Talk:Somali people/Archive 2

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Somali people

I would just like to make a comment. To the people stating that Somalis are black and so on, as a pure blooded Somali who can trace his heritage a dozen or so generations I want to make it clear to all Somalis and non-Somalis alike. We Somalis are Somali not black or black African or Bantu. Unlike some people who have posted earlier I let the genetic DNA tests speak for themselves, we are a proud Hamitic people and we should always adhere to our Islamic and cultural uniqueness on the Somali Peninsula. Wherever we go we adopt the cultural norms of our guests and this has weakened us even more so in the west. WE ARE PURE SOMALIS be proud to say that. We are related to all the peoples of North East Africa, never fall victim to what people classify you in the west be proud be happy be SOMALI. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alkhaleeji (talk • contribs) 09:34, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

You are 100% right friend, and science and history support everything you say. Somalis aren't black, and are most closely related to Eurasians. It is indeed important for Somalis to never forget these simple facts. Lord knows, historically, we sure as hell have not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.12.222.45 (talk • contribs) 11:47, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Couldn't have said it any better. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.68.251.56 (talk • contribs) 05:18, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Im am Somali too, from Puntland..we're just as black as the Sudanese, just a variation of the black genes..you probably have some self hatred issues... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.152.49.111 (talk) 05:51, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Oh for gods sake are you people that stupid? Especially the last guy. I doubt your really Somali since it's very rare for a Somali to talk about how dark they are. Somalis aren't Arabs not are they like other Africans. The kind of people that everyone thinks of when the word African is mentioned. Somalis how ever ARE black since black is the name of the colour of our Skin. We may not look like other Black Africans but we are just has black has them. How ever we are closely related to Ethiopians then to anyone else. Furious Stormrage (talk) 17:53, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Pictures on page

Please place good pictures on the page not some ugly ripoffs on the net, we must show the world how beautiful we are so use good examples of Somali peoples, now the picture of the young tribal women is not bad but its very outdated and I have personally seen much prettier Somali women, So look for handsome somali men or women, with varying degrees of features and skin complexions we are a beautiful people so highlight that, when one visits other pages it is of only good handsome examples not some politician and some outdated picture of tribal women, thank you. I would also reccomend other somali tribes such as Rer Xamar to give it some diversity, (please no somali bantu due to there almost non-somali bloodline). I dont want to appear as a racist just that there must be a good degree of pure somali blood in the individuals. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.161.230.10 (talk) 15:55, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Infobox image

There has been an edit war concerning what image to use in this article's infobox. (It's been quiet for the past 20 minutes; I left final warnings for both parties.) I have removed the image entirely until and unless all those concerned can select one that is neutral. Thanks. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 02:44, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

I would appreciate any comments regarding the suitability of this image which i propose : File:Somalipeople14.jpg

The image shows clockwise from Top left: Abdi Bile, Somalia's only ever World Champion, Father of Somali nationalism the 'Mad mullah', renowned Poet Hadraawi, Siad Barre Somalia's most notable President, Iman world famous Somali model, and K'naan a well known Somali musician

-My image represents Somalis from 3 Clan families, and no two are from the same clan. -My image includes a politician, a historical figure,an athlete, two artists and a model.

thus my image captures a wide range of notable somali personalities and significantly represents the wider populace.

The recent edit war i was dragged into by midday express involved him taking exception to the fact that 4 of the notable figures represent one particular clan family, this is true but these individuals are far more notable and significant to Somali heritage than midday's proposed substitutes which consisted of an extra politician of relatively little renown from one of the other clan families. This in itself could have been justifiable, but he then removed the images of Siad Barre(longest-serving and most notable president) and Abdi Bile (World champion runnner) and substituted them with two less notable politicians(Abdullahi Yusuf and Ali Shermarke) from the same clan family but both both hailing from one particular sub clan, as Iman is also from this sub clan, midday express would have all 3 Darod(Clan family) figures come from the Majerteen(subclan). Therefore it became clear that he was not really pursueing fair representation of different clan families but rather using that as an excuse to advance one subclan from the clan family he accused of being over represented. Somaliwarrior (talk) 03:02, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

If only it were that simple. The truth is, Somaliwarrior's very first version of the collage in question looked like this:

File:King Ahmed Gurey Mog.jpg

As can clearly be seen above, the edit includes Ahmed Gurey on the far left and four (admittedly) notable members of the Darod clan... but to the exclusion of members of other clans. After much struggling on my part and arguing about the relevance and importance of equal and fair representation of the other Somali clans, Somaliwarrior finally settled for the edit below:

File:Somalipeople14.jpg

Notice how it again overrepresents Darods (Abdi Bile, a Dhulbahante; Mad Mullah, from the Ogaden sub-clan; Siad Barre, a Marehan; and Iman, a Majerteen) while almost begrudgingly including members of other clans such as the Isaaq poet Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadrawi' (that I myself had to introduce), and the Hawiye rapper K'naan. That makes 4 Darods to only 1 Hawiye and 1 Isaaq.

Somaliwarrior would have you believe that it's more 'important' to include people that he personally deems 'notable' Somalis -- which he shouldn't have to do since there is already a page on Wikipedia that lists all the notable Somalis -- and ignore the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Somalis that he hand-picked were Darods to the exclusion of other clans.

Contrast his version with my proposed one below:

File:King Ahmed Gurey Mog.jpg100px80pxFile:Aden Abdullah Osman Daar.jpg

Notice how my version includes 2 Darods (Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the current president of Somalia and Iman), 2 Hawiyes (Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, 7th president of Somalia, and Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, the first President of the Somali Republic after independence), 1 Isaaq (Hadrawi, Somalia's greatest living poet), and Ahmed Gurey, the founding father of Somali nationalism and international Muslim hero.

Somaliwarrior's post here is an attempt to try and gain popular support for his overrepresentation of Darods at the expense of other Somalis, while my post is in defense of the right to equal representation for all Somali clans, as defined by the Somali federal government's point sharing system. Clan chauvinism destroyed Somalia and now it's threatening to destroy this page too. Middayexpress (talk) 04:23, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Third opinion looking in: the article is not primarily about "Somali celebrities" but "Somali people" so it should take an anthropological and socio-political view and the notability of the people portrayed is not an issue. The duty is to agree upon an image that shows some character of each of the five groups. Five photos in descending order of clan size, and-or a single collage at the top. Redheylin (talk) 09:57, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your input, and I of course heartily agree. Given the country and people in question, a balanced and fair representation of the various Somali clans is of far greater importance than the comparatively trivial matter of who one personally believes are the most famous Somalis. Middayexpress (talk) 15:40, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

'my post is in defense of the right to equal representation for all Somali clans'

Middayexpress, you are not fooling anyone, you have yet to explain why you have two majerteens representing the darod clan family, you've been pushing majerteen figures into the collage at every opportunity, your first image contained 3 daroods, all three majerteens. This leads me to conclude that you are of the majerteen clan yourself. All can see how flawed and disingeneous your cries for equal representation are. How many times do i have to correct you on Ahmed Gurey? Ahmed Gurey has nothing to do with Somali nationalism. Redheylin, i disagree, you look at any other ethnic group take for example the turkish, the the english etc and their images portray their well known figures. This is how it is supposed to be for the Somali page. I judge every figure i put up on merit alone, Abdi Bile deserves to be there, Siad barre deserves to be there, Iman deserves to be there, the Mad mullah deserves to be there, K'naan deserves to be there and so does Hadraawi. Because they are genuinely notable somalis and together they represent 3 clan families and a range of occupational fields. Somaliwarrior (talk) 14:19, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Here, Somaliwarrior is still persisting in indulging in personal attacks and baseless speculation when I've politely and repeatedly asked him not to do so since it is a violation of WP:CIV and WP:PA, not to mention very distracting. Somaliwarrior was also warned about this very issue on his talk page just a few hours ago by an administrator, but he yet again chose to flout that administrator's authority (he had already been warned not to revert the page, but he went ahead and did that anyway too). What Somaliwarrior has just written above is untrue. In the editing rationale of my first edit, I plainly stated that I thought his edit overrepresented Darods. His edit, in fact, contained nothing but Darods. So I withdrew the Bile photo and replaced the Barre one with the less divisive and current president of Somalia. I also introduced a Hawiye ex-president, and in the process shifted the clan representation from 4 Darods and 0 other Somalis to 3 Darods and at least 1 Hawiye. That is literally all I did. Most non-partisan sources I think would agree that this change was a great deal more fair and equitable than the one that preceded it. Also, please note that the other two Majerteen Darods (namely, Shermarke and Iman) that were already in the collage were inserted by Somaliwarrior himself in his initial edit, as was the Ahmed Gurey statue he complains about above. I didn't put any of them there, which is what makes his current complaints and accusations all the more absurd. How can he be so 'offended' all of a sudden about inclusions he himself initiated? Middayexpress (talk) 15:40, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

