation becomes Islamic it is transformed in its entirety. It affects everything about them, for good or bad. In Africa, it's who comes with the first religion, then the Africans will run away with it stridently.
People defend Islam as if they're mentally unstable and unhinged by reason or logic, or even facts and reality, for that matter. All they know is that Islam is completely accurate in its stone age scriptures and that nothing else matters. If faced with facts and historical points they predictably resort to their favorite word; ignorant. Anybody that doesn't agree with them or has an opposing view is labelled "ignorant". (Waxaad moddaa dad la sixrey marka aad u kuurgasho hab dhaqanka dadka diimaha rumeeya, gaar ahaan, marka ay difaacayaan waxa la rumeysiiyey)
I think this twaddle opinion tha you post here won't prevail the Somali brothers who's faith is strong enough and put all their trust with all their hearts in Allah almighty!. Second we know that there are number of Sorrowful desbelievers who are struggling to spoil our Somali identity with the stun formuler of " One nation one colour, same religion, culture, language and a deep roots of religous unity!."
Third i would like to tell you my Somali brothers nawadays desbelievers begun to spread shameful informations using our Muslim names and our identity like this silly "Ibrahim" pretending he's a Somali so be careful such issues, christian and jews have weak faith which has clear end by asking " If Jesus (pbhm) is God who was his God when he was in the Stomach of Marry?" that's the time they will shake their heads with the inlogic aspect of materialism livelyhood world as thy suffer an acute pain of their hearts no happiness, the flame inside their hearts won't extinguish until they embrace Islam.
Pray for the protection of Somili believers. Ask the Lord of the harvest to open Somaili hearts to the Good News!
Pray for the Somali:
* for protection of the few known SOmali believers
* for the Bible and Jesus film in SOmali to be translated and distribute
* for Somali to not be drawn to Muslim extremism
* for oppertunities to meet the needs of the SOmali
* for Somali to undertsnad they can be Christian and still be Somali
* for Somali to have dreams, visions, and revelations of Jesus
* for a Somali Church for the glory of His Name!
KKKKK. I THINK now we have enough religion problems.. so i will pray for somali
* for protection of the few known SOmali believers
* for Somali to not be drawn to Muslim extremism
* for oppertunities to meet the needs of the SOmali
* for Somali to have dreams,
Reply
AlhamduliLAAH, allpraises and thanks be to ALLAH, who made me a muslim, i am somalian , and i wonder what you christian trying to tel us, when you say jesus the begoten son of god! Do you mean god had (!!!) with mary! ! istagfuruLLAH!! ok if u dont think so, do the words have a meaning for you! or you just say something that you yourself do not know, if not, what is the meaning of begoten? have u ever look it up in the dictionery? Go and check the word >beget< and make sure that you are not insulting your creator!!!
Christians!!! Blind believers!!! Are trying to make us believe that, GOD THE ALLMIGHTY THE CREATOR of the heavens and the earth and all between them, came down and went into mary's womb! Stayed there nine month! and came out through the birth canal just like any other human child! And breast feeded! And got circumcised after eight days!!! That is the greatest insult !!! And that is not the quality of GOD THE ALLMIGHTY! So, if you think GOD became a man! think again before it is too late.
Asalamu ala mani taba' alhudaa after salam I pray from God to help those who were misled by christians i am somali-muslim proud to be muslim and thank you Allah i believe those somalis who were converted from muslim to christians they are converted because of money not real believe Such like the so called LIBAN why don't you your name don't you know it's meaning it's supposed to be called some selfish like you i would like you to change oh GOD save those who were misled they are my people i can't hear somali christian SUBXANALAH
I want to say to you Christians, is it not sad that you beg the world's people to become Christian and go to your Churchs when your own White people are running away from Christianity because they find out about the Bible being Corrupted? There were Changes made to the Bible, that is why many Christians in teh West are leaving Christinaity for Islam. Tahnks to the One True God (ALLAH) that Islam is the fastest growing faith in the West.
All religions are based on believe and non are based on facts. So whether you are Muslim or Christian, you have to realize that you're basically the same in that regard. It's ironic that religious people call other religious people delusional for believing something, well, slightly different!
That is why religion makes people stupid and retarded. They're brainwashed by one religion or another and they don't even know it. They cling to prehistoric rituals and scriptures that have absolutely no factual basis whatsoever. The very actions of the religious folk are the best examples of the fallacies of religion, and its falsehoods. Their brains and the quality of their livelihood has been drastically affected by the constant fear that they live in, the fear religions perpetuate and control them with, the fear of god, the fear of the devil, and so forth. A terrible way to spend life.
After everything else failed, these people are trying to sell Christianity by blaming the war in Somalia. Lets not forget WWI and WWII in which millions died, it was Christians fighting Christians.
The fact is, wars happens between people and you cant blame religion for that.
Salamun Ala Manittabal Huda
After Salam dear muslim brothers and sisters and the other guest i am from pakistan and i know who are the somali people what they do what they believe and i have no doubt that the somali people are 100%Muslims and absolutely they are very relegious people so that those who are claiming that there are somali cristians should know that they need their heads to b examined,, and i wish Everyday to see somali people forgiving each other, and inshlah very soon somali people will become the leaders of muslim world coz their country has resources which is not availabe in the other world and that's why american's and israel always try to create conflicts between them
Wabillahi towfiq