![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
Abstract
The Islamic sacred city Mecca is the destination of global Muslims’ hajj activities. Saudi Arabia and countries with a large number of Muslims attach great importance to the special role of hajj in international relation, especially in the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Somaliland, which is mainly reflected in two aspects. Firstly, Somaliland is one of the main export destination of the livestock for Eid Al Adha of the hajj rituals. Eid Al Adha is an important part of the hajj rituals, and is also the obligation of most hajj pilgrims. With the sharp increase in the number of pilgrims all over the world in recent years, Saudi Arabia needs to import a large number of livestock from Somaliland and Sudan to meet its basic religious needs. Somaliland is a so-called ‘republic’ within Somalia’s territory that declared ‘independence’ on its own, which has not been universally recognised by the international community. Over the years, Somaliland has maintained a relatively stable situation. Its economic mainstay is livestock export, especially during the hajj season. Although the export of livestock from Somaliland to Saudi Arabia has been interrupted many times due to the animal infectious diseases, the huge demand for sacrifice in the hajj rituals highlights the importance of Somaliland. In other words, the smooth and complete performance of the hajj has largely maintained the development of Saudi Arabia’s relations with Somaliland. Secondly, Saudi Arabia invited the ‘President’ of Somaliland to Mecca for hajj, and also urged the easing of conflicting relations between Somaliland authorities and the Somali federal government. Somalia does not recognise the ‘independence’ of Somaliland. The conflict between the two sides also affects the allocation of hajj quota, which has triggered strong dissatisfaction and resistance in Somaliland. For example, Somaliland complained to Saudi Arabia for Somalia’s ‘politicisation’ of hajj. In order to cool down the conflict in Somalia, Saudi Arabia invited the ‘President’ and some senior officials of Somaliland to perform the hajj in Mecca, and held informal talks with senior officials of the Somali government during the hajj. In general, hajj has played a significant role in promoting the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Somaliland. For Saudi Arabia, the animal sacrifice trade for hajj has actually consolidated the economic foundation of Somaliland and helped it play a relatively stable demonstration role in the Horn of Africa. Saudi Arabia has also carried out the host diplomacy of hajj in Mecca to promote the talks between Somaliland’s and Somali officials during their hajj activities. For Somaliland, the export of a large number of livestock for Eid Al Adha allowed it to play an important religious role in the annual hajj, thus gaining Saudi Arabia’s economic and political support to a certain extent, contributing to a win-win situation in the fields of religion, economy and security.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 See C. Caryl, Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century (New York: Basic Books, 2014); Y. Xu, ‘Religions in 1979’, China Ethnic News, (5 April 2016).
2 S. Niu and R. Metwally, ‘Hajj and its impact on international relations’, Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia) 10(4), 2016.
3 See S. Shay, The Red Sea Terror Triangle: Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Islamic Terror (New York: Routledge, 2005).
4 F. Langfitt, ‘Somaliland struggles in effort to fight piracy’, NPR, (13 April 2011), available at: https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135345974/somaliland-struggles-in-effort-to-fight-piracy.
5 Such as puberty, sanity, economically able to make the trip and a safe journey.
6 (1) Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith; (2) Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day; (3) Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy; (4) Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan; (5) Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca.
7 ‘2.5m animals sold in Saudi Arabia during hajj’, Al Arabiya News, (12 October 2014).
8 ‘More than a million ‘sacrificial’ animals ready for hajj’, Arab News, (8 August 2019).
9 ‘Comprehensive Somaliland economy sector guide by SomalilandBiz’, available at: https://www.somalilandbiz.com/sector-guides/livestock/.
10 Ibid.
11 ‘Bustling livestock trade boosts Somalia’s economy’, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, (30 October 2012).
12 Ibid.
13 ‘Meat for Mecca: Somaliland exports livestock for the hajj’, VOA News, (2 September 2016).
14 ‘Bustling livestock trade boosts Somalia’s economy’, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, (30 October 2012).
15 S. Sulayem, ‘Transforming Berbera into a world-class center of trade’, (26 July 2021), available at: https://www.dpworld.com/news/blogs/transforming-berbera-into-a-world-class-centre-of-trade.
16 A. Musa, O. Wasonga and N. Mtimet, ‘Factors influencing livestock export in Somaliland’s terminal markets’, Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 10(1), 2020, p. 12.
17 Ibid., p.12.
18 ‘Australian animals will suffer because Saudi exemption’, (12 September 2014), available at: https://www.rspca.org.au/media-centre/press-releases/2014/australian-animals-will-suffer-because-saudi-exemption.
