Isaaq

The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak) (Somali: Reer Sheik Isaxaaq, Arabic: إسحاق‎) are one of the main clans of the Somali people. Members principally live in the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia and the Somali Region of Ethiopia.

The populations of five major cities in the Somaliland region – Hargeisa, Burao, Erigavo, Berbera, and Gabiley – are predominantly Isaaq.

History

According to early Islamic books and Somali tradition, the Isaaq clan was founded in the 12th or 13th century with the arrival of Shaykh Ishaq ibn Ahmad al-Hashimi from Arabia, a descendant of one of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's early followers. He settled in the coastal town of Maydh in modern-day northernwestern Somalia, where he married into the local Dir clan. According to I.M. Lewis, other Somalis "regard the Isaaq as lineal descendants of Dir," while the Isaaq claim only matrilineal descent from Dir and agnatic descent from Arabia. Lewis further maintains that "strictly speaking, the Isaq [sic] are derived from the Dir, who together with the Hawiye are linked as 'Irir' at a higher level of genealogical grouping."