Iran 1979-Sudan 1989 -Video

Quote: Al-Turabi as an Ideologue Ismail Abdallah Literature on the nature and rule of the Omer Hasn al-Bashir of the Sudan is abundant, and the role of Dr Hasan Abdallah al-Turabi in,first, the 1989 coup that brought the Muslim brotherhood to power, and, second, in the establishment of a religious dictatorship in the Sudan, is well documented. What is still only dimly understood is al-Turabi ideas about Islamic reforms, Islamic government, and the ideal Muslim community he and his brotherhood strongly believe they are endeavoring to bring about. The planned paper critically explores these ideas in an effort to go beyond the news headlines to a deeper and balanced evaluation of this important political and religious figure in the recent history of the Sudan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revisiting the Turabi/Bin Laden Relationship Ann Lesch Villanova University Osama bin Laden lived in the Sudan from December 1991 through May 1996. He was invited there by Hasan al-Turabi, with whom he then worked closely in developing his global Islamist network. This paper will examine the dynamics of their relationship during those five years: Who influenced who? Who manipulated who? To what extent did bin Laden's financial network and Afghan Arab cadres bolster Turabi's aims? And to what extent did Turabi influence bin Laden's operations? The paper will explore their complex relationship, opening up ideas for discussion and hypothesizing about their relationship after May 1996, when Turabi acquiesced in the Sudan government's expulsion of bin Laden. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sudan-Ethiopia Relations & Islamization Policies Solomon Hailu University of South Florida The central focus of this paper is on Sudan’s islamization policy under Al-Bashire’s regime and its regional impact. In the past, some African countries have officially protested against Sudan's muslim fundamentalism policy while other states have officially broken relations with Sudan and have come close to taking military measures against it. Ethiopia has become one of Sudanese negibours which had her relations severely stained due to Sudan’s cross-border Islamic expansionist agenda. The study will analysis the fact that the quest for Ethiopia’s internal opposition have always been characterized as having fully political motives rather than religious ambitions. It would therefore appear that Sudan's cross-border policy based on radical islamisation principles did not have its root in any realities of Ethiopian politics. It is not so much a question of explaining existing tensions in Ethiopian society, but of hoping to create them in the first place, that draws Sudan's ideological mission within its neighbours territory. mean that Sudan has tried to create . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sudan's Islamic Revolution as a Cause of Foreign Intervention in Its Civil War: Insights from Balance of Threat Theory William Rose Connecticut College Sudan experienced an elite-driven, moderately radical Islamic revolution in northern Sudan in 1989. The revolution occurred when Sudan was in the midst of a bloody north-south civil war. Although the causes of the civil war were domestic in origin, intervention by other countries in the civil war has affected its intensity and duration. This paper focuses on the behavior of two of Sudan's neighbors, Egypt and Ethiopia: while both countries intervened in Sudan's internal affairs, only Ethiopia took sides in the civil war. To explain connections between Sudan's Islamic revolution and the varying interventions of Ethiopia and Egypt, this paper explores the uses and limits of Stephen Walt's balance of threat theory-which he used to highlight causal connections between revolution and interstate security competition. The first finding is that the theory provides important and unique insights into relations between revolutionary Sudan and two of its neighbors. Especially important are causes associated with the analytic, policy, and propaganda functions of a revolutionary ideology. The theory links these effects of a revolution to other causes of conflict-particularly the creation of new conflicts of interest and intensified spirals of suspicion-as it explains intensified security competition. The theory explains these observations in Sudan better than any other competing theory or single explanation. Like any theory, however, it has limits. One is that the theory offers insights into interstate relations only when a revolution has occurred. Even when the theory applies, moreover, other causes of conflict as well as constraints on conflict come into play. The second finding is that the revolution did not cause security competition to increase nearly as much as the theory predicts. This latter observation contrasts with Walt's own case studies. A likely reason for this anomaly concerns the setting in Africa, where boundaries delineating states have been more ephemeral or artificial than in other parts of the world where Walt studied revolution. Finally, because the evidence examined was fairly thin, the paper ends with suggestions for further research. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------