19 ‘Meat for Mecca: Somaliland exports livestock for the hajj’, VOA News, (2 September 2016).
20 S. Niu and M. Xu, ‘Impact of hajj on global health security’, Journal of Religion & Health, 58(1), 2019.
21 S. Niu and X. Li, ‘Between religious obligation and health security: Saudi hajj governance under COVID-19’, Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies 16(1), 2022.
22 WHO, ‘Rift valley fever’, (19 February 2018), available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rift-valley-fever.
23 A. Musa, O. Wasonga and N. Mtimet, ‘Factors influencing livestock export in Somaliland’s terminal markets’, Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 10(1), 2020, p. 13.
24 ‘Somalia: Saudi livestock move boosts Somaliland economy’, News and Press Release, (10 November 2009), available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somalia-saudi-livestock-move-boosts-somaliland-economy.
25 ‘Meat for Mecca: Somaliland exports livestock for the hajj’, VOA News, (2 September 2016).
26 A. Musa, O. Wasonga and N. Mtimet, ‘Factors influencing livestock export in Somaliland’s terminal markets’, Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 10(1), 2020, p. 13.
27 M. Muhumed and A. Yonis, ‘The future of Somaliland livestock exports: examining the sustainability of livestock trade’, International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics 5(8), 2018, p. 689.
28 N. Mtimet, F. Wanyoike, K. Rich and I. Baltenweck, ‘Zoonotic diseases and the COVID-19 pandemic: economic impacts on Somaliland’s livestock exports to Saudi Arabia’, Global Food Security 28, 2021.
29 ‘Somaliland accuses Somali government of politicizing hajj’, Qorilugud News 24, (26 May 2022), available at: https://qorilugudnews24.com/2022/05/26/somaliland-accuses-somali-government-of-politicizing-hajj/.
30 ‘Somaliland embroiled in hajj dispute with Somalia’, Somali Dispatch, (2 June 2022), available at: https://www.somalidispatch.com/latest-news/somaliland-embroiled-in-hajj-dispute-with-somalia/.
31 ‘Somalia responds to Somaliland over hajj accusations’, Somali Dispatch, (29 June 2022), available at: https://www.somalidispatch.com/latest-news/somalia-responds-to-somaliland-over-hajj-accusations/.
32 Ibid.
33 ‘Somaliland: this year’s pilgrims violated sovereignty’, Somali Dispatch, (3 July 2022), available at: https://www.somalidispatch.com/latest-news/somaliland-this-years-pilgrims-violated-sovereignty/.
34 M. Shire, ‘The 4.5 clan model: a Somali-owned solution’, (6 May 2022), available at: https://www.kormeeraha.com/2022/05/06/the-4-5-clan-model-a-somali-owned-solution/.
35 S. Niu, ‘Cross-border attacks’ of Somalia pirates and the transformation of China’s diplomacy’, Yonsei Journal of International Studies 8(1), 2016.
36 ‘Saudi King invites Somaliland president Musa Bihi to Mecca for hajj’, Somaliland Standard, (6 August 2019), available at: https://somalilandstandard.com/saudi-king-invites-somaliland-president-musa-bihi-to-mecca-for-hajj/.
37 ‘Somaliland president leaves for Saudi Arabia to perform hajj’, Somaliland Standard, (7 August 2019), available at: https://somalilandstandard.com/somaliland-president-leaves-for-saudi-arabia-to-perform-hajj/.
38 ‘Saudi Arabia to issue visas to Somalilanders’, Somaliland Standard, (8 August 2019), available at: https://somalilandstandard.com/saudi-arabia-to-issue-visas-to-somalilanders/.
39 Y. Hasan, ‘Somaliland: Saudis accept pre-1991 Somali passport’, Somaliland Sun, (20 September 2012), available at: https://somalilandsun.com/somaliland-saudis-accept-pre-1991-somali-passport/.
40 Y. Hasan, ‘Somaliland: use of green passports banned’, Somaliland Sun, (10 July 2013), available at: https://somalilandsun.com/somaliland-use-of-green-passports-banned/.
41 ‘Somaliland meets with Somalia in Saudi Arabia, sparks mixed reactions’, Somaliland, (13 August 2019), available at: https://www.somaliland.com/news/somaliland/somaliland-meets-with-somalia-in-saudi-arabia-sparks-mixed-reactions/#:∼:text=Mecca-KSA%2C%20Aug%2013%20%28Somaliland.com%29%3A-%20On%20what%20could%20aptly,in%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia%20last%20night.