184 thE sudan handbookIn conclusion, the Islamist movement pursued a putschist policy in
seizing power; a policy which was justified on grounds of an overall
commitment to use power to create an improved society grounded on
Islamic values and regulations. The manner through which the Islamist
movement secured power, and the measures it undertook to consolidate
that power, generated an authoritarian, coercive state that was primarily
preoccupied with maintaining its control over society. Power itself,
however, soon became a bone of contention within the inner circle of
the Islamist regime and the ensuing dispute led to the split within the
Islamist movement. In the wake of this split, the faction which retained
power, while not relinquishing authoritarianism, came to rely also on
clientelist politics made possible partially by oil revenues. Likewise while
they overtly maintained committed to the visible – mostly ritualistic –
aspects of an Islamization programme, they became less concerned with
the dream of ‘civilizing’ society through their cultural authenticity project
that was heavily publicized during their first years in power.Recommended Reading
El-Affendi, Abdel Wahab. Turabi’s Revolution: Islam and Power in Sudan. London:
Grey Seal, 1990.
Fluer-Lobban, Carolyn. Shari‘a and Islamism in Sudan: Conflict, Law and Social
Transformation. International Library of African Studies Series. London: IB
Tauris, 2011.
Gallab, Abdullahi. The First Islamic Republic: Development and Disintegration of
Islamism in the Sudan. Burlington: Ashgate, 2008.
Hale, Sondra. Gender and Politics in Sudan: Islamism, Socialism, and the State.
Boulder: Westview Press, 1997.
Sidahmed, Abdel Salam. Politics and Islam in Contemporary Sudan. Richmond:
Curzon Press, 1997.
Sidahmed, Abdel Salam & Sidahmed, Alsir. Sudan. The Contemporary Middle
East Series. London:Routledge Curzon, 2005.
Warburg, Gabriel. Islam, Sectarianism and Politics in Sudan since the Mahdiyya.
London: Hurst, 2003.The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors
(www.riftvalley.net).