Expansionist Culture

[Maintainnnin]

Inshallah we'll launch another reconquista in the 21st century. Everything east of the Awash and north of lake Tana will rightfully belong to Somalis under a single Somali state.

Honestly Somalis are so fragmented and generally unaware of their pre-colonial history that if I were to mention the 19th-century reconquest south of the Jubba to a typical diaspora Somali, odds are it would be the first time they heard about it. Most Somalis who were born in the West don’t even know there’s a native Somali population in Kenya, that Djibouti is a Somali country, or that 1/3+ of Ethiopia is Somali. Most diaspora Somalis aren’t even aware that Dir Dhabe or Harar are historically Somali cities. This is the general lack of awareness we have to contend with. To be honest I myself didn’t know some of these things until around 2021, that’s when I started actively learning about Somali history embarrassingly enough. And mind you, I’ve been a history buff for much of my life. This is anecdotal, but the diaspora Oromos that I know seem much more aware of what's going on back home compared to us.

We just need to bring this into the popular Somali zeitgeist both back home and in the diaspora and honestly that's 80% of the work done. The execution will be much easier with that covered, general public awareness is the biggest hurdle currently.

 

[Garaannabad]

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[Barkhadle1520]

Inshallah we'll launch another reconquista in the 21st century. Everything east of the Awash and north of lake Tana will rightfully belong to Somalis under a single Somali state.

Honestly Somalis are so fragmented and generally unaware of their pre-colonial history that if I were to mention the 19th-century reconquest south of the Jubba to a typical diaspora Somali, odds are it would be the first time they heard about it. Most Somalis who were born in the West don’t even know there’s a native Somali population in Kenya, that Djibouti is a Somali country, or that 1/3+ of Ethiopia is Somali. Most diaspora Somalis aren’t even aware that Dir Dhabe or Harar are historically Somali cities. This is the general lack of awareness we have to contend with. To be honest I myself didn’t know some of these things until around 2021, that’s when I started actively learning about Somali history embarrassingly enough. And mind you, I’ve been a history buff for much of my life. This is anecdotal, but the diaspora Oromos that I know seem much more aware of what's going on back home compared to us.

We just need to bring this into the popular Somali zeitgeist both back home and in the diaspora and honestly that's 80% of the work done. The execution will be much easier with that covered, general public awareness is the biggest hurdle currently.

View attachment 366559

No Somali inhabitants that land and we dont need it

 

[Zak12]

Somalis aren't really expansionists the same way Oromos are. Sure obviously Proto-Somalis expanded out of waqooyi but that was back in the Iron Age. Somaliweyn otherwise has pretty much been continuously inhabited by Somalis since at least the early Middle Ages if not since antiquity, which is corroborated by all the archeological, linguistic and genetic evidence of the region.

 

[Idilinaa]

Inshallah we'll launch another reconquista in the 21st century. Everything east of the Awash and north of lake Tana will rightfully belong to Somalis under a single Somali state.

Honestly Somalis are so fragmented and generally unaware of their pre-colonial history that if I were to mention the 19th-century reconquest south of the Jubba to a typical diaspora Somali, odds are it would be the first time they heard about it. Most Somalis who were born in the West don’t even know there’s a native Somali population in Kenya, that Djibouti is a Somali country, or that 1/3+ of Ethiopia is Somali. Most diaspora Somalis aren’t even aware that Dir Dhabe or Harar are historically Somali cities. This is the general lack of awareness we have to contend with. To be honest I myself didn’t know some of these things until around 2021, that’s when I started actively learning about Somali history embarrassingly enough. And mind you, I’ve been a history buff for much of my life. This is anecdotal, but the diaspora Oromos that I know seem much more aware of what's going on back home compared to us.

We just need to bring this into the popular Somali zeitgeist both back home and in the diaspora and honestly that's 80% of the work done. The execution will be much easier with that covered, general public awareness is the biggest hurdle currently.

View attachment 366559

There’s no reconquest happening.

