Mohammed Abdullah Hassan

Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan Sayid Maxamed Cabdille Xasan محمّد عبد اللّه حسن
Statue of Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Born	April 7, 1856 Buuhoodle, Somalia
Died	December 21, 1920 (aged 64) Imi, Ogaden
Organization	Dervish State
Known for	Leader of the Dervish State

Hajji Hafiz Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan (Somali: Sayid Maxamed Cabdille Xasan, Arabic: محمّد عبد اللّه حسن‎‎) (April 7, 1856 – December 21, 1920) was a Somali religious and patriotic leader. Referred to as the Mad Mullah by the British, he established the Dervish State in Somalia that fought the 20 year Somaliland Campaign against British, Italian and Ethiopian forces.

Hassan was born in 1856 in the valley of Sa'Madeeq. Some say he was born in Kirrit in northern Somalia. At the time, this part of Somalia was a protectorate of the United Kingdom. Between 1884 and 1960, the area was known as British Somaliland.

Hassan was the eldest son of Sheikh Abdille, who hailed from the Ogaden sub-clan of the Darod major clan. His mother, Timiro Sade, also a Somali, belonged to the Dhulbahante clan. His great grandfather, Sheikh Ismaan of Bardee, was a pious man of great repute who left his homeland slightly north of Qelafo along the Shebelle River valley in what is now the Ogaden and migrated southwards to settle with the religious Somali community at Bardera along the Jubba River. Hassan's grandfather, Hasan Nur, in turn, left his home and moved closer to the Dhulbahante stronghold in north-eastern Somalia. There, he founded several religious centres and devoted himself to the worship of Allah. Following in the footsteps of Hasan Nur, Hassan's father Abdille also led a religious life. Abdille married several Dhulbahante women by whom he had about 30 children, of which Hassan was the eldest. Hassan's mother, Timiro Sade, came from the Ali Geri sublineage of the Dhulbahante clan, which was allied with the Ogaden.