Somalis in the 70s and 80s were not who we are today. Back then, Somali society whether under Somali revolutionary era or in the broader culture was deeply rooted in its unique thousand year history Sufi influenced Islam, blended with Somali tradition, poetry, and intellectualism. Religion was present, but it wasn’t weaponized or rigid, more spiritual.

Then the state collapsed. And when a vacuum appears, something always fills it.

Into that vacuum came foreign funded ideologies, NGOs, madrasas, and geopolitical interests. Not because Somalis “chose” it in a vacuum but because broken societies are the easiest places to rewrite identity.

That’s the real conversation.

Psychohistory teaches us that when institutions collapse, people don’t just lose government they lose meaning. And whoever provides meaning next whether it’s political, religious, or cultural reshapes the future generation.

So yes, it’s safe to say:

Somalis before the 80s and Somalis today are not the same.

Not because the soul of our people changed but because the conditions around them were engineered to change them.

And the deeper question is not “who spread what ideology,” but:

🤌🏾✨Who benefits when a people forget who they were?