---

' His edit, in fact, contained nothing but Darods. So I withdrew the Bile photo and replaced the Barre one with the less divisive and current president of Somalia. I also introduced a Hawiye ex-president, and in the process shifted the clan representation from 4 Darods and 0 other Somalis to 3 Darods and at least 1 Hawiye. That is literally all I did. '

Summary

To spare everyone the verbose rhetoric i will summarise my points

-Middayexpress' initial version contained 3 majerteens(clan) and 1 Hawiye (clan family) and Ahmed Gurey(unknown) this hardly fits with his argument that he seeks equal representation

Somaliwarrior is now attempting to exploit the lack of knowledge of editors who might be unfamiliar with the Somali clan system. Here, he lists a sub-family of the Darod major clan (namely, Majerteen) alongside the Hawiye major clan as if the two are on the same plane when they are not. He is doing this to conceal the fact, as I've stated earlier, that his own first edit and all the ones that succeeded it was heavily biased towards Darods. His own first edit, in fact, contained nothing but Darods, a situation I initially attempted to redress by including at least 1 Hawiye and removing 1 Darod. This shifted the clan representation from 4 Darods, 0 other Somalis, and Ahmed Gurey to 3 Darods, at least 1 Hawiye, and Ahmed Gurey -- certainly an improvement over what the page looked like before. Unlike Somaliwarrior, I also very plainly stated the reasons behind my edit in the edit summary box: good changes but Darods are overrepresented in the photos. added Hawiye gentleman and removed divisive Barre figure for current president. In addition, what Somaliwarrior here conveniently forgets to mention is that I quite clearly stated in a discussion we were having on his talk page that Abdiqassim is the only non-Darod in the list. His lone presence, however, is not enough. We need more non-Darods up there, not fewer. I'll try and add Aden Adde, a Hawiye. He's the ideal candidate and much loved. Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

-In fact, Middayexpress' determination to insert Abdullahi Yusuf (apparently less divisive than Siyad Barre) and make it three Majerteens representing the Darod clan family contradicts his calls for equal representation.

There is no need for Somaliwarrior to speculate on my reasons for replacing Siad Barre with Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, as I've already explained them to him both in the discussion on his talk page and in my edit summary on the Somali people page. I've explained it on the grounds that Barre is a divisive figure that is described by far too many people as a dictator. He is also not the current president. Please see my comment below this one for my response to his '3 Majerteen' charge. Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

- In every single edit of his there were 3 Majerteen figures, disposing of my Ogaden, Marehan, Dhulbahante and Majerteen combination (different clans in the Darod clan family)

Again, Somaliwarrior is attempting to exploit people's unfamiliarity with the Somali clan system by speaking only in terms of sub-clans while conveniently omitting from mention the fact that his initial edit and all of the ones that followed it heavily favored Darods at the expense of other Somalis. The difference is that he's now attempting to justify these Darod-only edits by pointing out that he made sure to include different sub-clans of the Darod. How exactly that amounts to diversity and equal representation of the Somali clans, I'm still trying to figure out. Please also note that 2 (viz. Iman & Shermarke) of the 3 Majerteen Darods (Iman, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke) he keeps talking about were inserted by himself in said initial edit. I again didn't insert Iman or Shermarke into the collage; he did. This is precisely what makes his current complaints and accusations all the more absurd and hollow. Moreover, my final few edits looked like this. Notice that they include only 2 Majerteen Darods (Yusuf and Iman) alongside 2 Hawiye, 1 Isaaq and Ahmed Gurey. That is the exact same number of Majerteen Darods Somaliwarrior himself included in his initial edit (Shermarke and Iman). It also puts the lie to his contention that 'in every single edit of his there were 3 Majerteen figures'. Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

-Middayexpress is therefore not in accordance with Wikipedia's neutral editing stance.

And this required an entire bullet point all its own? Where's the evidence, the links, etc.? Cause all I see is blatant misrepresentation of my position. Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

-My justification for 4 daroods, 1 Isaaq and 1 Hawiye like i have already stated is that they merit their inclusion, they are the most notable somali figures in History and in the 21st Century. They reflect different careers and occupations.

What Somaliwarrior has just confessed is that he believes his own personal interpretation of who is or who is not a notable Somali -- which, again, is a decision he shouldn't have to make, as there is a page on Wikipedia that already does it for him -- outweighs the need for equal representation of all Somali clans. So what if Darods are overrepresented in the list? So what if both Somalis and the world at large are given the impression that the only people of note to have come out of Somalia were and are Darods? It wasn't as if it was inter-clan antagonism itself that destroyed Somalia. And these Darods do, after all, come from different careers and occupations, and that's paramount! Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

As far as i'm concerned, Middayexpress' attempts to get me banned by trying to insinuate i personally attacked him in my last comment further expose the weakness of his argument.

If my argument were indeed as weak as Somaliwarrior would like other editors to believe, then one would think I would be stuck for words with nothing to link to for support. I would then undoubtedly have to resort to petty personal attacks and personally threaten to have someone banned. I would indeed be in a bad way. Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I welcome any comments by other editors on the suitability of my picture, and my justification for the figures in them. Somaliwarrior (talk) 16:24, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Third opinion

as a 3rd opinion - oy. I know next to nothing about Somalia or Somali history, and this discussion of clans (while I'm sure it's of great importance to everyone concerned) goes right over my head, and will go over the heads of most Wikipedia readers. my suggestion, honestly, is that someone go on the web and find pictures of non-notable, non-historically-important Somalis, where (if possible) there is no indication of clan membership. one picture of that type (or a small collage, if desired) will resolve the entire debate. --Ludwigs2 22:33, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Ludwigs2 has had the same initial response as I did. Warrior is not wrong that other countries show a collage of celebrities, but such countries have longer political unity and their collages show a variety of callings, not identified with any area or class or religion. The introduction of a poet and an athlete are to be welcomed. But where clan loyalties rival national unity, then it is the clans that are notable, not the individuals, and the collage should respect that too. Therefore, please include a notable and characteristic picture that represents every notable grouping - I do not agree with Ludwig that clan-symbolism need be downplayed. If you will do this, with only one clan representative apiece, then the question of subclan representation does not arise. Redheylin (talk) 00:08, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I again agree with Redeylin. Somalia is by no means an ordinary country. In fact, it's the only nation in the world that has operated without a functioning government for well over a decade now. That, in itself, is notable. The reason for this is specifically due to inter-clan rivalry. It was inter-clan rivalry that tore Somalia apart, and it's inter-clan rivalry that keeps it from getting back together. If we are not careful about equitably representing the various clans in our collage of Somali people, we run the risk of creating the impression that only one particular clan (in this case, Darods) has contributed anything of note to Somali society. We would consequently actually be adding to the central problem of inter-clan antagonism rather than avoiding it. Middayexpress (talk) 00:35, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Warrior - you see the point? Wiki is not here to set the world to rights, but the article is called "Somalian people" and, if you want that to mean anything at all, at the moment and in the near future, then it has to be inclusive. Please suggest a way forward - so nobody will ask for multiple pics of a single clan. Look at this;

"Many people see what is happening in Somalia as a pattern that could develop in Ethiopia, Sudan, Zaire and from which Kenya is not immune," said Michael Southwick, deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in Nairobi. "We could end up with Africa the way it was before the colonialists came, divided up into tribal enclaves."

Now, you have compared Somalian to English - well, clans and regions still exist in England, but it is not so "hot" today that people will complain that there are too many from here or there. And the European Union is bringing more autonomy to regions. Clearly NE Africa needs its own union to guarantee freedom and equity to every clan, and to get free of all foreign arms dealers. We cannot fix that! So please relax the argument from pure individual notability - I assure you that this will never be finally agreed even in the most peaceful country - and help find another approach. Redheylin (talk) 02:42, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Continued discussion

I see my efforts to spare all from the unrelenting verbosity have failed. Gyrofrog cautioned me for engaging in personal attacks, but this is the reaction sanctimonious editing sparks in me. Someone who deliberately has 2 or 3 majerteens (one sub-clan of the Darod) representing all of the Darod clan family cannot claim to be seeking equal representation of Somalis, this is what my point boils down to.

