Politics and Islam in Contemporary Sudan

Why wasn't Islam the rallying point and battle cry of the anti-colonial movement in the Sudan? Why did the mainstream political parties and the first military regime maintain the 'secular' political structures of the colonial state? Why did the influential parties opt for an 'Islamic constitution' in the 1960s? Why did Nimeiry's regime change is course? This work attempts to answer these and related questions. Three key issues are addressed within the framework of the relationship between Islam, society and politics: the manifestation of Islam in the particular context of Sudanese society; the politicisation / repoliticisation of Islam and the Islamicisation of politics; and the mechanisms that influence the rise of a specific Islamicist force or enhance calls for Islamicisation.

Abdel Salam Sidahmed

Note on Transliteration -- Preface -- INTRODUCTION -- 1 BACKGROUND: THE IMPACT OF THE CONDOMINIUM -- I An Overview -- II The Nationalist Movement -- - Rise of Sectarianism -- - The Intelligentsia -- III The Sudanese Political Parties -- a) The Traditionalist Parties -- b) Radicalism -- c) Islamism -- 2 THE SECULAR FACE OF SECTARIANISM -- I Decolonisation Process: Issues, Forces and Problems -- The Politics of Constitutional Developments -- The Southern Question -- Parties and Politics -- II The Sectarian Rule -- Reconciliation of Rivals -- A Difficult Power Share -- III The Secular Face of Sectarianism -- 3 GENERALS, MILITANTS AND POLITICIANS -- I The Rule of the Generals -- II October 1964 and Aftermath -- Chronology of Events -- Genesis of Failure -- Changing Political Situations -- Democracy For the Faithful! -- 4 THE MAKING OF AN ISLAMIC CONSTITUTION -- I General Considerations -- II The Controversial Constitution -- III The Bourbon Dynasty -- 5 FROM POPULIST LEADER TO AN 'IMAM -- I The Formative Years -- II Power and Ideology -- The 'cult' of Development -- Pan Islamism -- Doves and Hawks -- The Doves -- The Hawks -- - al-Mahdi's pan-Islamism -- - al-Turabi's Realism -- III September 1983 -- 6 THE POST-NIMEIRI SUDAN -- An Introductory Note -- I Nimeiri's Successors -- The Transitional Period -- The Third Democratic Episode -- II War and Peace -- - The Impact of War -- - Behind the Peace Process -- III The Politics of the Shari'a -- - Islamists -- - Secularists -- 7 PAX ISLAMICA -- I Genesis of the NIF Ascent -- - The Impact of Nimeiri's Policies -- - The Mughtarbin Class -- - The Disintegration of the Old Order -- Grand Strategy in Action -- - From Campus to Community -- - Islaminomics -- - The National Islamic Front (NIF) -- II Ideology and Pragmatism -- - Ideological Adjustments -- - NIF's Populism -- - Islamic Symbolism -- III Conclusion -- Notes -- Index.