| National Library of Somalia | |
|---|---|
| Matxafka Qaranka | |
| Country | Somalia |
| Type | National library |
| Established | 1975 |
| Location | Mogadishu |
| Coordinates | 2°02′16″N45°20′20″E / 2.037654388254787°N 45.33878601434784°E |
| Map | |
 | |
The National Library of Somalia is a national library in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The National Library was established in 1975, and was open to the general public. In 1983, it held approximately 7,000 books, with limited historical and cultural archival material. [1]
The National Library later closed down in the 1990s during the Somali Civil War. In June 2013, the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies organized a shipment of 22,000 books from the United States to Somalia as part of an initiative to restock the library. [2] In December of that year, the Somali authorities officially launched a major project to rebuild the National Library.
With Zainab Hassan serving as Director, the $1 million federal government-funded initiative intends for a new library complex to be built in the capital within six months. In preparation for the relaunch, 60,000 additional books from other Arab League states are expected to arrive.
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Somalia has an estimated population of around 15 million, of which over 2 million live in the capital and largest city Mogadishu, and has been described as Africa's most culturally homogeneous country. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the country's north. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the south. The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic. Most people in the country are Muslims, the majority of them Sunni.
Communications in Somalia encompasses the communications services and capacity of Somalia. Telecommunications, internet, radio, print, television and postal services in the nation are largely concentrated in the private sector. Several of the telecom firms have begun expanding their activities abroad. The federal government operates two official radio and television networks, which exist alongside a number of private and foreign stations. Print media in the country is also progressively giving way to news radio stations and online portals, as internet connectivity and access increases. In 2012, a National Communications Act was also approved by Cabinet members, and 2 October 2017, the president of Somalia Finally signed the National Communications Law, and became the official Law that regulated the ICT industry. Under that Law, National Communications Authority (NCA) of the federal Republic of Somalia has been established, with board of directors and a general manager. Somalia currently is ranked first in Africa for most affordable mobile data per gigabyte and 7th in the world.
Transport in Somalia refers to the transportation networks and modes of transport in effect in Somalia. They include highways, airports and seaports, in addition to various forms of public and private vehicular, maritime and aerial transportation.
The Somali Armed Forces are the military forces of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Headed by the President as Commander in Chief, they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting with traders all round the Indian Ocean for millennia and has an estimated population of 4,288,000 (2021). Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banadir region on the Indian Ocean, which unlike other Somali regions, is considered a municipality rather than a maamul goboleed.
Middle Shabelle is an administrative region (gobol) in southern Somalia.
Mohamed Siad Barre was a Somali general who served as the President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991 and the third overall President of Somalia. He was given the childhood nickname Afweyne roughly referring to extraversion. Barre, a major general of the gendarmerie by profession, became President of Somalia after the 1969 coup d'état that overthrew the Somali Republic following the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. The Supreme Revolutionary Council military junta under Barre reconstituted Somalia as a one-party Marxist–Leninist communist state, renaming the country the Somali Democratic Republic and adopting scientific socialism, with support from the Soviet Union.
Garowe is the administrative capital of Puntland in northeastern Somalia.
Hafun is a town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Situated in Ras Hafun on the coast of the Guardafui Channel, it is the centre of the Hafun District, and the easternmost town in continental Africa. It is an ancient town previously known as Opone.
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a Somalia-based Islamic insurgence group active in East Africa and Yemen. The group describes itself as waging jihad against "enemies of Islam" and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). The group has been suspected of having links with al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram. Due to its Wahhabi roots, al-Shabaab is hostile to Sufi traditions and has often clashed with the Somali Sufi militia Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a. Al-Shabaab’s leaders and commanders are mainly from the Hawiye clan, which is one of the largest clans in Somalia. It has attracted some members from Western countries, including Briton Samantha Lewthwaite and American Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki.
Somali Americans are Americans of Somali ancestry. The first ethnic Somalis to arrive in the U.S. were sailors who came in the 1920s from British Somaliland. They were followed by students pursuing higher studies in the 1960s and 1970s, by the late 1970s through the late 1980s and early 1990s more Somalis arrived. However, it was not until the mid and late 1990s when the civil war in Somalia broke out that the majority of Somalis arrived in the United States. The Somali community in the U.S is now among the largest in the Somali diaspora.
Mass media in Somalia includes various radio, television, print and internet outlets. The federal government operates two official radio and TV networks, which exist alongside a number of private and foreign stations. Print media in the country is progressively giving way to news radio stations and online portals, as internet connectivity and access increases. In February 2013, the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication also launched a broad-based consultative process for the reformation of media legislation.
Amanda Lindhout is a Canadian humanitarian, public speaker and journalist. On August 23, 2008, she and members of her entourage were kidnapped by Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia. She was released 15 months later on November 25, 2009, and has since embarked on a philanthropic career. In 2013, she released the book, A House in the Sky: A Memoir, in which she recounts her early life, travels as a young adult, and hostage experience. In 2014, the book was optioned to become a major motion picture by Megan Ellison, with Rooney Mara playing the role of Lindhout.
Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas, also known as Abdiweli Gaas, is a Somali American economist and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Somalia from June 2011 to October 2012, and briefly afterwards as an MP in the newly formed Federal Parliament. During his time as Premier, Ali is credited with having devised the formal "Roadmap for the End of Transition", a political process that provided clear benchmarks leading toward the establishment of permanent democratic institutions in the country. On 8 January 2014, he was elected the 5th President of Puntland.
Somalia–Turkey relations are bilateral relations between Somalia and Turkey. The two nations are longstanding partners, engaging in close development cooperations. Somalia has an embassy in Ankara, and Turkey maintains an embassy in Mogadishu.
The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is the internationally recognised government of Somalia, and the first attempt to create a central government in Somalia since the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic. It replaced the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia on 20 August 2012 with the adoption of the Constitution of Somalia.
Ahmed Hussen is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been as the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Hussen has also sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-area the riding of York South—Weston since the 2015 federal election. He previously served as the minister of families, children and social development from 2019 to 2021 and the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship from 2017 to 2019. He is the first Somali-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons and the first to hold a federal Cabinet position.
Immigration in Somalia is regulated by the Somali Immigration Department of the Federal Government of Somalia.
Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, also known as Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohammad, is a Somali economist and politician. He previously worked in the Somali military government as a Livestock Marketing Specialist and later on in mainly leadership positions with a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, USAID, African Union/IBAR, the European Union, the Bank of Canada, COMESA, and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.
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