Hassan al-Turabi
Hassan al-Turabi | |
---|---|
حسن الترابي | |
Foreign Minister of Sudan | |
In office 1989–1989 | |
President | Omar al-Bashir |
Preceded by | Hussein Suleiman Abu Saleh |
Succeeded by | Sid Ahmad al-Hussein |
Attorney General of Sudan | |
In office 1978–1982 | |
President | Gaafar Nimeiry |
Secretary General of the National Islamic Front | |
In office October 1964 – 1999 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kassala, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan | 1 February 1932
Died | 5 March 2016 Khartoum, Sudan | (aged 84)
Political party | PCP |
Other political affiliations |
|
Spouse | Wissal al-Mahdi |
Relations | Sadiq al-Mahdi (brother-in-law) |
Alma mater | |
Hassan al-Turabi (
al-Turabi was leader of the
al-Turabi oversaw highly controversial policies such as the creation of the "NIF police state" and associated NIF militias that consolidated Islamist power and prevented a popular uprising, but according to Human Rights Watch committed many human rights abuses, including "summary executions, torture, ill treatment, arbitrary detentions, denial of freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and violations of the rules of war, particularly in the south".[7] Turabi was a leader of opposition to the American–Saudi "coalition forces" in the Gulf War, establishing in 1990–1991 the Popular Arab and Islamic Congress (PAIC), a regional umbrella for political Islamist militants, headquartered in Khartoum.[7]
After 1996, al-Turabi and his party's "internationalist and ideological wing" saw a decline in influence in favor of more pragmatic leaders, brought on by the imposition of UN sanctions on Sudan in punishment for Sudan's assistance to Egyptian Islamic Jihad in their attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. al-Turabi was out of power beginning in 1999, leading a splinter group of the National Congress known as the Popular National Congress.[9] He was imprisoned by Omar Al-Bashir on 17 January 2011 for nine days, following civil unrest across the Arab world.[9][10] He died in 2016 without facing trial for his role in the 1989 coup.[1]
Early life and education
al-Turabi was born on 1 February 1932 in
Religious and political beliefs
Turabi's writings, rhetoric, sermons, and public pronouncements have often been described as
al-Turabi's philosophy drew selectively from Sudanese, Islamic, and Western political thought to fashion an ideology for the pursuit of power.[15] al-Turabi supported Sharia and the concept of an Islamic state, but his vision was not Wahhabi or Salafi.[15] He appreciated that the majority of Sudanese followed Sufi Islam, which he set out to change with new ideas.[15] He did not extend legitimacy to Sufis, Mahdists, and Islamic scholars, whom he saw as incapable of addressing the challenges of modern life.[15] One of the strengths of his vision was to consider different trends in Islam.[15] Although the political base for his ideas was probably relatively small, he had an important influence on Sudanese politics and religion.[15]
His views on the role of women in society were relatively progressive.[15] al-Turabi had his greatest success in recruiting supporters from the educated and professional classes in urban areas.[15] He attached fundamental importance to the concept of shura (consultation) and ibtila, his view of modernity, which he believed should lead to a more profound worship of God.[15] Religion was regularly tested by the reality of ibtila.[15]
As a
al-Turabi originally espoused progressive Islamist ideas, such as the embrace of democracy, healing the breach and expanding the rights of women, where he noted:
The Prophet himself used to visit women, not men, for counseling and advice. They could lead prayer. Even in his battles, they are there! In the election between Othman and Ali to determine who will be the successor to the Prophet, they voted![18]
He told another interviewer, "I want women to work and become part of public life" because "the home doesn't require much work anymore, what with all the appliances". During an interview on al-Arabiya TV in 2006, al-Turabi describes the word
al-Turabi also laid out his vision for Sharia law that would be applied gradually instead of forcefully and would apply only to Muslims, who would share power with the Christians in a federal system.[citation needed]
In contrast Natsios writes that when in power,
one of the pieces of national legislation he pressed for was that apostasy be punished by the death penalty, a position he has since disavowed. When he talks about women's rights, he is referring exclusively to Muslim women, whose honor and virtue will be protected within the context of Sharia law, ... Christian or non-Muslim women may be treated as property without rights or protection.[21]
In 2006, out-of-power again, al-Turabi made international headlines issuing a fatwa allowing Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men, and allowing alcohol consumption in certain situations, in contradiction to historical Sharia law.[22][23][24][25] He also embraced human rights and democracy in "a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn" of his views.[26] One critic of Turabi complained to an American journalist in Khartoum of Turabi's ideological reversal, saying, "it is said in the daily papers and in the discussion centers here in the university that Turabi killed Ustazh Mahmoud", (i.e. liberal Sudanese cleric Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, hanged in 1985), "and now he’s stealing his ideas."[26]
Political career
Early in his career, al-Turabi took control of
National Islamic Front rule
On 30 June 1989,
1989 coup
While there is a "pervasive belief" in Sudan that Turabi and the NIF actively collaborated with the coup-makers who called themselves the "Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation", in fact the RCC-NS banned all political parties following the 1989 coup and arrested Turabi, as well as the leaders of other political parties, and held him in solitary confinement for several months.[2] Before long however, NIF influence within the government was evident in its policies and in the presence of several NIF members in the cabinet.[2]
Alleged abuses
Alleged human rights abuses by the NIF regime included war crimes, ethnic cleansing, a revival of slavery, torture of opponents, and an unprecedented number of refugees fleeing into Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Egypt, Europe and North America.[29]
In 1994 a report issued by Human Rights Watch/Africa, conducted by Gáspár Bíró, a Hungarian law professor and the United Nations' special envoy to Sudan in 1993 found the Sudanese government to be practicing "widespread and systematic torture" of political detainees.
