Back to Mogadishu: Memoirs of a Somali Pastor

by Mohamed Aden Sheikh, Pietro Petrucci (Editor), Simon Marsh (Translator)

Like nearly all the Somalis of my generation, I was born in a totally rural, bushland environment among shepherd-breeder nomads who were strangers to agriculture. I’m the son of a society of cameleers and shepherds, and that’s how I lived, until I was ten.” That is how this memoir begins. In these pages, the remarkable life of Mohamed Aden Sheikh (shepherd, doctor, minister and victim of political persecution) is intertwined with the recent history of Somalia; one of the most ill-fated countries in Africa today. This book bears passionate witness, and is the result of an attentive intellectual analysis. It provides us with insights into the effects of Italian colonialism in Africa, the mistakes made by the fathers of Somali independence, and the twenty-year regime of General Siad Barre that led to bloodshed and anarchy.

389 pages, Paperback

Published June 26, 2021

Reviews

[Zakaria Noor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very important book for all Somalis to read. It will help you understand the Zeitgeist of a crucial period in Somali history – the time between independence and the fall of Siad Barre. The author chronicles the evolution of the regime, from its initial embrace of patriots and intellectuals to its eventual descent into corruption and cronyism.

He also astutely analyzes how political beliefs, religious influences, and individual actions contributed to the nation's plight. Despite being imprisoned for six years by the regime, the author maintains a remarkable objectivity throughout his narrative, which I found personally very remarkable.This detachment, coupled with his insightful observations, provides a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of that era's leading thinkers.