If this is indeed all Somaliwarrior's point boils down to, then he truly has no point at all because he himself -- and in his very first edit to top it off -- listed 2 Majerteen Darods, namely Iman and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, just like he is absurdly accusing me of having done. Are we to conclude from this edit alone that he too 'cannot claim equal representation of Somalis'? No. We can conclude this from the fact that his entire first edit featured a Darod-only roster with no effort made whatsoever to include Somalis from other clans. His subsequent edits, including that poster below, aren't much better (the poster features 4 Darods (Bile, Mad Mullah, Barre, Iman), 1 Hawiye (K'naan), and 1 Isaac (Hadrawi, and I myself, lest we forget, had to introduce him)). Middayexpress (talk) 22:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

He has not addressed this point

The copy and paste function in my browser begs to differ:

Again, Somaliwarrior is attempting to exploit people's unfamiliarity with the Somali clan system by speaking only in terms of sub-clans while conveniently omitting from mention the fact that his initial edit and all of the ones that followed it heavily favored Darods at the expense of other Somalis. The difference is that he's now attempting to justify these Darod-only edits by pointing out that he made sure to include different sub-clans of the Darod. How exactly that amounts to diversity and equal representation of the Somali clans, I'm still trying to figure out. Please also note that 2 (viz. Iman & Shermarke) of the 3 Majerteen Darods (Iman, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke) he keeps talking about were inserted by himself in said initial edit. I again didn't insert Iman or Shermarke into the collage; he did. This is precisely what makes his current complaints and accusations all the more absurd and hollow. Moreover, my final few edits looked like this. Notice that they include only 2 Majerteen Darods (Yusuf and Iman) alongside 2 Hawiye, 1 Isaaq and Ahmed Gurey. That is the exact same number of Majerteen Darods Somaliwarrior himself included in his initial edit (Shermarke and Iman). It also puts the lie to his contention that 'in every single edit of his there were 3 Majerteen figures'. Middayexpress (talk) 00:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

but he labours on about how my versions contained 2 majerteens, conveniently ignoring the fact that unlike his versions, in my image the majerteen alone never represented the Darod clan family.

That's quite true. In Somaliwarrior's edits, Majerteens alone never represented the Darod clan family. In his edits, the Darod clan family alone represented all or damn near all the Somali people. In my edits, including the final one before Gyrofrog thankfully intervened, is a noticeably more diverse cross section of Somalis at large -- not just Darods. Middayexpress (talk) 22:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

His clear favouratism for the Majerteen is further highlighted by his insistance in including Abdullahi Yusuf the president of the current transitional government (notable only for his criminal past).

I feel like a broken record here:

There is no need for Somaliwarrior to speculate on my reasons for replacing Siad Barre with Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, as I've already explained them to him both in the discussion on his talk page and in my edit summary on the Somali people page. I've explained it on the grounds that Barre is a divisive figure that is described by far too many people [starting with the United Nations] as a dictator. He is also not the current president.

Middayexpress (talk) 22:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I wont waste anymore energy wading through his fallacious arguments and false sentiments.

That could be because there are no fallacious arguments and false sentiments to wade through; just a lot of unilateral hostility and baseless paranoia. Middayexpress (talk) 22:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Redheylin, i dont see why even though divided into rigid clan systems, this characteristic of our society has to dominate our selection of the figures deserving to be on the image portraying our ethnic group. My image encompasses 3 of the largest clan-families (indeed only the rahanweyn are not missing) whilst still managing to display our most notable figures and represent a wide variety of backgrounds. As a reminder here it is :File:Somalipeople14.jpg

I think people coming onto wikipedia researching the somali people should see people they might recognise, figures which display the beauty, talent, history and achievement of our people. This is how the figures for every other ethnic group are chosen, and our clan system shouldn't hinder us from doing the same for the Somali people. Somaliwarrior (talk) 18:15, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Someone who deliberately has 2 or 3 majerteens (one sub-clan of the Darod) representing all of the Darod clan family cannot claim to be seeking equal representation of Somalis, this is what my point boils down to.

We can put this point aside, since the proposal now is being made by me, and it is; to have no more than one of every clan. You might like to type in "Afghan people" for an idea of what I am suggesting - and you will note that there has been bad feeling there and the page is locked. But there are no celebrities - there is no rule that "people should be notable". I understand that is your personal preference, but it is not a policy.

I think it is self-evident that the clan division is such a major factor that it is likely that you and another Somali will not mean the same thing when you speak of "our ethnic group and society". I think also that this clan division will at present be one of the most important things people will want to research if they type in "Somali people". Since you have provided an image with three clans shown - and as far as I can tell it is you who have raised the clan issue - why not simply identify notable people from the other groups and add them too? It is only two or three more photos. Then you have your preference for notable people and anybody who is concerned about clans cannot complain. Redheylin (talk) 19:33, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

One thing more I noticed - why no women? Redheylin (talk) 19:33, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks to Redheylin and Ludwigs2 for weighing in. I hope this doesn't cause further argument, but there's been no mention of Dir (clan), nor Rahanweyn. If anything, I would be inclined to use a picture of a non-notable, anonymous person, someone whose clan affiliation isn't obvious. To that end, I would have suggested using File:Somali nomad girls.jpg (currently a little further down in the article) in the infobox. However, I have serious doubts regarding the claim that the photo is in the public domain. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:17, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

The afghan people are a whole different kettle of fish, namely the afghan people compromise different ethnic groups (pashto, tajik etc) each of which has its own page by the way. Somalis form one ethnic group, divided into inter-related clans and clan families. This means that there is less of a divide as every figure will always be representing the ethnic group, as long as the majority of the clan families are represented there should be no problem.There are but few truly notable Somalis, and it so happens that many of them are Darood (for historical reasons). This justifies why there are more daroods on the image. Redheylin, i wanted to limit the figures to those who deserve to be there, and i'm happy with the clan representation. Adding for example Abdiqassim a Hawiye a predecessor of Abdullahi Yusuf as president of the transitional government would add nothing to the portrayal of the Somali people for the average wiki-user. He has contributed nothing whatsoever to somali history or culture, so why should i put him up there just to appease those with a clan-mentality when K'naan represents the hawiye and actually deserves to be up there? and btw, I wasn't the one who raised the clan-issue and i think Iman most certainly qualifies as a woman, don't you? lol

-gyrofrog, my image has notable persons from the Darod, the Hawiye and the Isaaq. My image follows the example set by the other ethnic group pages on Wiki, which all show famous and historic figures belonging to their particular ethnic group. The Somali page should be no different. It isnt simply a matter of everyone or no one, all Somalis would want their most famous people on here, you are exaggerating the divide, as if there is hatred between tribes. This is not the case. I have no doubt in the slightest that a wiki-user who has Rahanwein affiliation would accept my proposed image. oh and some sources e.g. [1] (sorry its in somali) classify the Isaaq as part of the Dir confederation. Somaliwarrior (talk) 21:59, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Somaliwarrior - generally speaking, when people tell you that they object to your image, it's usually counterproductive to argue that you're certain no one would object to your image. now while I understand the logic behind putting notable people on the page (and it's good to have Iman there as a representative of starving Somali children - just kidding...) you can be pretty sure that one complaining editor reflects a few thousand annoyed readers, and that's not good. best to compromise on this, rather than continue arguing for a disputed image. --Ludwigs2 22:21, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I've been thinking about this issue a lot and I think the best thing to do at this point is to just follow Gyrofrog's and Ludwigs2's advice and put up a neutral image in the box. Either that or none at all, in the model of the contentious Afghan people page Redheylin mentioned. The reason I suggest this is because it is now abundantly clear that whichever representatives of the various clans we wind up selecting, there will always be some person from some sub-clan (say, Marehan) that'll take exception to the fact that some other person from some other sub-clan (say, Majerteen) is chosen to represent the major clan that they both happen to belong to (Darod in this case) instead of someone from their own sub-clan. This whole Siad Barre (Marehan) vs. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (Majerteen) scenario which is currently playing out on this page is a good example of what I am talking about. If one looks at the Berber people's page, every so often, someone dissatisfied with the image box changes it. We can easily avoid this nightmare scenario of constant reverts and heated discussions like this one by simply settling on a neutral image. To this end, I propose the image below of Somali girls that's already on the page; all we have to do is move it up to the image box:

File:Somali nomad girls.jpg

Somali nomad girls

This is similar to what can be found on the Eritreans page, a people that are also from the Horn of Africa and closely related to Somalis. The Oromo page also quite presciently has a neutral image, and it consequently hasn't suffered any ridiculous revert wars thanks to this one simple move. Oromos, incidentally, also share a very similar system of intricate clan lineages and sub-lineages as Somalis, so they're an ideal model to follow in this regard. Middayexpress (talk) 22:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

If Warrior is not ready to compromise by adding a couple more notable persons, then I think a single neutral image is the only answer. Both of you seem quite new, and I am also new to this area, so I should just like to say to me this is all symptomatic. There are hundreds of Somalis with articles, but most have very poor stub articles with no photo. There are at least three pages covering the same ground, using the same text and images as this page, while other images are completely unused. I'd have thought there was a great deal more to do here for the fame of Somalia.

