islamism & thE statE 183transformation of Sudanese society within a ten-year comprehensive
strategy. The new ministry brought under its jurisdiction various state
departments concerned with social policy such as social welfare, youth,
sports, religious endowments, and zakat. Thus the new ministry was
almost a mini-government, set up with the goal of achieving a coordi-
nated policy geared towards realization of the Islamist vision of social
transformation. In a related development, the regime adopted what
was called the Comprehensive Islamic Call (or Advocacy) Programme,
with the objective of indoctrination and expansion of Islamization in
accordance with the Islamist movement’s ideology.
By the onset of the second decade of Islamist rule, the cultural authen-
ticity project was, however, showing signs of failure. To start with, the
government itself reconsidered some of the steps taken in its pursuit of
the Islamic transformation programme during the 1990s, chief among
which was the downsizing of the social planning ministry in 2001 to a
conventional social affairs ministry. Additionally, the public order special
court was abolished in the year 2000 following numerous complaints
and criticisms voiced against this law even from within the establish-
ment itself (the law, however remained on the books). In tandem
with these reconsiderations, there was less vigilance by the regime in
enforcement of its religious oriented programmes and legislation and,
significantly, almost no more talk about al-mashru‘ alhadhari. Despite all
of this, Islamism was sustained as an ideological cover and a source of
the regime’s legitimacy, particularly in the eyes of its own constituency.
In reality, however, with the ousting of the veteran Islamist leader and
ideologue Hassan al-Turabi in 1999/2000, the Islamic credentials of the
regime became at best questionable. That said, it may be argued that
there is more of a public visibility of religious adherence among the
Sudanese Muslims than before: mosques are full, there is more strict
observance of fasting, pilgrimage, and other rituals; there is also better
religious education especially among young people. All these are valid
observations; the question, however, is whether this ritualistic Islam-
ization with its medieval jurisprudence was the main objective of theThe Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors Islamist movement when it decided to take power by force.
(www.riftvalley.net).