Where is our Sudanism!

By Roba Gibia

April 20, 2005 – There is no doubt that since when the National Islamic Front (NIF)/National Congress Party (NCP) came to power by coup in 1989, has got its own agenda and hallucination to implement and achieve. When this military junta (NIF/NCP) came to power, it termed itself salvation government that comes to the rescue of the Sudanese people, but no sooner its true color was revealed which is Arabism and Islamization. On the other words they have not come to the deliverance of the Sudanese people but to hijack it. Why Arabism and Islam topped the NIF/NCP agenda, and why not Sudanism if one may ask? Thus, before speculating an answer let us look at the Sudanese people themselves as whether they are purely Arabs and Muslims, and why black African tribes in Sudan are always referred to as minorities? The dark skinned African blacks in Sudan are the majority or unless if people consider any Muslim in Sudan to be an Arab, culturally oriented and mentally Arabized. Hypothetically, the Muslims in Sudan are the majority but not all of them are Arabs, and it doesn’t constitute that all black African Muslims are naturally Arabs and have got absolute affiliation to Arabs. There are African, European, American and Asian Muslims but never claimed to be Arabs but instead preserved their own unique identity and conceited of their own nationalism. But the case and situation in Sudan is different, despite the fact that all Sudanese are blacks, even those few elites ruling Sudan are blacks, but are spearheading Arabism as replacement for Sudanism as their national identity to satisfy their own inferiority, and wanted to propel themselves to be Arabs at the expense of the large non-Arab population in the country, not only that but are enforcing Arabism and Islam on the others. And that is the problematic issue in Sudan, lack of national government structure to unite all the Sudanese instead of the sectarian form of government which has torn the whole country apart.

The black African Muslims in Sudan must know that they are not Arabs and will never be at one day on equal foot with Arabs in Sudan, even though if they claim to be Arabs. There was very interesting story, as during the Anya-nya I movement when I was in Nzara, Equatoria province by then. There was well known Southern Sudanese Muslim cleric, culturally and mentally Arabized, his friends were all Muslims and Arab traders, military servicemen, police and Arabs working at Nzara scheme, his home front has become the daily praying square, never speaks his own mother-tongue even with his family, relatives and tribesmen, well respected among the Arabs in Nzara and he always claims that he is from Khartoum. See what happened, when the insecurity situation became intense and food scarcity in Nzara town worsened, the commander of Sudan Armed Forces in Nzara decided to evacuate all Arabs from Nzara to Yambio to be flown by military plane to Khartoum. The well known and respected southern Muslim cleric, who claimed to be an Arab from Khartoum, was barred and forced down from the lorry with his family and told that he is not Northerner or an Arab from Khartoum, and he was stripped from his bogus Arab identity and denied evacuation. Since that day, the cleric was awakened from profound illusion to the realism and discovered his true origin, root and Southernism and promptly started uttering his mother-tongue! Look, who in this world will deny his/her own parents even though if they are paupers or iniquitous, it is your destiny and it will continue to hunt you whenever you are. Thus, I believe this is an awakening call for all Sudanese people to wake up and not to renounce their own African or Arab origins, but have to adhere to the richness of their multi-ethnic, religious and cultural diversity which formed current Sudan, not with aim of imposing each groups’ religion and culture on the others, but with goal of forming their inimitable national identity which is SUDANISM instead of contemplating and importing Sudan’s national identity from overseas.

Islamic religion is a well respected faith but it has been polluted and tarnished by the human wickedness and rapacious. Darfur is the typical example of Sudan’s Muslim-Muslim discrimination on color and racial bases. Darfurians are all black African Muslims and not Arabs but according to the Islamic ethics, any Muslim is your brother and sister in Islam regardless of race and color and all the Muslims have to have the cohesion, to defend and offer sacrifice for their Muslim brothers and sisters anywhere on the face of the earth, as we have seen in Afghanistan and Bosnia as well as when the Jihad or Holy war was declared against south Sudan, PDF, Mujahideen and Muslims from around the world supported Khartoum’s move and some physically fought beside their Muslim brothers in Khartoum, and south Sudanese were considered pagans and enemies of Islam and Arab. That Muslim principle of brotherhood and solidarity is not applicable in Darfur because Darfurians are African blacks, and racism is playing a great and key role in Darfur crisis particularly from Arab and Muslim countries, as there was not single Arab or Muslim media condemned and termed what is taking place in Darfur as genocide, but rather accused Western media of exaggerating Darfur crisis for their own benefit. That was or is the Arab and Muslim media view on Darfur and Sudan affairs. That is not important but the key issue is that if you have a look at those who claim to be Arabs in Sudan, they are all blacks then where are the problems and why Sudanese people are rejecting their own national identity, Sudanism and taking refugee in the counterfeited identity.

I am proud of my black skin and love my Sudansim because I am a Sudanese and that is my identity and nationality which I am enormously contented with and ready to kick the bucket for. But our so-called brothers in Khartoum are not happy with the black Sudanese people and are seeking alternative of replacing or overcoming the African Sudanese people by outsiders, so that tomorrow Sudan would be purely an Arab and Muslim country. The current attitude and inclination of the NCP is indicating that, as when the Sudan’s Minister of Defence was asked in press conference at Sudanese Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month about the possible resettlement of five million Egyptian farmers in the northern region of Shamaliya, the Defence Minister answered with full of detestation that “What is good of eight million people in Darfur, all of them are Africans (blacks) and came from abroad, and is it not good for you to receive those who come from Egypt or those Africans who have come from West Africa”. This is dangerous statement and it implies that NCP has got clandestine agenda to obliterate country’s blacks, and I term this awakening call for Sudanese before it is too late. Besides that, one wonders, as whether Egyptians are not coming from abroad, and why they were preferable than West Africans, this is a clear evidence of racial discrimination in Sudan which has to be taken seriously and condemned in the strongest terms. Therefore, it is crucial to watch our tongues before we could speak out.

I believe Sudanese are not against resettlement of Egyptian farmers in the northern region of Shamaliya or at Gezira scheme, if it is according to the joint Sudanese-Egyptian cooperation in the field of agriculture and based on the mutual understanding, respect and benefit for the two countries but it should not be on the other side’s expenses. But Sudanese people will be opposing if the Egyptian farmers are granted Sudanese nationality, which will award them legitimacy rights of the Sudanese citizenship. If this happens, certainly in long term it will change Sudan’s racial and ethnic landscape, and will add more fuel onto the ongoing country’s predicament. Obtaining Sudanese nationality certificate, you have to be accompanied by a witness and the form requests you to testify that your grandfathers lived in Sudan since the year 1900, without a witness you will never be granted Sudanese nationality, even though you are Sudanese by birth. But it seems that NCP has got long term strategy to alter Sudan’s racial features. Thus, according to the reliable sources, the NCP is issuing Sudanese nationalities to the millions of foreign Muslims, Arabs and Egyptians in order to boost its shrinking support at the midst of the Sudanese people. Many Sudanese are wondering, as on what criteria and grounds is the Sudanese nationalities are being awarded to those foreigners, it is definitely to alter Sudan’s racial features?

Roba Gibia is a Sudan Tribune journalist. He is also the author of John Garang and the Vision of NEW SUDAN. He can be reached at
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