There is no Solution to the Sudanese Issue Except Ruling by Islam
(Translated)

Since its independence on 1/1/1956, Sudan has witnessed a series of military coups. The first was the failed attempt led by Ismail Kabida, who attempted to overthrow the first national government headed by Ismail al-Azhari. This was followed by the first successful coup led by Lieutenant General Ibrahim Abboud in November 1958 against al-Azhari's elected government.

In May 1969, the most famous coup in Sudan's history took place, led by Brigadier General Jaafar Nimeiri and a group of communist and nationalist officers. His rule lasted for 16 years. He was subjected to several coup attempts, the first of which took place in 1971. In 1975, Nimeiri succeeded in thwarting a coup attempt against him, in which the coup plotters were executed. Coup attempts against Nimeiri continued, with a violent coup attempt in July 1976, followed by street battles in the capital, Khartoum, between government forces and the coup plotters. The attempt failed and its leader was executed. But after all these challenges, in April 1985, Nimeiri's rule could not withstand a popular uprising. He was removed from power. Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, then Minister of Defense, assumed the presidency of a transitional military council. He was the only one in the history of the country and the region to fulfill his promise, handing over power a year later to an elected government headed by Sadiq al-Mahdi. However, in 1989, this government too was subjected to a military coup led by Omar al-Bashir, who assumed the position of Chairman of the National Salvation Revolutionary Command Council, simultaneously serving as Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Sudan.

A series of coups d'état have plagued the Sudanese people, subjecting them to the ravages of war and instability. These conditions continued under Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for thirty years, during which he subjected the people to the bitterness of injustice and tyranny, in addition to plunging the country into a severe economic crisis. In 1999, he ordered the dissolution of the National Assembly (Parliament) and declared a state of emergency following a power struggle between him and the Parliament Speaker Hassan al-Turabi. Rebellions against al-Bashir and his government continued, and were met with repression and persecution. In 2004, for example, army forces moved into Darfur in western Sudan to crush a rebel movement that accused the central government in Khartoum of marginalizing the region. Hundreds of thousands of Darfuris were displaced to neighboring Chad, a deteriorating political situation described by then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell as ‘genocide.’

In 2005, the government signed a peace agreement with the southern rebels, but it was violated and war crimes were committed. A new constitution was issued that granted a significant degree of autonomy to the south. Subsequently, the south became independent in 2011 after a popular referendum.

After the secession of South Sudan, the government lost the oil it had produced from its fields. The south accounted for three-quarters of the gross domestic product. Sudan was unable to meet its fuel needs and thus lost a major source of foreign exchange. Most economic statistics confirmed that 90% of Sudanese lived below the poverty line and that the unemployment rate exceeded 60%. Inflation reached approximately 37% in June 2012, with a sharp rise in the prices of all goods and services, matched by a significant decline in individual income.

Meanwhile, the government claimed that it will begin implementing Islamic Shariah law (the Hudud) more strictly after the secession of South Sudan. In his speech during the fourth session of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, the First Vice President emphasized that Omar al-Bashir is keen for the Academy to proceed on the path of scientific approach, objectivity, and "prioritizing and deriving Shariah rulings without favoritism." What priorities was he talking about? The government, which was quick to impose the Hudood (Islamic penal code) on people, has denied even the most basic living standards, leaving them to live in poverty and need, finds no qualms about permitting its use of usurious loans (due to the state's insufficient financial resources and its need for external financing), as it claims.

The government has pursued a failed financial policy, withholding liquidity from the people and failing to provide them with bread flour, which has left the Sudanese people unable to obtain their basic needs and provide the most basic amenities of life. In addition to the health situation, which is considered tragic; according to one statistic published by the "Sudan Now" website in 2018, one in 20 children in Sudan suffers from malnutrition, and diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis are spreading, reaching two million cases!

They raise the slogan of implementing Shariah law and select from its rules, after molding them, what serves their interests and the interests of the West, and throw away the other rules. There is no rule by Islam in the country's politics or sovereignty. They are followers of the kafir West, as they rely on it, borrow money from it, issue fatwas on that and legalize it, and allow it to interfere in their country's affairs and determine the fate of their people. There is no care for the people or guardianship, while the people of Sudan are starving and living in abject poverty. What kind of Shariah law are they implementing? Islam is an indivisible whole with its rules and limits, implemented as a system of life that Allah has chosen for His servants, and no servant has the right to select some of it and leave the rest. Whoever chooses to implement Shariah law must abide by all of its rules without reducing anything from them.

The lifting of subsidies on bread and fuel, the rising prices of basic commodities, the scarcity of many goods, the continuation of financial policies dictated by the International Monetary Fund and others, and the deterioration of the health situation had a profound impact on the dissatisfaction of all Sudanese people with their way of life, a state of discontent spread throughout the country, which escalated and worsened day after day. The corruption of Omar al-Bashir's regime and its involvement in manipulating state funds became clearly evident. A report issued by the International Financial Integrity Organization revealed that this regime had hidden approximately $31 billion in Sudanese exports between 2012 and 2018. The government announced that the country's exports reached $65 billion during the mentioned period, while 70 countries of Sudan's trading partners, estimated their imports at approximately $96 billion. Protests and demonstrations erupted, and the flames of revolution erupted against this government in all Sudanese cities. It was toppled in 2019 after the Ministry of Defense announced that Al-Bashir had stepped down from his position and that the army would run the country's affairs.

Despite the overthrow of Bashir's regime, the suffering of the Sudanese people continues in the shadow of conflicts waged by Western countries and overseen by their organizations. This suffering will not cease and will not end unless the rules of Shariah are fully implemented and the country is ruled by those who fear Allah alone, who do not submit to the enemy, but rather make raising the banner of Islam their goal and implementing its rules their objective.

أزمة_السودان #     #SudanCrisis

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Zeena As-Samit