How Do We Uproot Secularism From Our Country?

(Translated)

Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 613 - 19/08/2026

By Ustadh Abdullah Hussein (Abu Muhammad al-Fatih) *

British colonialist intervention in Sudan began following the occupation of Egypt in 1882; in 1896, Kitchener’s military campaign to topple the Mahdist State commenced.

The Battle of Omdurman took place on September 2, 1898, and the capital of the Mahdist State fell into British colonial hands. Sudan was governed under systems rooted in the doctrine of separating religion from life—a principle entrenched in public life and state institutions. Political parties and the army were established on this same foundation. Eventually, the era of so-called “self-determination” arrived, leading to the British colonialist withdrawal in 1956. Direct colonialism was replaced by indirect colonialism, installing a political class and rulers from among the people of Sudan themselves to follow the same path—implementing a republican, democratic system based on the separation of religion and state—thereby turning Sudan into a “vassal state” that served British interests instead of those of the local population.

Then came the Anglo-American rivalry; Sudan fell under American influence following Jaafar Nimeiry’s coup on May 25, 1969, a state of affairs that persisted through the rule of al-Bashir, who was eventually ousted by a popular revolution in December 2019.

To this day, Sudan continues to operate under a secular system, despite the succession of civilian and military elites in power—some championing democracy, others raising Islamic slogans. The question remains: what is new about the push for secularism with such momentum and persistence by political forces and the colonialist powers standing behind them, the US and Britain? Is the aim to eradicate the final stronghold of Islam—the social system embodied in the relationship between men and women—or to combat Islam’s system of ruling governance, the Khilafah (Caliphate), and criminalize the call for its establishment and those striving towards it, especially following the growing support for the Khilafah among the Ummah and the local population?

Sudan’s roots are deeply embedded in the history of the great Islamic era, dating back to the Islamic conquest during the reign of the Khaleefah Rashid (Rightly Guided Caliph) Uthman ibn Affan (ra) in 31 AH; he ordered his governor in Egypt to dispatch the soldiers of Islam under the command of Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh.

Consider Sudan during the reign of the Abbasid Khaleefah (Caliph) Al-Ma’mun: when some Muslims purchased land in Nubia, the Christian leader objected to the validity of the sale, arguing that the Christian seller was his subject and could not sell his land without his permission—permission he refused to grant. The case was referred to Khaleefah Al-Ma’mun, who passed it to the judiciary; the judicial ruling affirmed that the landowner had the right to dispose of his property without the Christian leader's consent, as he was not a slave subject to such restrictions. That just ruling judgement became a cause for many Christians to embrace Islam—a Deen whose governance wrongs no one.

Consider Sudan under the Ottomans, when it became a single wilayah (ولاية Shariah province) with Egypt in 1821. All of this confirms that Sudan was part of the body of the Khilafah state throughout various eras—until the arrival of Crusader-style colonialism with its project to dismantle the Khilafah, fragment its provinces, and establish secular nation-states. Through this, colonialism achieved its ambitions of shattering the unity of the Islamic state and sidelining Islamic ruling governance; consequently, the Ummah reaped bitter fruits: weakness, poverty, strife, and internecine wars over the nationalistic “borders of blood.”

Uprooting and eliminating secularism in Sudan—and across all Muslim lands—requires striving and working for change following the method of the Prophet (saw) to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing the Islamic State, emulating the Prophet's example:

1- Forming a structuring of Companions (ra).

2- Creating public opinion for Islam and its system.

3- Seeking nussrah (نصرة military support) from the people of power and protection among the tribes.

This led to the Second Pledge of Aqabah, the Hijrah (هجرة Shariah migration), and the establishment of the State.

Since its inception in 1953, Hizb ut Tahrir has been working by following the example of the Messenger (saw). Allah (swt) says,

[لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثيرا]

“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah often” [TMQ Surah Al-Ahzab: 21].