Redheylin (talk) 23:08, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

• Demographics of Somalia
• Transitional Federal Parliament (of Somalia)
• Demographics of Djibouti
• Demographics of Ethiopia
• Demographics of Kenya
• Sixth Clan
• Somali culture (Category)
• Somali society (Category)
• Somali politicians (Category)
• Somali clans
• List of Somalis

1. List of members of the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament
2. List of woredas in the Somali Region
3. Somalia
4. Prime Minister of Somalia
5. Factions in the Somali Civil War
6. Republic of Somaliland
7. Somali Region

etc etc. It is absurd. Redheylin (talk) 23:23, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm confident that even if we manage to settle on a series of notable persons, it'll only be a bandaid solution to the underlying problem which is clan rivalry, and that clan rivalry won't be going away any time soon. There will never be a satisfactory lineup of notable persons because all of them will be tied to a clan and a sub-clan on top of that and a sub-sub clan, etc. I also think that the whole issue of notability and fame is secondary to the issue of avoiding conflict through the unnecessary neglect or undue aggrandizement of any one clan over others. Your suggestion and that of Gyrofrog and Ludwig2 that we settle on a neutral image therefore hands down seems to be the best solution in the long run. Middayexpress (talk) 23:49, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

You're very quick to assume Warrior will not listen. I wish you had been as quick to point out that it was you, not he, who began the "clan war". I hope you will take to heart the suggestion that there is ample scope for any Somali to improve the representation of his people without engaging in edit wars. Redheylin (talk) 00:02, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure how to answer this. I've never stated Somaliwarrior started a clan war nor have I ever called him names or accused him of being this that and the other or started a clan war myself (how?). I've stated that "if we are not careful about equitably representing the various clans in our collage of Somali people, we run the risk of creating the impression that only one particular clan (in this case, Darods) has contributed anything of note to Somali society. We would consequently actually be adding to the central problem of inter-clan antagonism rather than avoiding it."

Like I wrote earlier, I've been thinking a lot about this situation. What made me see the logic in Gyrofrog's and Ludwig2's suggestion that we simply include a neutral image and be done with it is the fact that:

• I had a look at other pages on Wikipedia of ethnic groups most similar to Somalis, namely, the Eritrean and especially the Oromo pages, and sure enough, they had neutral images and no revert wars in their page histories over these images.
• I read an article by someone in the know about the futility of the Somali federal government's point sharing system specifically because every Somali clan has sub-clans which in turn have sub-clans which in turn also have sub-clans and so forth. It never ends. Here's a striking quote from the article:

In an era of civil war, it seemed the solution for Somalis to share power on clan basis. Unfortunately a system based on clans splitting positions is chaotic and unworkable because every clan has sub-clans and every sub-clan has subdivisions. Many of us knew all along that it was a waste of time and an unmitigated disaster. Some of us have also stoically waited until the day when the rest of the nation would arrive at a similar conclusion. Unfortunately, no one has envisaged the bandwagon of clan-based utopia would simply roll on without end. Ultimately, the losers are the country and the people. The question is: How can Somalia achieve a representative government without clans splitting positions the same way nomads split up the meat of a slaughtered camel in the open savannah? Only a responsible leadership can ensure a representative government.

That's basically why I agree with Gyrofrog and Ludwig2 that a single neutral image is the best solution since it's the least likely to offend through the inclusion and/or omission of hypothetical notable persons, and therefore has the most staying power as the Oromo page in particular can attest versus, say, the constantly changing Berber page. Middayexpress (talk) 01:11, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

'Somaliwarrior - generally speaking, when people tell you that they object to your image, it's usually counterproductive to argue that you're certain no one would object to your image. '

Ludwig2, if you read carefully you'd know i was implying that in in my view a rahanweyn wiki-user wouldnt object to my image on the basis that his clan was not represented, as the notable figures on there are deserving of their status as representatives of the Somali people, so how does that equate 'no one would object to my image'?

As i recall you said you didnt know the faintest thing about somali clans and an image of a no-body would suffice to settle the debate, so you from this am i to assume you object to my image because it resulted in a heated discussion? I dont see why we should settle for some generic non-descript image just because it would satisfy the clan divide, which like i said before is being blown out of proportion. Somalis are somalis, and representation of 3/5 clan families is sufficient. Why should every single clan family be represented? Who is calling for that? Redheylin i'd gladly add a 'notable' person from the Rahanweyn(or other non-represented Somali clan-family) but the simple fact is that i dont know any apart from a corrupt small time warlord, should i include him? Somaliwarrior (talk) 00:19, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Somaliwarrior - if that is the case then please ask Middayexpress to come up with enough images to restore clan neutrality and add them. If they are not notable then they are not - Midday does not care about notability, so much as clan representation. You are having a hard time compromising with other editors, but you surely realise that, if you cannot do this thing then four editors are liable to overrule your desire for notable people entirely. Redheylin (talk) 23:33, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Somaliwarrior - I'll add that the fact that things are being (as you put it) being blown out of proportion is a sure, clear, unambiguous sign that there is a problem with your suggestion. people don't blow things out of proportion without reason or cause, and while you may not understand or or appreciate their reasons, you still need to respect them. that's how you establish a proper consensus. it's like my grandfather used to say: "an argument is just two people who are each trying to figure out why the other person isn't making any sense." don't keep pushing to make everyone see your sense; figure out some sense that you and everyone else can see. --Ludwigs2 05:34, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Redheylin , i'm well aware that this is a tug of war between myself and 4 different editors lol, but i believe that we shouldnt make an exception for the Somali ethnic group pic in order to conform to some imaginary necessity to balance clan representation in a pic. firstly because this is simply impossible, you cannot make everybody happy, the alternative that you are proposing that we should just give up goes against the purpose of the image. You look at virtually every other ethnic group and they have their notable figures up there. There is no need to represent every clan-family, there is a need to display our notable figures. I can add more isaaq and hawiye figures, but we still won't have a notable from the Dir or the Rahanweyn. Another thing which you fail to understand is that no Somali would feel any of the people up there are undeserving because even though clannism(which you are trying to satisfy) has ruined our country, our past history and our achievements are represented by those individuals(because in their deeds and historical significance they represent all somalis not an individual clan). No somali would argue with that.

Ludwig you amuse me, wasn't your last comment about some other 'unambiguous' sign i missed in my reasoning? let me correct you once again, i didn't simply say 'things' are 'being blown out of proportion', i clearly stated that the clan divide is being exaggerated (a completely different statement you'll agree) because with it redheylin et al are implying that the clans hate each others guts, whilst the truth is that nobody bears anybody else hatred(so no reason for their 'everyone or no one' approach) and all somalis would want their national heroes and their historical figures up there. Perhaps you should spend less time trying to coach me in debating, and more properly reading my writing. Somaliwarrior (talk) 02:43, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Let's say the tables were turned. If the clan divide is being exaggerated, does that mean you wouldn't care if we selected a photo only one person, who happened to be Hawiye? -- Gyrofrog (talk) 04:14, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Here is my proposal for the roster of Somalis to put in the image box if we are to settle on the several notable people option:

File:King Ahmed Gurey Mog.jpgFile:Aden Abdullah Osman Daar.jpg

From the top left, with their clan in parentheses: Ahmed Gurey (no clan affiliation), first Somali national hero; Iman (Darod), supermodel; Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadrawi' (Isaaq), Somalia's greatest living poet; Khadija Qalanjo (Dir), famous singer & first Miss Somalia; Aden Abdullah Osman Daar (Hawiye), first President of Somalia

Note that I've managed to find notable representatives for each of the five major Somali clans except for the Rahanweyn. I've only been able to find two Rahanweyn chaps, and they're both warlords.

