Sudanese Islamic pacifist remembered
By Andre Briscoe
Jan 21, 2007 (MONTEREY, California) — On Jan. 18, 1985, Mahmoud Mohammad Taha stood with his head in a noose, about to be hanged for the crime of apostasy and heresy.
Moments before the hanging at Kober Prison in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, his hood was removed and his face revealed to a crowd of more than 2,000. What they saw was a man at peace, said Mustafa Eljaili, an Arabic teacher at the Defense Language Institute, who heard the story from a witness.
“He was so relaxed,” said Eljaili. “It was as if he wasn’t a part of the hanging. He was killed for his thoughts. He was calling for peace, justice and equality. He was advocating a new understanding of Islam from the Quran.”
Every year since, Taha’s followers have gathered to remember the father of pacifist Islamic thinking. This was the first year Monterey has hosted the event, Eljaili said. A growing Sudanese community on the Peninsula was a key factor in the decision to hold the event in Monterey, he said.
On Saturday, Sudanese Muslims from around the country gathered at the La Mesa Community Center ballroom in Monterey for the annual commemoration. It was a full day of lectures, seminars and debates about the slain leader.
Panel discussions and DVD presentations on the life of Taha were part of the program, as well as religious chanting. Taha’s books and photographs highlighting his life were also on display.
Taha was born in 1909 in the Sudan town of Rufa’a. He attended Gordon Memorial College, now the University of Khartoum, graduating with an engineering degree in 1936.
Taha was sentenced to a year in prison in 1946 after refusing to stop his political activity against British colonial rule in Sudan, but he was pardoned by the British governor general after only 50 days in prison. He was eventually arrested again, tried, and sentenced to two years in prison for leading a revolt against the British in Rufa’a.
In 1955, just before Sudan got its independence, Taha published a book outlining his vision of an independent Sudan. The proposal called for a presidential, federal and democratic form of government.
He was opposed to the application of Islamic (sharia) laws, which are more restrictive of women’s rights, according to Eljaili. Applying them would mean creating distrust and animosity from Muslims toward non-Muslims, Eljaili said.
“He advocated the earlier verses of the Quran as being those that are essential,” said Eljaili. “He said jihad is not for today. Jihad was made for the seventh century.”
In 1966 and 1967, Taha published three books, and also proposed a dialogue to pursue peaceful coexistence between the Arab states in the Middle East and Israel after the Six-day War in 1967.
“He thought that Arabs should sit and negotiate with Israel, instead of holding onto the indignities that have been committed against them in the past,” Eljaili said.
At one point Taha was viewed by many in the Middle East as an agent for the Israelis, according to Eljaili. But many others responded to Taha’s interpretation of Islam. He gained the name ustadh or teacher.
In 1983, Jaafar Numeiri, then president of Sudan, wanted to turn the country into an Islamic state and in 1984 he replaced the country’s civil laws with sharia. Taha protested and he and four of his followers were arrested on charges of heresy.
Following a trial that lasted two hours, all the men were condemned to death. Taha was hanged within a week of the sentence, and a day later, the four followers were pardoned after they recanted support for his views.
(The Monterey County Herald)