Hizb ut Tahrir engages in preparing men and generating Islamic personalities through concentrated culturing, creating public opinion and awareness through collective culturing, and seeking nussrah from the armies in Muslim lands. The solution lies in resuming the Islamic way of life and establishing the Khilafah, which is a Shariah obligation.

Abu Hazim narrated: "I sat with Abu Hurairah for five years and heard him narrate from the Prophet (saw), who said, «كَانَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ تَسُوسُهُمُ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ، كُلَّمَا هَلَكَ نَبِيٌّ خَلَفَهُ نَبِيٌّ، وَإِنَّهُ لَا نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي، وَسَتَكُونُ خُلَفَاءُ فَتَكْثُرُ» “The Prophets used to govern Bani Israeel; whenever a Prophet died, another succeeded him. There will be no Prophet after me, but there will be Khulafa’a, and they will be numerous.” They asked,  فما تَأمُرُنا؟“What do you command us to do?” He (saw) replied, «فُوا بِبَيْعَةِ الْأَوَّلِ فَالْأَوَّلِ، وَأَعْطُوهُمْ حَقَّهُمْ؛ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَائِلُهُمْ عَمَّا اسْتَرْعَاهُمْ» “Fulfill the pledge of allegiance to the first, then the next, and give them their due right; for Allah will question them about what He entrusted to their care.” Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri narrated that the Messenger (saw) said, «إِذَا بُويِعَ لِخَلِيفَتَيْنِ؛ فَاقْتُلُوا الآخِرَ مِنْهُمَا» “If allegiance is pledged to two Caliphs, kill the latter of the two.” It is also narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-‘As that he heard the Messenger (saw) say, «مَنْ بَايَعَ إِمَاماً فَأَعْطَاهُ صَفْقَةَ يَدِهِ وَثَمَرَةَ قَلْبِهِ فَلْيُطِعْهُ» “Whoever pledges allegiance to an Imam, giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart, let him obey him.” Furthermore, Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated from the Prophet (saw) who said, «إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ» “Only the Imam a shield; fighting is done from behind him, and protection is sought through him.” This is in response to the words of Allah (swt) Who said,

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ۖ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ]

“O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered” [TMQ Surah Al-Anfal: 24].

These Shariah texts served as a guide for the Companions (ra), the Tabi’un (the generation following that of the Companions), and the Tabi’oo Tabi’een (the generation that followed the Tabi’un)—including the Umayyads, Abbasids, and Ottomans—for thirteen centuries. The Khilafah acted as the protector of Muslims, defending their lands and sanctities, safeguarding their lives, preserving their honor and dignity, establishing justice, and eradicating poverty. Indeed, regarding the Ottoman Caliphate, European travelers attested to the fact that the realm was free of beggars.

Today, in order to emerge from a life of humiliation, disgrace, misery, disunity, and fragmentation, we must work to restore the Caliphate and join forces with those striving to establish it. Here stands Hizb ut Tahrir—the pioneering guide that never lies to its people—striving day and night to establish the Khilafah, thereby fulfilling the promise of Allah (swt) and the glad tidings of the Beloved Chosen One, Muhammad (saw). Allah (swt) says,

[وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً]

“Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession upon the earth, just as He granted it to those before them; that He will surely establish for them their Deen which He has approved for them; and that He will surely replace their fear with security” [TMQ Surah An-Nur: 55], and the Messenger of Allah (saw) said,

«ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ» “Then there will be a Khilafah on the method of the Prophethood” [Ahmed].

O people of Sudan: To realize this glad tiding, we must hasten our steps to strive towards uprooting secularism from Sudan, so that it may become a support point for the state of the Khilafah. Thus, we shall carry Islam to countries and peoples, illuminating the earth with the light of Islam after it had been shrouded in the darkness of secularism. Allah (swt) said,

[وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ]

“And on that day the believers will rejoice * In the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful” [TMQ Surah Ar-Rum: 4-5].

* Member of the Central Contact Committee of Hizb ut Tahrir in the Wilayah of Sudan