Maybe some peaceful reintegration could’ve been possible if the 1977 liberation attempt had succeeded and even then, we had cooperation and powersharing agreements with the non-Somali populations who were mostly on board, except maybe the Afar.


But now? Any attempt like that would just be bloody, violent, and genocidal and that’s not right or justified.

It’s also just not realistic. We should focus on developing and building the land we already have.
We don’t need more land , we need better conditions on the land we’re already settled on.


Claiming a "reconquest" of lost territories now is like Latin-speaking Christians saying they’ll take back Turkey and Constantinople because their ancestors once lived there. That’s not how the world works anymore. It’s delusional.


What we do need is to just be honest about history, the population changes, migrations, conquests, and everything else that happened. Acknowledging it doesn’t take anything away from any group it just gives us a clearer picture.


That 19th-century "reconquest" of NFD was honestly one of the most brutal and horrific chapters in Somali history. It should never be repeated. Just like the slave-like treatment of Bantu speakers, who were displaced and brought into Somalia to be forced labor on farms it was all about economic greed, nothing noble.


I’d even put that same mindset the one behind those conquests next to the destructive capitalist livestock export that wrecked the northern environment in the late 1800s. It was the same logic: short term profit at the cost of human and ecological disaster.

 

[Barkhadle1520]

There’s no reconquest happening.

Maybe some peaceful reintegration could’ve been possible if the 1977 liberation attempt had succeeded and even then, we had cooperation and powersharing agreements with the non-Somali populations who were mostly on board, except maybe the Afar.


But now? Any attempt like that would just be bloody, violent, and genocidal and that’s not right or justified.

It’s also just not realistic. We should focus on developing and building the land we already have.
We don’t need more land , we need better conditions on the land we’re already settled on.


Claiming a "reconquest" of lost territories now is like Latin-speaking Christians saying they’ll take back Turkey and Constantinople because their ancestors once lived there. That’s not how the world works anymore. It’s delusional.


What we do need is to just be honest about history, the population changes, migrations, conquests, and everything else that happened. Acknowledging it doesn’t take anything away from any group it just gives us a clearer picture.


That 19th-century "reconquest" of NFD was honestly one of the most brutal and horrific chapters in Somali history. It should never be repeated. Just like the slave-like treatment of Bantu speakers, who were displaced and brought into Somalia to be forced labor on farms it was all about economic greed, nothing noble.


I’d even put that same mindset the one behind those conquests next to the destructive capitalist livestock export that wrecked the northern environment in the late 1800s. It was the same logic: short term profit at the cost of human and ecological disaster.

Yes I think Reer NFD need to pay Oromos and Bantus compensation, really horrible part of our history we need to forget.

 

[Idilinaa]

Yes I think Reer NFD need to pay Oromos and Bantus compensation, really horrible part of our history we need to forget.

We don't need to pay compensation but integrate them and share resources as neighbors and treat them with dignity.

That's how most of Somali history was defined by mutual cooperation and co-existence unlike those dark chapters. Even Somali expansion for the most part was spread through commercial alliances.

 

[Maintainnnin]

There’s no reconquest happening.

Maybe some peaceful reintegration could’ve been possible if the 1977 liberation attempt had succeeded and even then, we had cooperation and powersharing agreements with the non-Somali populations who were mostly on board, except maybe the Afar.

But now? Any attempt like that would just be bloody, violent, and genocidal and that’s not right or justified.

It’s also just not realistic. We should focus on developing and building the land we already have.
We don’t need more land , we need better conditions on the land we’re already settled on.

Yeah my bad for not clarifying that, reconquista is a strong word especially considering its historical connotations. I typed that up at 1am forgive me.


But anyways, this is all hypothetical, but if Somaliweyn were to happen, then obviously the ethnic minorities such as Oromos, Hararis, Afars, and Bajunis (in the case of Lamu) would simply be integrated into the state. Somalia already has well-integrated ethnic minorities, it would just be an expansion of that.