Another option available to us and discussed above is of course to just use a neutral image. To this end, I've found this great picture of a young Somali woman that would fit in quite well at the top of the page:

It's impossible to tell which clan she's from, and she's both visibly an ethnic Somali and dressed in the ubiquitous dirac garb Somali women wear in urban areas. Middayexpress (talk) 13:36, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I also like Image:Somali children.JPEG (located at Commons) except that at larger resolutions, it becomes evident that only the child in the middle is in focus. Commons has some other images to consider. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 13:51, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I've seen all of them. The one with the kids is alright, but I agree with you about the blurring aspect of it. The other images depict either depressing refugee-type scenes or they're not of ethnic Somalis at all, just folks from Somalia. There is, however, that one image of Zahra Abdulla, the Somali-Finnish MP which is interesting and might work. She's a notable person though, so maybe not so neutral. Middayexpress (talk) 14:06, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

'Let's say the tables were turned. If the clan divide is being exaggerated, does that mean you wouldn't care if we selected a photo only one person, who happened to be Hawiye? -- '

The only problem i'd have with that is that our other notable somalis are being excluded. I honestly couldnt care less if all our most famous figures came mostly from one clan family. You have to understand that my reasoning is based on the fact that every ethnic group has their notable figures up there. It's great to see a more agreeable and honest Middayexpress, well done for finding Khadijo Qalanjo, i only wish we could get a better pic of her. The only problem i see with your proposal is that you are lacking the variety in backgrounds my image had, e.g. i dont think we can do without Abdi Bile especially since we have such a magnificently patriotic image of him. And some would argue that the Mad mullah, the father of Somali nationalism is more notable then Axmed Gurey. Its a difficult choice, but i'm hopeful we can work out some kind of compromise. Perhaps if i add the mad mullah and Bile to your images and make a collage? Somaliwarrior (talk) 22:50, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I suppose the logical thing for me to do at this point is to return that cheap shot Somaliwarrior just leveled at me yet again (and without any provocation whatsoever on my part), but like the other three editors here, I'm actually trying to resolve this issue. Abdi Bile cannot be included even if we accord that his image is indeed 'magnificently patriotic' for the simple fact that he is Darod and that position is already very much occupied by Iman, one of the two lone women in the collage. Mad Mullah is yet another Darod (from the Ogaden sub-clan), so his inclusion is also problematic. Ahmed Gurey, I'll add, is not only a local Somali hero but a Muslim hero worldwide. Mad Mullah, as great and courageous as he was, did not defeat a succession of Ethiopian Emperors backed by Portuguese troops like Ahmed Gurey did. He also doesn't, at least as far as I know, have an entire website dedicated in his honor the way Ahmed Gurey does. Middayexpress (talk) 23:58, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Then, why not make more than one of each clan? If all the notables are Darods, then supply an even number of others. Notable or not. Redheylin (talk) 01:05, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

'Abdi Bile cannot be included even if we accord that his image is indeed 'magnificently patriotic' for the simple fact that he is Darod and that position is already very much occupied by Iman'

You would side with Iman wouldn't you? If we had to pick one Darood it would have to be the Mad mullah first, and Iman last. So because Ahmed gurey has a website dedicated to him(a rather poor one at that) he must be historically more significant than the mad mullah? When i say you have fallacious reasoning, i wasn't making it up. You said Ahmed gurey is a 'muslim hero world wide', lol nobody knows him outside of the Horn, even his Somali roots are disputed. He ruled a nation of Somalis and Afars, yet we need only to scroll up to see where you wrongly claimed that he was the 'father of Somali nationalism'. The Mad mullah created and embodied Somali nationalism, he deserves pride of place in any collage we make, he was the first Somali to unite the Somali clans you should look him up, since you obviously have quite a lot of research to do

And please if you could refrain from disfiguring my writing with your cut and paste technique. Simply quote whichever part of my writing you find disagreeable.

So guys, this is what we're down to = [2] The Image contains 3 Darods, 2 Hawiye's, 2 Dir's ( The Isaaq are often said to be part of the Dir clan family [3] and Ahmed Gurey who's of unknown lineage

I'm more than happy to find the right mixture, as long as the figures are appropriately notable. Somaliwarrior (talk) 00:00, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

One thing to keep in mind is that the images should (or, really, must) be free to use on Wikipedia. The Khadija Qalanjo picture, for example, is from a TV show, and really could only be used in an article about that TV show. You'll note that a 'bot has already come and blanked it out on this talk page. Personally I agree with you regarding the Mad Mullah vs. Iman, while recognizing that Iman will be more recognizable to most non-Somalis - though I still lean toward a picture of an anonymous individual(s). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 00:42, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

You would side with Iman wouldn't you? If we had to pick one Darood it would have to be the Mad mullah first, and Iman last.

Here, Somaliwarrior again comments on the contributor and not on the content. No... I 'choose' Iman because she is, again, one of the two lone women in the collage, and women are already underrepresented as it is. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

So because Ahmed gurey has a website dedicated to him(a rather poor one at that) he must be historically more significant than the mad mullah? When i say you have fallacious reasoning, i wasn't making it up.

Again, Somaliwarrior takes a cheapshot at the contributor rather than attempting to prove his point through legitimate argumentation. That website may indeed be poorly designed, but its very existence speaks volumes. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

You said Ahmed gurey is a 'muslim hero world wide', lol nobody knows him outside of the Horn, even his Somali roots are disputed. He ruled a nation of Somalis and Afars, yet we need only to scroll up to see where you wrongly claimed that he was the 'father of Somali nationalism'.

It's interesting that Somaliwarrior should mention that because the comprehensive Oxford History of Islam devotes two entire pages to Ahmed Gurey/Gran, yet oddly no pages to the apparently more accomplished Mad Mullah. Encyclopedia Britannica describes Ahmed Gurey as a leader of a Muslim movement that all but subjugated Ethiopia. At the height of his conquest, he held more than three-quarters of the kingdom, and, according to the chronicles, the majority of men in these conquered areas had converted to Islam. In other words, he is not only a very accomplished general and leader, but he is also quite possibly the very reason why Somalis, Afars, and many others in the Horn can even call themselves Muslims today. I think any objective person would agree that that, in and of itself, is quite significant. As for the notion that 'his Somali roots are disputed', a simple look through the Ahmed Gurey page on Wikipedia should quickly prove otherwise. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

The Mad mullah created and embodied Somali nationalism, he deserves pride of place in any collage we make, he was the first Somali to unite the Somali clans you should look him up, since you obviously have quite a lot of research to do

Cheapshot #3. I have no problem with the inclusion of the Mad Mullah alongside Ahmed Gurey if the balance of clan representation is not skewed any one way. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

And please if you could refrain from disfiguring my writing with your cut and paste technique. Simply quote whichever part of my writing you find disagreeable.

I'll only too happily quit 'disfiguring' Somaliwarrior's writing when he learns to communicate his ideas without misplaced vitriol and unwarranted hostility. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

So guys, this is what we're down to = [4]

The Image contains 3 Darods, 2 Hawiye's, 2 Dir's ( The Isaaq are often said to be part of the Dir clan family [5] and Ahmed Gurey who's of unknown lineage

We're almost there, but not quite. Isaaq are only occasionally considered a part of the Dir major clan, and certainly not by themselves. The CIA, among most other actual authorities (that excludes blog sources), classifies the two clans separately. Also, that disproportionately large image of Abdi Bile in place of Iman is, again, a no-go because there is only one woman up there as it is, and Iman, for someone solely interested in notability, is about as prominent a figure as one will find. The Abdi Bile photo also has copyright issues. No fair use rationale was provided for its use, and the source of the work and attendant copyright information were also omitted. It's only a matter of time before the image is marked for deletion, as have two (1, 2, ) of the collage images Somaliwarrior has previously proposed since he provided no copyright information on the photos in the collage. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm more than happy to find the right mixture, as long as the figures are appropriately notable. Somaliwarrior (talk) 00:00, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Yup, the Khadija Qalanjo image unfortunately also has copyright issues, as do a couple of the collage images already proposed. We'll have to find a happy medium it seems. Middayexpress (talk) 02:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Then please take one person who has tried to rise above clan rivalry:

Redheylin (talk) 02:19, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

From a purely visual standpoint (which one could argue trumps many, if not all, other considerations), I think it is better than the rest we've seen. This is a good photograph. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 02:41, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

I think, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, that that photograph is a lot less photogenic than the girl in the photo I proposed earlier:

I also think the collage idea isn't completely dead in the water. It may still have some life in it yet if Somaliwarrior and I can find more to agree on. Middayexpress (talk) 02:52, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

The difference is that Asha Haji Elmi represents the Sixth Clan and is a notable person. Let us not bother whether or not attractiveness is more or less important than clan in a woman, since we have not asked Warrior why he wants Somalis to be famous for having long legs and killing each other. Redheylin (talk) 03:07, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

(To Middayexpress) I meant that I thought the photograph was of better quality, I wasn't referring to the subject of the photo. It may seem like a minor clarification, but my preference for the photo had to do with an attempt at neutrality, i.e. "which photograph (not which person) might improve the article?" (No offense to the photographer of the young woman) I think Iman is more photogenic than either of them (that's her profession, after all: to be photogenic) but that photograph of Iman is of lesser quality. (FWIW I think the Hadraawi.jpg image is also of good quality, assuming uploader's claim of ownership is on the level.) -- Gyrofrog (talk) 03:34, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

To Gyrofrog: I see what you mean. I'm just waiting for Somaliwarrior to weigh in so we can at least get closer to wrapping this thing up. It's been, what, a week now? Middayexpress (talk) 04:22, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

I see you've continued to cut and paste initially you resorted to this so as to give the illusion your writing has substance but now you are doing it out of sheer pettiness, since you could have easily copied my writing.