Once uncommon in the Sudan, torture was now widespread, especially in the south. Non-Muslim women were raped, their children taken from them; paper bags filled with chili powder were placed over men's heads, and some were tied to anthills; testicles were crushed and burned by cigarettes and electric current, according to a 1994 report by Human Rights Watch/Africa.[30]
Karate attack on al-Turabi in Ottawa
On 26 May 1992 al-Turabi was attacked at the
Links to militant groups
Other violent groups al-Turabi invited and allowed to operate freely included Abu Nidal Organization, (which reportedly had killed more than 900 people in 20 different countries) Hezbollah, and Carlos the Jackal, (posing as a French arms dealer at the time). Carlos had converted from Marxism to Islamic extremism.[37] (Sudanese sanctuary was not unconditional as it later allowed French intelligence to kidnap Carlos the Jackal while he was undergoing an operation on his right testicle.")[38]
al-Turabi founded the Popular Arab and Islamic Congress in 1990–1991. Meeting here were several Islamic groups from around the world, including representatives from the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Algerian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. In late 1991 or 1992 al-Turabi sought to persuade Shiites and Sunnis to put aside their divisions and join against the common enemy.
In August 1993, Sudan was placed on the United States' list of
Mubarak assassination attempt
Two years later an assassination attempt was made on then Egyptian President
Rather than disassociate himself from the plot, al-Turabi praised the attempted killing and called Mubarak stupid:
The sons of the Prophet Moses, the Muslims, rose up against him confounded his plans, and sent him back to his country...I found the man to be very far below my level of thinking and my view, and too stupid to understand my pronouncements.[43]
Decline of influence
International sanctions took effect in April 1996 and were accompanied by a "general withdrawal of the diplomatic community" from Khartoum. At the same time Sudan worked to appease the United States and other international critics by expelling members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and encouraging bin Laden to leave.[44]
In March 1996,
Imprisonment and later years
After a political falling out with President Omar al-Bashir in 1999,[47] al-Turabi was imprisoned based on allegations of conspiracy before being released in October 2003.[48] Arrested again in 2004 for allegedly being part of a plot to overthrow the government,[49] he was released on 28 June 2005.
