this is what mohamed farah aidid aun writes about ahmed gran aun.
Somalia: From The Dawn of Civilization To The Modern Times
Mohammed Farah Aidid & Dr. Satya Pal Ruhela, 1994
Chapter 8:
Somali Hero - Ahmad Gurey
(1506-43)
In the 16th century, the first great Somali nationalist leader Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim, also called Ahmed Gurey or Ahmed Gran (the Left-handed) emerged on the scene to defend the country from foreign invaders like the Portuguese and the Ethiopians between A.D. 1528 and 1542.
The origin and early history of Ahmed Gran is not clearly known. I.M. Lewis mentions:
"According to one legend popular in Ethiopia, Ahmed Gran was the issue of a Coptic priest and a Muslim harlot. A recent writer has more seriously suggested that the Imam may have belonged to a section of the Bija tribe."1
However, Somali folklore suggests that he was in fact a Darod - son of a Somali woman and an Abyssinian Christian priest. The Somali nation, which considers him to be a great Somali hero, today believes this as a fact.
http://www.civicwebs.com/cwvlib/africa/ ... pter_8.htmothers say.
Ethnicity
Imam Ahmad has traditionally sometimes been interpreted as being an Arab in Ethiopia[1], though he is more often represented as Somali native.[2] The traditional interpretation of his ethnicity as Somali, however, has been challenged. Adal was a multiethnic state comprising Afars and Somalis, as well as the ancestors of the modern Harari. Ewald Wagner postulates that, in fact, "the main population of Adal may have been of Afar stock." [3]
His ethnicity is never explicitly mentioned in the Futuh al-Habasha of Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader (otherwise known as 'Arab Faqih), the primary source for his conquests, possibly because it was not important or because the author assumed it was known to his readers. There are a number of clues in the Futuh worth considering.
Many of Imam Ahmdad's relatives are identified. His sister Fardusa is said to have been married to the cheiftain Mattan, who is identified as a Somali unlike her.[4] Imam Ahmdad's brother was Muhammad bin Ibrahim, chieftain of the tribes of Shewa and Hargaya before joining the Imam against Ethiopia.[5] He had a cousin Muhammad bin Ali, whose mother was the Imam's aunt; Muhammad was the Sultan of the Somali tribe of Zarba.[6] Last is his cousin Emir Zeharbui Muhammad, of whose background the Futuh has little to say.[7]
The Futuh mentions one Ibrahim bin Ahmad as a ruler of the Adal Sultanate for three months, whose name suggests that he may be the Imam's father. This Ibrahim is described as one of the Belew people and previously having been the ruler of the town of Hubat.[8] The possible connection between the two is strengthened by the fact that Hubat is later mentioned as one of the power bases of Imam Ahmad (the other being Za'ka).[9]
Then there are numerous occasions where the Futuh supplies evidence for an argument from silence. There are numerous passages in the Futuh where Imam Ahmad and the Somali people are mentioned together, and never once does 'Arab Faqih mention the ethnic connection. Further, the Somali warriors are described as having fled during the Battle of Shimbra Kure; had the Imam been Somali, would the Futuh which otherwise praises the Imam at every turn, mention this embarrassing detail?[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrihim_al-Ghazithe sheikh was omani.