Your writing is getting monotomous, you complain about imaginary personal attacks (yes saying your arguments are flawed is a personal attack) and provide not even the feeblest defence of your arguments(for example you didnt defend your comment about Axmed gurey being 'father of somali nationalism', you dropped it like a brick. Your reply to my assertion that Axmed Gurey is NOT a world-famous muslim hero was that he had two WHOLE pages dedicated to him in an encyclopedia ). You see, when pressed you simply cry wolf and use some more flawed reasoning to defend a previous inconsistent argument. I simply can't be bothered with it anymore. Gyrofrog and Redheylin you havent commented on the new collage, you seem determined to settle this whole thing with one mundane image. Like i said, have a look at 90% of the ethnic wiki pages and you'll see they have their famous and historic figures up there, anything less for the somali page would be wrong. Somaliwarrior (talk) 17:12, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Warrior, I have taken some time to try to find a way to accomodate your wishes. Your uncivil and intransigent behaviour is doing more than anything else to prevent you from getting your way or anything like it. You had not asked for any comments. Will you kindly incorporate the above photo and the concept of "sixth clan" if you have not already? Or, if you "simply cannot be bothered any more", then by all means drop the argument and accept whatever results. Redheylin (talk) 00:39, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

• I see you've continued to cut and paste initially you resorted to this so as to give the illusion your writing has substance but now you are doing it out of sheer pettiness, since you could have easily copied my writing.

And I suppose that baseless cheapshot (to give the illusion your writing has substance) qualifies as something other than 'sheer pettiness'? If Somaliwarrior is so perturbed by my highlighting and then systematically responding to each and every one of his many charges and insults, perhaps he should first re-examine his own approach to Wikiquette. Middayexpress (talk) 02:45, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

• Your writing is getting monotomous, you complain about imaginary personal attacks (yes saying your arguments are flawed is a personal attack

Nothing 'imaginary' about this I'm afraid: You would side with Iman wouldn't you? If we had to pick one Darood it would have to be the Mad mullah first, and Iman last. This is Somaliwarrior's way of casting aspersions on me by insinuating that I've picked Iman to be in the collage only because she happens to be Majerteen. Let's not forget that only a few days ago he was repeatedly accusing me of actually being Majerteen. And Wiki policies clearly instruct to comment on content, not on the contributor, something Somaliwarrior seems incapable of doing. They also cover rudeness, belittling contributors and name-calling, all of which Somaliwarrior has been guilty of at some time or another in our dealings. He was even warned by Gyrofrog for it. Did Gyrofrog 'imagine' that too? Middayexpress (talk) 02:45, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

• and provide not even the feeblest defence of your arguments(for example you didnt defend your comment about Axmed gurey being 'father of somali nationalism', you dropped it like a brick.

Ahmed Gurey being the 'father of Somali nationalism' is, for starters, only one argument (what else have I not 'defended'?). While many indeed argue that the Mad Mullah was the father of Somali nationalism, many others including the Stanford University political scientist David D. Laitin (who in his book Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience refers to Gurey as 'the first Somali "nationalist"') and the Project for the Research of Islamist Movements (PRISM) think tank argue that it was Ahmed Gurey. It's one of those matters that is under debate, hence my reluctance to bite Somaliwarrior's head off for ascribing that distinction to the Mad Mullah instead of Ahmed Gurey. Middayexpress (talk) 02:45, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

• Your reply to my assertion that Axmed Gurey is NOT a world-famous muslim hero was that he had two WHOLE pages dedicated to him in an encyclopedia ).

No... my reply to Somaliwarrior's assertion that nobody knows him outside of the Horn was to point out that not only is Ahmed Gurey indeed known outside of the Horn of Africa, he even commands two entire pages in the authoritative and comprehensive Oxford History of Islam alongside other global Muslim luminaries. Contrast that with the fact that the eminent Persian mathematician Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī -- who invented much of modern trignometry -- was accorded only one line in the book. Not bad for an apparently strictly local celebrity. Middayexpress (talk) 02:45, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

• You see, when pressed you simply cry wolf and use some more flawed reasoning to defend a previous inconsistent argument. I simply can't be bothered with it anymore.

See above for more 'flawed reasoning', and this for 'crying wolf'. Middayexpress (talk) 02:45, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Gyrofrog and Redheylin you havent commented on the new collage, you seem determined to settle this whole thing with one mundane image. Like i said, have a look at 90% of the ethnic wiki pages and you'll see they have their famous and historic figures up there, anything less for the somali page would be wrong. Somaliwarrior (talk) 17:12, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Gyrofrog and Redheylin are not suggesting anything unreasonable or unheard of. Indeed, many of the other Wiki pages on ethnic groups have neutral images, just like they have proposed. All of the other Horn of Africa groups, in fact, have either a neutral image or no image at all (e.g. Afar, Agaw, Amhara, Bilen, Jeberti, Oromo, Saho, Tigray and Tigre -- in other words, every group listed as being related to Somalis on the Somali people main page). Moreover, the collage image as it currently stands is problematic because of copyright issues with the Abdi Bile image as I've already explained above. The Siad Barre photo has also been deleted from Wikipedia. The Khadija Qalanjo image has unfortunately run into copyright problems as well, and the Mad Mullah photo doesn't appear to be hosted anywhere on Wikipedia so it's own copyright status is anyone's guess. Given the forgoing, here is my latest proposal for a collage image:

File:King Ahmed Gurey Mog.jpgFile:Aden Abdullah Osman Daar.jpg

Yup, only four folks. The Germans page has the same number, so it's not without precedent. Three of the five Somali clans are also represented; there are no Rahanweyn images to be found other than warlords, and Qalanjo was the only Dir notable person that I know of (the Dir page doesn't list any).

That said, if we opt instead for a neutral image, I of course still think we should use that image of the young Somali woman above. Middayexpress (talk) 02:45, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Midday, would you be so kind as to refrain from responding to Warrior's little attitude problem, and leave aside the side issues, seeing as you have asked for help and complained about the time that is being taken. Thanks. Redheylin (talk) 02:56, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Will you also both please respond to my request to include the above photo and, Midday, please note that I have not advocated any "neutral" image. Redheylin (talk) 02:59, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid I can't take you up on your suggestion, Redheylin. If I am being accused of having done something, it's my prerogative and indeed my duty to defend myself. As for the image, if you have not advocated a neutral image, then what exactly might I ask is your position? Because Asha Haji Elmi's proposed 'Sixth Clan' is not an actual clan at all, but a pan-Somali women's movement. She is, in fact, from the Habir Gidir sub-clan of the Hawiye major clan -- the same major clan as the first President of Somalia, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, who is already in the collage. Middayexpress (talk) 03:21, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

If I am being accused of having done something, it's my prerogative and indeed my duty to defend myself. No - not at all. It is your duty to stick to the subject and refuse to engage in off-topic discussion. You ask; what exactly might I ask is your position? My position is; I have attended by request as a neutral third opinion and my time is being wasted by bad behaviour and entrenched political beliefs. As far as I know, the person in question has renounced her clan: surely she has a right to do so? Including her will represent many people, she is notable, and might stand in the present circumstances for the aspiration of many Somalis to escape the undoubted problems brought about by a too-great emphasis on the matter of clan - the problem that you have brought to us, in fact.Redheylin (talk) 17:56, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

If I'm correctly reading the recent discussions, it seems that Middayexpress and Somaliwarrior agree on the 4 proposed images, which is great (not to mention significant). But, again, I question the claim of ownership regarding the Hadraawi.jpg image (given the uploader's past warnings about copyvio). If any of these four images were to end up being deleted, you may again find yourselves in this same predicament. I'm not saying deletion is certain or even likely, but note that the Iman photo is the only one confirmed with a WP:OTRS ticket (the Aden Abdullah Osman Daar image is probably OK, perhaps moreso because he is deceased, but upon what do you base your rationale? See Wikipedia:PD#Countries_without_copyright_treaties_with_the_U.S.: I have no idea how or whether this applies to Somalia). All that said, I still think the Asha Haji Elmi photograph is the best choice from a purely aesthetic standpoint. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 18:34, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

It makes no difference whether or not Asha Haji Elmi has personally renounced her clan. People are still well aware of which clan issued her, and her parents before her, and her grandparents before that, etc. Hawiyes still know she is Hawiye and draw pride from that. Like all other notable Somalis, hers is by no means a neutral image.

It does, however, seem like Somaliwarrior and I have at least managed to agree on four images to include. The old Aden Abdullah Osman Daar photo is not likely to run into copyright problems since: a) it was first published outside of the United States, b) US copyright formalities were not complied with, and c) it was in the public domain in its home country on January 1, 1996, hence the tag. In fact, since the civil war, there has been no copyright protection of any kind in Somalia. Musicians regularly have their work boot-legged as a result of this, so they can't earn a decent living from their art. It's pretty sad.

