The Man They Called ‘The Mad Mullah’

This is a story of anticolonial struggle in the Horn of Africa in the early 20th century. Much of the region was occupied by the British, Italians, French and Ethiopians, and one man led a resistance movement that seriously challenged European colonial authority for 20 years. He was Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, a Sufi Muslim, poet and military leader who united the Somali clans and led the armed Dervish Movement.

The British nicknamed him “The Mad Mullah”, but he and his Dervish army were formidable opponents, thriving on their knowledge of local conditions to hand out several losses to the occupying forces. In this film, his great-granddaughter visits Somalia for the first time to retrace her ancestor’s footsteps and discover more about his vision of an independent Somalia. Hassan ultimately failed in his bid but is still remembered a century later as a symbol of resistance and national pride.