In 2004 he was reported to have been associated with the
After the JEM
Presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail said that al-Turabi's name had been found on JEM documents,[54] but he denied that al-Turabi had been arrested, asserting that he had merely been "summoned" for questioning. al-Turabi, however, said that it was an arrest and that he had been held at Kobar Prison.[48] According to al-Turabi, he was questioned regarding the relationship between the PCP and JEM, but he did not answer this question,[51] although he denied that there was a relationship after his release;[48] he also said that he was asked why he did not condemn the rebel attack.[54] He said that the security officers questioning him had "terrified" him[51] and that, although they claimed to have proof against him, they did not show him this proof when he asked to see it.[48]
Salva Kiir Mayardit, the First Vice-President of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan, said that there had been no discussion about arresting al-Turabi at a presidency meeting on the previous day and that there was no security report implicating him. He alleged that al-Turabi was being used as a scapegoat.[52]
In an interview on 17 May 2008, al-Turabi described the JEM's attack on Khartoum as "positive" and said that there was "so much misery in Darfur, genocidal measures actually". He also said that the JEM attack could spark more unrest.[47]
On 12 January 2009, al-Turabi called on Bashir to surrender himself to the International Criminal Court for the sake of the country, while holding Bashir politically responsible for war crimes in Darfur.[55] (He later changed his position and opposed Bashir turning himself in.[56]) He was then arrested on 14 January[55][57] and held in prison for two months (until 8 March)[58] at the Kobar Prison before being moved to Port Sudan prison.[59] During this time members of his family expressed concern about his health and his being held in solitary confinement at least some of the time.[57] Amnesty International also released a statement about al-Turabi's arrest on 16 January, describing it as "arbitrary" and politically motivated. Noting al-Turabi's advanced age and his need for medication and a special diet.[55] The Sudanese Media Centre reported on 19 January that al-Turabi would be put on trial for his alleged assistance to the JEM.[60]
On 8 March, he was released only days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Omar al-Bashir.[61] On 11 April 2009, the PCP called for the creation of a transitional government to lead Sudan to the planned 2010 election, and al-Turabi suggested that he would not stand as a candidate due to his advanced age; he emphasized the importance of leadership coming from younger generations and said that he did not have enough energy to run.[62] In April al-Turabi was stopped at Khartoum International Airport and prevented from travelling to Paris for medical tests despite having obtained permission to travel from the interior ministry.[58]
al-Turabi announced on 2 January 2010 that the PCP had designated his deputy, Abdallah Deng Nhial, as its candidate for the 2010 presidential election.[63] al-Turabi was again arrested in mid May 2010, but was released on 1 July 2010.[64]
On 18 January 2011, security forces arrested al-Turabi in Khartoum, presumably due to the recent instability of Sudan’s politics. al-Turabi commented on the recent price rises in Sudan stating it could result at a "popular uprising" if the unrealistic rises were not reversed. He added that the government should take lessons from the recent Tunisian Revolution.[65]
Death
On 5 March 2016, Turabi died at a hospital in Khartoum at the age of 84.[66][67] He was believed to have died of a heart attack. Turabi's funeral was held the next day, with several thousand mourners in attendance, and he was buried at Burri Al-Lamab, a cemetery in eastern Khartoum.[68][69]
References
- ^ a b Walsh, Declan (21 July 2020). "Three Decades After His Coup, Sudan's Former Ruler Is Held to Account". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- ^ a b c "National Islamic Front". globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-976419-8. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ a b The Appendix of the 9/11 Commission Report
- globalsecurity.org. Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "National Islamic Front". globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
According to the Political Handbook of the World 2011, the NIF was renamed as the National Congress (NC) in 1996 (2011, 1356). Other sources report that in November 1998, the NIF renamed itself the National Congress (NC).
- ^ a b c d e f "Biography of Hassan al Turabi". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ISBN 9781845112578.
- ^ ISBN 9781483371580.
- ^ Chris Stefanowicz, Crackdown in Khartoum: as Jasmine Filters down the Nile, al-Turabi is Arrested Again. Archived 26 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine Think Africa Press Archived 13 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine. 24 January 2011
- ISBN 978-1-4128-0970-2.
- ^ a b "Profile: Sudan's Islamist leader". BBC News. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ Austin Cline. "Islamic Extremists: Profile and Biography Hassan al-Turabi". About.com Religion & Spirituality. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ a b Fuller,The Future of Political Islam, (2003), pp. 108–09
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.)
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link - ^ Turabi (1983). Esposito, John (ed.). Voices of Resurgent Islam. p. 245.
- ISBN 9780674291409.
- ^ Interview with Hasan al-Turabi by Lawrence Wright, in Wright, The Looming Tower, (2006), p. 165
- ^ Women Should Cover Chest, Not Face Archived 5 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine| memri.org| 10 April 2006
- ISBN 1-4039-6556-0.
- ISBN 978-0-19-976419-8. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ News24, Muslim, Christian make history Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, 22 May 2006
- ^ Refugee Review Tribunal, Christian – Islam – Mixed Marriage Archived 7 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 30 September 2008
- ^ "Sudan's Turabi considered apostate". Sudan Tribune. 24 April 2006. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Sudan's Turabi accuses Islamic clerics of misunderstanding". Sudan Tribune. 21 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ a b Packer, George (11 September 2006). "The Moderate Martyr: A radically peaceful vision of Islam". The New Yorker.