At any rate, I've checked out the talk page of the guy that uploaded the Hadraawi image, and indeed he appears to have had a few problems in the past with copyright. However, those all date from 2007, and he uploaded the Hadraawi photo back in April of that year. Had there been something wrong with that image, I think it would've been deleted by now. Middayexpress (talk) 23:27, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Redheylin, if any of you think me intransigent, it is because i'm sticking to my belief that the ethnic group page requires an image displaying the historically and culturally notable figures of the ethnic group. Its not about aesthetics or about appeasing some imaginary demand for a quota-like clan-based inclusion policy. Nor is it about sending some sort of political message (which would be the case if we had the lady from the 'Sixth Clan' as our sole representative).It is simply about displaying our most famous figures. If we can ensure that no particular clan is dominating then that would be excellent, but when you make it all about clans you are exaggerating the clan divide and bringing it to the fore. If you represent us with some non-descript figure you are robbing us of our right to present our most famous figures and denying us the right to display the achievements of our people.

I created a collage [6] which contains 3 darods, 2 dirs and 2 hawiyes. I have compromised my goal of selecting our most important figures with maintaining a clan balance. The only difference with Middayexpress' latest proposal is that mine has one extra Darod. My image includes an athlete, a model, two singers, a poet, two historical leaders, and our first President. Nobody can complain that the Darod have a dominant position, I could easily have added 4 or 5 daroods in there all notable, simply because many of our renowned figures are darod. I have stuck with 3 : Abdi Bile, Iman and the Mad Mullah. All 3 are important because they are 3 of the most famous (definately top ten) somali figures and they represent different pursuits and achievements. 6 of the 8 images in the collage have been available in wikicommons for a long time. the Mad Mullah image has no copyright and is widely available in the public domain. the Bile image i found as part of a poster and i cropped the original to produce it, hence the potential for a copyright issue. Another issue is whether or not i am allowed to include Middayexpress' image of Khadijo.

I hope you all see the sense of what i'm saying, let us work together to perfect my collage so we bring this matter to a satisfactory close. Somaliwarrior (talk) 22:28, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

I tend to agree with Somaliwarrior in that if we can't agree on a neutral image, then let us at least find the right balance of notables for a collage. While Somaliwarrior's collage is admittedly quite nice to look at, it still contains the Abdi Bile image, which is a copyright liability. The Khadija Qalanjo photo is more likely to be admissible for the reasons explained here and since there is no copyright protection in Somalia any longer. However, it's also a gamble, albeit to a lesser degree. If Somaliwarrior can assure us that the Mad Mullah photo is indeed in the public domain, then it's inclusion wouldn't seem out of place. That would then leave us with a collage of 2 Darods (Iman, Mad Mullah), 2 Hawiyes (Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, K'naan), 1 Isaaq (Hadraawi), possibly 1 Dir (Khadija Qalanjo), and Ahmed Gurey -- all notable and fairly diverse. I've also found this great image of Mohamoud Ali Shire, the 27th Sultan of the Sultanate of Warsengeli. Sultan Shire is a Darod so that would push the Darod count up one, something to think about. He would, however, be the only Sultan in our collage. Let me know what you think Somaliwarrior; should we or shouldn't we include him? Middayexpress (talk) 23:27, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Redheylin, if any of you think me intransigent, it is because i'm sticking to my belief that the ethnic group page requires an image displaying the historically and culturally notable figures of the ethnic group. Its not about aesthetics or about appeasing some imaginary demand for a quota-like clan-based inclusion policy. Nor is it about sending some sort of political message...

I agree with you, and I have spent precious hours trying to make it happen. That is why I did not support a non-notable or neutral image with the others UNLESS there is no other way to fix this. You are expressing yourself now with perfect clarity. Perhaps if you reflect that reason and clarity is getting some results, you will rely more upon them and less upon uncivil behaviour. I hope so, because you are bringing trouble upon yourself and throwing away support. But please also think that those small clans may have remarkable people but are just too remote for them to be as notable as English-speaking city-dwellers. I had not asked that the Sixth Clan be used ALONE - but please incorporate it into your collage. This is actually an internationally-noted person and issue. I would also suggest that you cut down the Iman pic to head and shoulders so that she can be properly seen.

Redheylin (talk) 00:00, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

That's quite a serious revert, Midday. Redheylin (talk) 01:47, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Well that's quite a serious edit, Redheylin. Kindly do not again unilaterally insert an image into the image box like you've just done. Somaliwarrior and I have already explained to you why the Asha Haji Almi image is both non-neutral and cannot be accomodated into the list of notables collage. She is Hawiye (a position that's already occupied by Aden Abdullah Osman Daar and K'naan), much less notable and photogenic than the other persons already included in the collage, and, most importantly, represents a political message -- something Somaliwarrior and I have tried to avoid with our respective omissions of the presidents Siad Barre and Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. Middayexpress (talk) 01:59, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

And the other reverts, please? Redheylin (talk) 02:50, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

That too is quite plainly explained in the page history. Middayexpress (talk) 02:57, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

No, I am afraid it is not. I'd like to see an itemised rationale for every single change you reverted = every single comma, to dispel the impression that you are trying to own, vandalise and disrupt the page. Redheylin (talk) 18:33, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

So I didn't explain myself, eh? Very well. In that case, I'd be very interested to know what I meant by restored lead-in, sourced phrases, length of British and Italian rule in this edit. Could it be that I was referring to the fact that you for no apparent reason removed from the lead-in paragraph all factual reference to the Horn of Africa also being known as the Somali Peninsula? Or when you removed phrases such as 'proponents of this theory propose', ostensibly to create the impression that the hypothesis that Somalis originated in Ethiopia is anything but a theory? Or when you deleted the phrase 'following a few decades of British and Italian rule', which let people know that colonial rule in Somalia lasted only a few decades? In case you've forgotten, Redheylin, the purpose of your being here is to provide a neutral and nonjudgemental third opinion -- not to drag the feuding parties into trivial semantic games or to take cheap shots at people (Let us not bother whether or not attractiveness is more or less important than clan in a woman, since we have not asked Warrior why he wants Somalis to be famous for having long legs and killing each other) or attempt to unilaterally force your own hand-picked photo into the image box. If you can't find it in you to genuinely be neutral, then perhaps it's best at this point if you just do everyone a favor and quickly and peacefully bow out. Middayexpress (talk) 01:03, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

1. Middayexpress, I think Redheylin is referring to the fact that he made five edits (cumulative link), one of which was to insert the Asha Haji Elmi image. But when you reverted all of them, your edit summary only referred to the image, not Redheylin's other 4 edits. Redheylin, you might have considered simply asking "what was wrong with my other 4 edits?" Midday, on your part, please consider undoing a specific edit, or write a more descriptive edit summary.

2. Redheylin, I assumed "...having long legs and killing each other" to be some part of rhetorical tactic, but this was giving you the benefit of the doubt (AGF) - it isn't immediately clear if this was an attempt at sarcasm or irony, though if it isn't either, what is it it? In any case, for an ostensibly neutral third party it does seem as though you have at least some personal interest in the outcome. (I hover around this and related articles a bit, so I wasn't sure I would be considered neutral, hence my WP:3O request in the first place.) Thank you both for your consideration. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 21:21, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

We are getting off-track. Redheylin, my writing never lacked any clarity. Gyrofrog, we are all more or less agreed that my collage will do after some alterations. The only issue needing resolving as far as i know, is this 'copyright liability' we might have my Abdi Bile pic, can you shine a light on this issue at all?

Midday the Sultan's image is of poor quality and is partly covered by writing, and how does one prove an image is in the common domain? Perhaps you should try and google 'mohammed abdullah hassan' and see for yourself, or better yet browse half the somali websites on the net. Somaliwarrior (talk) 22:32, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The Sultan's image is indeed of poor quality and partly covered by writing, so I'm not opposed to leaving it out of the collage. As for the Abdi Bile photo, what you can do is ask one of these Wikimedia Commons administrators whether or not we are likely to run into copyright problems through use of the image given the fact that a) no fair use rationale was provided for its use, b) the source of the image and attendant copyright information were omitted, c) it does not meet many of the criteria for use of non-free images, and d) two (1, 2) of the proposed collage images that the Bile photo was featured in have been marked for deletion since no copyright information was provided on the photos in the collage. That said, I too suspect that the Mad Mullah photo just might be in the public domain; it is pretty ubiquitous. Middayexpress (talk) 03:43, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Gyrofrog: Yes, I have noticed the unwillingness on the part of editors to include a notable woman politician even for a short time, and the indication that Somali MEN run fast and shoot people, whereas Somali women, also long-legged, are notable only for looking at. It looks like an ill-conceived advert for the place, as far as I am concerned. Certainly internationally-notable ISSUES in Somalia include clan-war and female mutilation, and I also consider ill-advised the strong attempt to exclude a person associated with progress on these issues. Finally, as I said before, there is a failure to achieve concordance with other "Somali" wiki articles. And then there are issues of page-owning and vandalism. I am not impressed by any of this. It is easy to establish that I have recently communicated upon several such 3O articles on whatever topic comment was required.

