Sudan

‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Rāshid writes about the suffering of Christians in the Arab world.

"In a couple of days, the first Christian country in the region will be established in Sudan. This independence comes at the same time where 14 million Arab Christians are suffering from bigotry and armed Islamic extremist groups," said al-Rāshid, referring to Southern Sudan's possible secession from the North.

He explains that even many Muslims groups suffer extremism from the same groups.

The author cites Sudanese President ‘Umar al-Bashīr's recent announcement that he plans to apply Sharī‘ah in the north of Sudan if the south secedes.

The author sees such a statement as strange because "in principle Sharī‘ah has been applied in Sudan since September 1983, when former President Ja‘far Numayrī applied it."

Furthermore, "al-Bashīr himself confirmed once again that Sharī‘ah is the source of legislation in the constitution of 1991. Why then did President al-Bashīr feel that Sudan needs to apply a Sharī‘ah that has already in fact been applied for at least three decades," al-Tarifi asks.

This column consists of a vitriolic attack on the treatment of women in Muslim countries, with special emphasis on the recent flogging of a woman in Sudan.

"If you wish to determine the reasons for the Muslim nation's economic and social backwardness, then observe the behavior of Muslims," the author writes.

"What kind of virtue is this that extends from Iran to Riyadh to Khartoum without criminalizing their rulers' political adventures, which involve bribes and commissions?" Al-Ja'ārah asks.

"There is no manifestation of virtue in Khartoum save for al-Bashīr's whip, which lashes the backs of women," she says.

"Sudan is ruled by a man sought by the International Criminal Court for commiting war crimes and mass slaughter, yet no sound arises louder than the continuous screams of women," the author laments.

The author denounces in strong terms the public flogging of a Sudanese woman for wearing a pair of trousers. He describes footage of the incident as symbolizing "backwardness, ignorance, and racisim."

She was lashed on "the face, the thighs, the posterior, and the stomach" with the flogger's demeanor suggesting "he was about to have an orgasm."

"Videos of Sudanese whippings and Afghan stonings represent scenes that belong in the Middle Ages and the age of witch hunts," Muntasir writes.

The referendum for the separation of Southern Sudan is approaching at a time where those in the Nile valley are in dire need of unity. Yet here we are in the face of Africa's largest, and potentially wealthiest, country being divided. The question of whether Southern Sudan would join The Arab League presents itself.

Key Words: Sudan – Southern Sudan – The Arab League

Katholiek Nieuwsblad highlights an interview with HRH Prince Hassan of Jordan.

Interview: Cornelis Hulsman
The following article presents an interview between His Royal Highness Prince Hasan Ibn Talal of Jordan, and Drs. Cornelis Hulsman. Issues discussed include Christian emigration from the Arab world, reform, and political issues in the Middle East.

Asmā’ Nassār wrote about a truly controversial issue; the privatization of the Azhar. She says that some of the prominent ’salafī’ Shaykhs, headed by Ja‘far Bin Idrīs, a Sudanese Shaykh, established an Islamic university in California in 1995. An exchange of scholars between this University and the Azhar occurred, which ended when a branch of the University was discovered in Cairo.

The issues of achieving unity between southern and northern Sudan raises concerns about the situation of Islam and Muslims in southern Sudan.

Three Al-Ahrām al-cArabī articles in this issue have inflammatory headlines about Christian missionary activities. Drs. Hulsman comments that these types of headlines scare readers and distort the truth.