The Sudan Handbook

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In 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).