Season 1 E12: Introduction to Somali History with Mohammed A Artan (Full Interview)

Описание: Mohammed Artan is a publisher, videographer, student of Islāmic discipline and historian.

He was born in Somalia, raised in the Netherlands and, now lives in England. He studied Film & Videography, and for several years taught filming and editing.

He was the founder of Nuurmedia Productions, a grassroots filming company that served as training and educational platform for film producers with the aim of simplifying videography for the disadvantaged members of the community.

He is now the director and founder of Looh Press, a publishing company specialising in Islāmic, African, and Somali studies resources.

He studied and continues to study with wide-range of scholars and historians, and his interest intersects with Islāmic studies, Islam in East Africa, and ancient East African history.

Mohammed Artan is currently translating and annotating an upcoming classical Arabic text al-ilmām bi-akhbār man bi-arḍ al-Ḥabashah min mulūk al-Islām, ‘The Knowledge about Islamic Kingdoms in the Lands of Northeast Africa [Habashah]’, written by the Khaldunian historian al-Maqrīzī (764/1364–845/1442), from Mamlūk Cairo. This work vividly describes ethnographic and political history of eight African Muslim Dynasties in the Horn of Africa and their struggle for supremacy against the Amharic Christian Solomonic empire, occurring against the background of the Crusades in the Middle East. The work is first to be published from several Arabic manuscripts, as it critically investigates the established narrative of Christian-Ethiopia as “a beleaguered fortress in the midst of a sea of Islam”.

Aside from his scholarly pursuits, his personal interests include: travelling, reading, promoting reading culture, nature, filming, and photography.

He has toured globally and continues to tour his popular introductory course titled 'Introduction To Somali History: Scratching the Surface.'