 Andrzejewski, in his review of the latter book, writes,

"The plot unfolds against the background of Somali national history in the first quarter of this century, when members of a Muslim Brotherhood, who called themselves “Dervishes”, were fighting against the foreign powers which had partitioned the Somali territories, and against those of their compatriots who had accepted colonial rule.The struggle was led by Maxamed Cabdule Xasan (1898-1921), who was a Muslim revivalist reformed as well as a nationalist leader"

As usually presented by contemporary historians, the Warsangeli initially supported the Dervishes from 1899 until 1905.Later, the Warsangeli splintered into several strong factions, only one-third of which supported the reign of Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire, who took over the sultanate from his ailing father and powerful Garad, Ali Shirreh.