The issue of concordance and constructivity over a range of pages, rather than single issue edit-warring, reflects my edit on "Greater Somalia" - an unsourced claim that does NOT appear elsewhere in Wiki where it should be expected. And I cannot see any difference between how I say these things and how you'd have liked me to have said them. I do not see any reason why these two editors are taking so long about a single decision and why they imagine that no other editor has a right to edit. Behaviour is very poor, warnings are being considered, my tone reflects that. Redheylin (talk) 22:37, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

You are one of the reasons this issue is taking so long to be resolved. How long will it take for you to comprehend, that the purpose of the profile image for an ethnic group is to familiarise the reader with the ethnic group in question by displaying their historically and culturally notable figures. You are concerned only with using the image as some sort of political message. Because we display Abdi Bile we are indicating that somali men run fast? What kind of narrow-minded statement is that? Abdi Bile is a former World Champion of Somali ethnicity, he is a notable figure, period. Iman is a world famous model, because she is on there doesnt mean 'Somali women are only for looking at'. The specification for who appears on the image isn't decided by who you like or admire, but by the general rule that the most famous figures are to represent an ethnic group so the wiki-reader can make links with the ethnic group and their contribution to the world.

The lady from the sixth clan, is hardly notable, and definately not a household name in somali communities as the other ones are. In fact, this woman is but a community activist who fights for the empowerment of Somali women in her state.Even her work doesnt begin to justify why she should be up there as there are dozens of women like her in the diaspora.

Your opinion on my behaviour is immaterial to me, and when i have the time i will look at your attempts to address the issue of 'concordance and constructivity', because as is apparent, the somali people aren't your forte. Somaliwarrior (talk) 19:49, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Somali clans.

Hello,my name is addow ,i am somali from the abgaal clan -a subclan of hawiye- i am really interested in knowing much about my people i would like to expand the article called abgaal and contribute as much as i can. i am doing masters in migration and refugee studies ,though i know much about my abgaal like abgaal subclans i cant really find a realiable source to the abgaal subclans. i would like you to help me expand the abgaal subclans and also in the creation of a new article called Mudulood.

your faithfully addow

Abgaaloow (talk) 15:33, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Hi. The place to add material on the Abgaal sub-clan of the Hawiye is on the Abgaal page, not here. This page is reserved for a brief summary of the major ethnic Somali clans, and not just one particular clan much less a sub-clan. Regards, Middayexpress (talk) 17:09, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Middayexpress, your link to the wikicommons admins leads to a dead end, and i dont see the problem if my pic hasn't been flagged for deletion. I suggest we deal with 'copyright problems' as and when they appear and go right ahead and put up the amended collage. I will do so within 24 hours unless anybody objects. Somaliwarrior (talk) 15:54, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid we can't do that, Somaliwarrior. Respecting copyright is one of the cornerstones on which Wikipedia is built; it's not something to toy around with or to try and circumvent. It's also the only way of ensuring that our image does not get deleted like the Siad Barre photo already has been (reason: No justification given for fair use for more than seven days), as has one of the initial collage images (reason: no source) with another also presently marked for deletion (reason: no information on source/license for any of the images). The only thing at this point preventing our prospective collage from being admissible is the Abdi Bile photo for which, again, no source or image use rationale was provided. This image also does not meet all of the non-free content criteria. Here is a working link to a list of administrators on WikiCommons. Just ask them the questions enumerated earlier, and let's see if they okay it given the forgoing (though I sincerely doubt they will). Middayexpress (talk) 17:09, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

New collage

It seems the orginal image is copyrighted by Getty Images, the one i added to my collage is a cropped version of that. What the Wiki regulation are regarding the use of such an image i will pursue. Somaliwarrior (talk) 09:38, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

It increasingly looks like we cant use the Bile pic. I've started to change the collage. It is looking like this so far [7] note the total balance in clan representation. The only issue is that there is only one female in there. The image of the Dir singer i couldnt fit in appropriately, and it is of very bad quality. Any comments on this new collage editors? Somaliwarrior (talk) 10:35, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

A nice collage indeed. I especially like the inclusion of Rageh Omaar. If you don't mind my asking, where did you get the photo from? I've been searching for ages for one to add to his Wiki page, but to no avail. If you haven't already, you should perhaps consider adding it to his article. At any rate, I think the Khadija Qalanjo photo would fit in well right below K'naan. The "sharpen" function and other tuning options included in many image editing tools should go a long way towards improving the image's quality. Since we're not showing a closeup of the people in the collage anyway, the image's original quality shouldn't be all that apparent after editing. We're almost there alright; slowly but surely! Middayexpress (talk) 14:17, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

I found this uncopyrighted image on a blog. I'm afraid no amount of image enhancement can significantly improve the quality of the Qalanjo picture. Its a screenshot of an old VHS video.You can give it a try if you wish, and send me the improved image. As far as i'm concerned, the colllage is completely balanced (2:2:2), and is more than adequate for now. The Somali page has been without an image for far too long, i'm going to put my collage up. Please notify me of any disagreement to this edit here on the talk page before anybody reverts. Somaliwarrior (talk) 00:37, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

I've removed the collage since the Rageh Omaar image is copyrighted; the BBC holds the copyright (see this). Middayexpress (talk) 02:18, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Well spotted, the image (seems to have been cropped to exclude the bbc label) was available here but they seem to have put up another one here, again the image has no copyright label. Somaliwarrior (talk) 18:01, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Xhksposter3.JPG

The image Image:Xhksposter3.JPG is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

• That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
• That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --09:09, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Somali populations

The Somali disapora populations are completely wrong, I have noticed people changing it back and forth. After doing some investigation, I have reason to suggest that the Saudi population is false, as well as the Canadian population, British Somali population and the American population. Change it. Saudi Arabia has 50,000 without any proof and that is left one.

The Somali Canadian population is 200,000, the Canadian government website confirmed that, the websites below confirm this

http://www.international.gc.ca/missions/kenya/bilateral-relations-bilaterales/canada-somalia-eng.asp

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=0f42729c-c9a0-4000-8b26-6f2b1a321fb9&k=87889

http://www.somalicanadians.ca/history/index.html

The Toronto Star reports 200,000 Somalis living in the Toronto Area Alone

http://www.somalilandtimes.net/2003/84/8410.shtml

Change the false estimates and lock the Somali People Page, and get rid of Saudi Arabia if the 50,000 somalis cannot be proven.The Canadian statistics have been proven with government websites and yet they are kept deleted as well as the British and American stats —Preceding unsigned comment added by Norwegianguy (talk • contribs) 03:57, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

Unless i am mistaken the only official and verifiable source of population counts in Canada is the Statistics Canada Web site. In the 2006 Census 37,785 people in Canada listed Somali as one of their ethnic origins. Please see Statistics Canada - Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2006 Census —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr.Badlands (talk • contribs) 04:20, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

Somali populations

Exactly what you said. It is the Canadian Census, the majority of Canadians do not participate it and many somalis go under the BLACK category and do not list their ethnicity in the OTHER* please specify box.

The websites given are from the Toronto Star, the Canadian government and etc and all of them do not contradict each other. Use reasoning here. There are many countries on that list that do not even have any sources like Saudi Arabia, Yemen and etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Norwegianguy (talk • contribs) 04:45, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

'Fraid not. The Canadian Census caculates the self-reported ethnicity of Canada's residents, and Somalis choose the Somali category because that is what they are. Perhaps this pains you, but there's nothing more official than a country's actual census.

Further, there are indeed population figures for other countries in the info box which have no sources. However, those nations don't suffer from some random user relentlessly inflating their numbers with any 'ol source he can find except for the lone official, authoritative one: the actual government census. Middayexpress (talk) 06:49, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

That source from the "Canadian government" also only briefly mentions in passing a ballpark estimate but without ever citing where it got that figure from nor even in which year the figure was tabulated. Middayexpress (talk) 07:21, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

Your argument is pretty weak. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, etc have wrong populations so the obvious thing to do is FIND their sources or delete them from the link altogether. Half those countries should be gone since they have no sources to back them up. And for your argument about how "random user relentlessly inflating their numbers with any old source he can find", that's a stupid comment. I got it from a government website and its more recent. I didnt get those numbers from my ass. I actually gave you two solid links. Where are the sources for Saudi Arabia and the rest of them which says citation needed but no one gets rid of those? YOU are the one giving Wikipedia's image of being an untrusted source. NOT ME. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Norwegianguy (talk • contribs) 16:15, 6 November 2008 (UTC)