Islam has been in Somalia for a long time, indeed, the faith entered the nation of Somalia during the time of the Prophet himself. The first mosque was built in the City of Zeila, in the Awdal region of Somalia. Islam entered the Kingdom of Somalia by means of trade, and proselytizing, rather than by the sword. This doesn't mean that relationships between Arabs and Somalis have always been good. It must be said that, long before European colonials began the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the Arabs were the first to enslave Africans.
For the most part, they took African women as sex slaves, and sometimes gave freedom to the mixed-race offspring they generated with them, thus leading to the proliferation of Afro-Arabian peoples, found in places like Morocco, Mauritania, and yes, parts of Somalia and Yemen. Across the ages, it became common for Arab men to take African women as concubines, but African men, even those who were Muslim, were forbidden from having Arabian wives. Another aspect of Islamic history and relations which is seldom discussed...
In those days, the Arab view of most Africans was a grim and cruel one. African women were sold into slavery, and used to produce Afro-Arabian offspring whom the Arab conquerors found more pleasing to the eye than purebred Africans. As for African men, those whom the Arabs took as slaves were usually seen as brutes and used as manual labor. To protect their women and their pristine Arabian bloodlines, the Arab slave owners often turned the captive African men into eunuchs, thus negating them for all time.
The cruelties which Arabs visited upon the Africans over the course of the centuries number greater than the stars. Of course, it is not politically correct to bring up the Arab enslavement of Africans, or the one-sided nature of interracial relationships between African women and Arab men, even in modern times. Slavery in Africa is thought to be something the European colonial is solely responsible for. Many centuries before the English, the Dutch and others came to Africa as conquerors, the Arabs treated the Africans as beasts of burden. This is the story of one African woman who resisted...
Abdus Shakur was an Arab slave trader from around 800 A.D. and for the most part, he and his fellows went into Sub-Saharan Africa to acquire slaves which they would then sell to the Arab kingdoms. One day, while navigating the coast of Aden on a fleet of vessels, Abdus saw Somali women for the first time and became enamored of them. Abdus found them Somali ladies much more attractive than African women from other places, and decided to take some of them as slaves.
"Captain Abdus, the Somali people are our fellow Muslims, we must not take any of them as slaves, it goes against our holy texts," said Ibn Hamad, the Captain's second-in-command. Captain Abdus Shakur, a stubborn man, looked at his second, a tall, slender Arab with dark hair and bronze skin, whom he'd met in Damascus, and who had been among his crew ever since. For the most part, Ibn Hamad was a smart and thoughtful man, a master of the sea whom Abdus Shakur was usually glad to have in his employ. Sometimes, though, the man irked him...
"No African can ever be a true Muslim, my friend, I will do to those savages what I will," Captain Abdus Shakur said haughtily. With that, he went to the beach, with a contingent of armed men, experts in the nefarious art of abducting Africans to sell them as slaves. There was a group of Somali women on the beach, and they were doing laundry. The slave traders set upon them and captured two dozens of them. Captain Abdus Shakur felt these lovely Somali ladies would fetch a good price in places like Damascus, or perhaps Marrakesh.
Across the Arab world, lots of wealthy Arab men have a huge appetite for attractive African women, whom they found wilder in bed than their refined Arab ladies. The Somali ladies were abducted, and taken in the boats. As they wailed in fear and pain, clamoring for Somali men to come to their aid, it was to no avail. The Arab men beat them into submission, though while taking care not to mark them or damage them permanently. A good salesman knows not to damage his merchandise, regardless of what century he hails from...
Among the Somali women taken as captives was a young lady named Faduma, and she was a great-great-granddaughter of the legendary Birir Ina Barqo, the first King of Somalia. Faduma was six feet two inches tall and curvy, with dark brown skin and long black hair. Like most males and females descended from King Birir Ina Barqo, she was taller than most, for her ancestor was a genuine giant. Faduma had a defiant streak and vowed not only to slay her Arabian captors, but also to return to Somalia to warn her people about the cruelty of the Arabian devils...
"This one is feisty, I shall have her," Captain Abdus Shakur said, looking at Faduma. The tall young Somali woman looked at him defiantly, and whenever he came near, she spat in his direction. Captain Abdus has been known to avail himself of a female captive's body for his entertainment. He was tempted to do the same thing to Faduma, to break her spirit while enjoying her body against her will. Of course, Ibn Hamad, the eternal killjoy, had to be the damned voice of reason...
"Captain, think about this, this feisty Somali female will fetch a good price at the slave markets of Damascus, or Marrakesh, you would do yourself a disservice by defiling her," Ibn Hamad said, and Captain Abdus Shakur sighed and nodded. Intact African female slaves did have higher financial value than those who had been beaten or raped. Their future masters insisted on being the ones who broke them in. They wouldn't pay to have another man's sloppy seconds. It simply wasn't their way...
"You are wise, my friend," Captain Abdus Shakur said, and after a lustful glance at the tall, curvaceous and big-bottomed Faduma, he walked away and resumed his duties leading the ship. Ibn Hamad smiled and walked away. The Captain is a brute, yes, but with an adviser like Ibn Hamad, he often kept out of danger and turned up huge profits. Faduma looked at both men with equal hatred and contempt. She did not see one as better than the other. If the Captain was a bloodthirsty leopard, then his slick second in command was a vile hyena, and nothing more...
"I swear by the name of my ancestor King Birir Ina Barqo that I will end these men's lives," Faduma said to herself. Below deck, in shackles, Faduma tried to maintain her strength on the meager food and drink she and the other captives was given. After her near-miss with Captain Abdus Shakur, Faduma was incensed, but the vengeful young woman would bide her time. She flashed a brave smile at Jawahir, a lovely young woman who looked especially scared of her dark surroundings.