I drew the map that way primarily for geopolitical reasons. A prospective Somaliweyn would need to control the Ahmar mountain range and the Awash River, not only for food and water security, but also to prevent Ethiopia from having a strategic vantage point overlooking our western lowlands. Essentially we wouldn’t want them controlling the high ground.

Also, even if we chose not to be irredentist for whatever reason, having half the Somali population living outside of Somalia and not utilizing that population under a single Somali state is just kneecapping our potential as an ethnicity, more land and more people is always better, it equals a higher ceiling. Nothing is fundamentally stoping a hypothetical Somaliweyn from contending with the likes of Russia, Japan, or France as a great power. Can you blame me for wanting to see my people reach their potential like other great nations have done?

 

[Idilinaa]

Yeah my bad for not clarifying that, reconquista is a strong word especially considering its historical connotations. I typed that up at 1am forgive me.


But anyways, this is all hypothetical, but if Somaliweyn were to happen, then obviously the ethnic minorities such as Oromos, Hararis, Afars, and Bajunis (in the case of Lamu) would simply be integrated into the state. Somalia already has well-integrated ethnic minorities, it would just be an expansion of that.

I drew the map that way primarily for geopolitical reasons. A prospective Somaliweyn would need to control the Ahmar mountain range and the Awash River, not only for food and water security, but also to prevent Ethiopia from having a strategic vantage point overlooking our western lowlands. Essentially we wouldn’t want them controlling the high ground.

Also, even if we chose not to be irredentist for whatever reason, having half the Somali population living outside of Somalia and not utilizing that population under a single Somali state is just kneecapping our potential as an ethnicity, more land and more people is always better, it equals a higher ceiling. Nothing is fundamentally stoping a hypothetical Somaliweyn from contending with the likes of Russia, Japan, or France as a great power. Can you blame me for wanting to see my people reach their potential like other great nations have done?

You're right to clarify that 'Reconquista' carries a lot of historical weight especially in a region where narratives of conquest and resistance are still very alive. I appreciate you owning that

That said, regarding your hypothetical Somaliweyn of 1977 was a very different context. Back then, many Muslim ethnic groups like the Hararis, Oromos, and Ethiopian/Eritrean Muslims (with the exception of the Afar, who actually allied with Ethiopia) did support the Somali cause, not just politically but materially as well. That support was driven largely by the intense persecution Muslims faced under the Ethiopian Christian dominated regimes

''There was the strongest hate from the Christian side towards the Muslims''

''Somali supported the Muslims and Haile Selassie supported the Christians''

In that context, many of these groups saw alignment with Somalia as not just ideological but a means of survival and empowerment. Somalia offered them platforms whether through political representation, cultural development, or even linguistic advancement.

But fast forward to today. I seriously doubt those same communities feel the same way. Their priorities have changed, and so has Somalia’s standing. If anything, maybe the Swahili/Bajuni communities around Lamu might be open to a closer political union, but even that would require significant trust-building.

My concern isn’t about idealism , it's about realism. We can’t force people to join us, and even claiming historical ownership over previously inhabited territories gets tricky when there’s no consensus among those living there today. That kind of irredentism might have symbolic value, but practically, it’s far-fetched especially when Somalis themselves lack political unity internally.

To me, the biggest step forward isn’t about expansion. It’s about self-development building up our institutions, economy, and social cohesion. If we can do that, we won’t need to convince anyone to join us. People align themselves with the winning team. If Somalia thrives and treats others with fairness and dignity, alliances will follow naturally not through coercion, but by choice.

 

[Neptune]

https://wardheernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Manufactured-Identity-Territorial-Claims-and-the-Displacement-of-Somalis-By-Faisal-Roble.pdf

 

[Neptune]

https://wardheernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Manufactured-Identity-Territorial-Claims-and-the-Displacement-of-Somalis-By-Faisal-Roble.pdf

Jigjiga is being surrounded and encroached upon. What are the chances they try to turn it into a chartered city like Diridhaba? I don't think it's beyond them.