قراءة في كتاب الخاتم.... بقلم د. محجوب التجاني

Quote: Book Review - Al-Khatim ‘Adlan’s Ma al-Manfa? Wa Ma howa al-Watan? (2) Mahgoub El-Tigani December 23, 2008 Unresolved Disputes with the Communist Party “There is no Sudanese communist party in Sudan today. There is not a communist program” (p. 226). “The Communist Party is not the only sacramental shrine to perform political prescriptions: The Land of Sudan and her affiliations are wide open. One can be patriotic, progressive, and struggling for justice from outside the communist party,” said ‘Adlan (p. 264). The key to understanding major aspects of the persona and political thought of ‘Adlan was well expressed by the artistic cover of his selected works, Ma al-Manfa, by Elyas Fath al-Rahman, which indicates, in black and white, a clear image of ‘Adlan’s principled integrity, openness, and ability to rethink rigidities of ideology, as well as his firm stands to support the politics of social change by the side of the poor vis-à-vis abusive structures and functions of the State in the service of production monopolistic ownerships. ‘Adlan’s purity of soul, creativity, broad knowledge of Arab literature, Islamic philosophy, and Western liberal thought, in addition to workaday activities in humility with the impoverished populations of Sudan, blended his world outlook with strong concerns for humanity. This rich intellectual background colored his writings with an optimistic belief in the possibilities of transformation and change for the advancement of the poor on the basis of organized voluntary work versus all forms of coercive conservatism or revolutionary centralism. The unique background of ‘Adlan intellectuality is highlighted to explain part of the hostilities that developed between him and his lifetime counterparts in the Communist Party who stressed strict methods of bureaucratic formalism to avert the persecutory policies of anti-democratic regimes, especially the Nimeiri and the NIF governments. The latter forced the former, including 'Adlan, to practice only underground activities for long periods of time. Admitting his shared responsibilities, as a member of the central committee of the party, in these problematic situations, ‘al-Khatim, however, criticized the primary and the secondary effects of the party’s bureaucratic closure that touched deeply in his words upon the well-being of the party with respect to the “renewal of its life, leaderships, and new generations of the youth and women; that the party should give, not take” (pp. 266). He would then reject the continuity of protective methods, resign, and call in press conferences on the party to apply “new approaches” to “democratize” its organizational settings and political performance. Because ‘Adlan had been deeply opposed to all types of authoritative controls by his own mode of critical thinking, this genuine liberalism gravitated perhaps naturally to emulate the personality and thought of ‘Abd al-Khaliq Mahgoub, his most beloved charismatic mentor of the party, whose life exemplified the kind of leadership and intellectual prowess that ‘Adlan always cherished, in earnest, to promote his own career. 'Abd al-Khaliq most admirable competencies included his liberal, open-door, and elastic re-formulation of revolutionary doctrines in close response to the pressing needs of people and the interacting dynamics of society. That the Mahgoub successors, however, raised the young charismatic 'Adlan to the highest ranks of the party, early in 1992, should be fairly accredited to the decision-makers of his party. Responding to interviews with the press in the years following his resignation from the party in 1994, al-Khatim announced elaborately his own refutations of the communist thought, which had been earlier discussed inside closed circles of the party. In these renunciations, ‘Adlan claimed that scientific empirical data replaced the fundamentalist communist philosophical and dialectical assumptions. The communist utopia ceased to exist when it posited itself as “a stage” that would end an endless evolution of history. Max himself was ‘a fanatic dogmatic young man overwhelmed with pursuit of the absolute justice; a dreamer who wanted to make a communist transition from capitalism’ (pp. 235-36). Al-Khatim ‘Adlan refutation of communism rejected both hypothetically and practically any possibility of a communist society in the future. This finding was largely shared by many communists in the aftermath of the defunct Soviets. ‘Adlan insisted further that the Sudanese version of Marxism, which projected a transition form a “national democratic stage” of social, economic, and political development to “a higher stage of socialism” followed by “communism,” never took place or would come true any more on earth. The alternative, envisioned ‘Adlan, must bring about a new philosophy of socialist thought based on well-thought empirical programs, new styles of party administration, and new democratically elected leaderships (pp. 220-40). The alternative will not occur without “advanced democratic methodologies.” The Ma al-Manfa selected works emphasized al-Khatim divergences from the communist renewals of The Program, the party’s envisioned future by ‘Abd al-Khaliq Mahgoub before Ja’far Nimeiri and his dictatorial junta assassinated him in July 1971. In spite of al-Khatim critique of the communist failures to “re-establish momentum with the popular movement, renew the party life and leaderships, etc.”, careful analysis might well reveal major “objective” convergences are quite available in between the party’s distinguished thinkers, Mahgoub, Nugud, and ‘Adlan. We will discuss these aspects in the next review.