- ^ Kepel, Jihad (2002), p.181
- ^ Packer, George (11 September 2006). "The Moderate Martyr: A radically peaceful vision of Islam". The New Yorker. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- JSTOR 41858370.
- ^ Miller, Judith, God Has Ninety Nine Names (c1996), p.153
- ^ "Goodwill Visit by Sudanese Islamist Culminates in Violence in Canada". Archived from the original on 25 November 2021.
- ISBN 0-313-30468-8. Retrieved 13 February 2011.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Profile: Sudan's Islamist leader". BBC. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ISBN 90-04-13196-5. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ Daniel Friesen (August–September 1992). "Canada Calling: Alleged Turabi Assailant Arraigned". Canada Calling. p. 41. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ Shahzad, Syed Saleem (23 February 2002). "Bin Laden uses Iraq to plot new attacks". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2002. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
- ^ Wright, The Looming Tower, (2006), p.173
- ^ Wright, The Looming Tower, (2006), p.219
- ^ The Nation |Unconventional Wisdom Since 1865
- ^ a b Sageman, Marc, Understanding Terror Networks, University of Pennsylvania Press, (2004) p.45
- ^ "Egypt and Sudan repair relations". BBC. 23 December 1999. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
- ^ a b Wright, The Looming Tower, (2006), pp. 213–14
- ^ Petterson, Donald, Inside Sudan: Political Islam, Conflict and Catastrophe, Boulder DO, Westview, 1999, p.179
- ^ Wright, The Looming Tower, (2006), p.221-3
- ^ New York Times, 16 March 1996, p.4
- ^ Fuller, The Future of Political Islam, (2003), p.111
- ^ a b "Sudan opposition head: rebel assault may spur more violence", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 18 May 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Wasil Ali, "Sudanese Islamist opposition leader denies link with Darfur rebels" Archived 12 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Sudan Tribune, 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Sudanese opposition leader arrested over 'coup plot'". The Guardian. 31 March 2004. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Profile: Sudan's Islamist leader". BBC News. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Sudan leader 'terrified' by arrest", Al Jazeera, 13 May 2008.
- ^ a b Issac Vuni, "Turabi is a scapegoat to rebel aborted coup", Sudan Tribune, 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Sudanese government releases opposition politician al-Turabi without charge", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 12 May 2008.
- ^ a b c Wasil Ali, "Sudan releases Islamist leader al-Turabi", Sudan Tribune, 12 May 2008.
- ^ a b c "Sudanese opposition leader arrested", Amnesty International, 16 January 2009.
- ^ "Al-Mahdi slams Bashir over policies but opposes sending him to ICC". Sudan Tribune. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
Al-Mahdi noted that leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan al-Turabi changed his mind on surrendering Bashir to the Hague-based court from supporting it to opposing it
- ^ a b Andrew Heavens, "Opposition leader in solitary confinement", Reuters (IOL), 16 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Sudan bars opposition leader Turabi from travel". The New Sudan Vision. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Sudan opposition leader reportedly transferred to Red Sea prison", Sudan Tribune, 26 January 2009.
- ^ "Opposition leader accused of rebel links", Reuters (IOL), 19 January 2009.
- ^ "Sudan frees Islamist opposition leader", Reuters, 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Sudan faces new calls for interim government", Reuters (IOL), 12 April 2009.
- ^ "Sudan Islamists name presidential candidate", AFP, 2 January 2010.
- ^ Staff (1 July 2010) "Sudan releases Islamist opposition head Turabi-family" Reuters, accessed 1 July 2010
- ^ "Al-Turabi arrested in Khartoum". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Sudan Opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi dies", Al Jazeera, 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Influential Sudanese opposition leader Turabi dies", France 24, 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Sudan’s influential opposition leader, al Turabi buried", Africanews, 6 March 2016.
- ^ Najat Ahmed, "Al-Turabi mourned by nation" Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Sudan Vision, 6 March 2016.
Further reading
- Burr, Millard (2003). Revolutionary Sudan: Hasan al-Turabi and the Islamist state, 1989–2000. Boston MA: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-13196-5.
- Abdelwahid, Mustafa A. The Rise of the Islamic Movement in Sudan (1945–1989). The Edwin Mellen Press, 2008.
External links
- Official website Archived 22 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Turabi video Interview
- Sudan Update's entry on the National Islamic Front
- BBC article on his June 2005 release
- Text of a speech given by al-Turabi before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee
- Chapter 2 of 9/11 Commission Report al-Turabi is described in Section 2.3