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Egypt and Sudan

COLIN NEWBURY

in Patrons, Clients, and Empire: Chieftaincy and Over-rule in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific

Britain intervened in 1881 to make Egypt into an informal protectorate under a consul-general. Within the client state the joint hierarchy of British and Egyptian officials improved finances and ... More

Britain intervened in 1881 to make Egypt into an informal protectorate under a consul-general. Within the client state the joint hierarchy of British and Egyptian officials improved finances and infrastructure; the Egyptian army came under British command. An intricate political game between Lord Cromer and the Khedivate aimed at securing ministerial clients and power over public offices and preserving strategic, commercial and dynastic interests in a colonial protectorate from 1914. In 1936 Britain ended this balancing act, retaining responsibility for the defence of the Canal, until the abolition of the monarchy by a military coup in 1952. After reconquest, the Sudan was run by British officers, using Egyptian auxiliaries and Sudanese clients recruited from sedentary and nomadic tribes to administer tax collection and courts. A parallel hierarchy of leaders from religious and urban elites competed for power and excluded the segmentary societies of the Southern Sudan after 1956.Less

The World in Africa

Shawn Leigh Alexander

in T. Thomas Fortune, the Afro-American Agitator: A Collection of Writings, 1880-1928

This chapter presents the editorial, “The World in Africa Fortune,” where Fortune encouraged the El Mahdi forces in their resistance against British occupation. This editorial is not only a strong ... More

This chapter presents the editorial, “The World in Africa Fortune,” where Fortune encouraged the El Mahdi forces in their resistance against British occupation. This editorial is not only a strong statement of support for the Sudanese fight for independence; it is also a staunch condemnation of imperialism in general.Less

Arabic Poetry, Nationalism and Social Change: Sudanese Colonial and Postcolonial Perspectives

Heather J. Sharkey

in Literature and Nation in the Middle East

Living in the political context shaped by European colonialism, Sudanese Arabic poets were not unique in pressing their art into the service of nationalism. By the time Mahjub wrote, poets in Egypt ... More

Living in the political context shaped by European colonialism, Sudanese Arabic poets were not unique in pressing their art into the service of nationalism. By the time Mahjub wrote, poets in Egypt had been presiding over a nationalist literary nahda or ‘awakening’. In India, Bengali poets in Calcutta were conscious of their own literary awakening, or nabajagaran, while in the sub-Saharan Africa, poet-nationalists emerged after World War II. These commonalities were not accidental. In the Middle East, South Asia and Africa alike, poetry was in this period conducive and important to nationalist expression, for at least four reasons. First, poetry had traditionally served political and education functions; second, it ennobled the nation through the creative use of language and imagery; third, it served as a tool in anticolonial nationalist activity; and fourth, it can be a tool for social change. This chapter illustrates and elaborates on these ideas about poetry, nationalism and social change, by focusing on the history and development of Arabic culture in the Northern Sudan. Starting with the assumption that poetry played pivotal roles in Sudanese culture, and that its history can therefore reflect wider social and political trends, it assesses the influence of poetry on incipient Sudanese nationalism in the early twentieth century, as well as its continuing relevance in the decades which followed.Less

Science and Barbarism

Jeremy Salt

in The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands

This chapter focuses on the British and French armies' entry into the Muslim lands of the Near East. It discusses the second French invasion of Algeria in 1830 and the British invasion of Egypt in ... More

This chapter focuses on the British and French armies' entry into the Muslim lands of the Near East. It discusses the second French invasion of Algeria in 1830 and the British invasion of Egypt in 1882. The chapter describes the machine-gun slaughter of protonational Sudanese tribal warriors in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, which was considered as the triumph of science over barbarism.Less

From Fragmentation to Fragmentation?: Sudan's Foreign Policy

Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki

in The Foreign Policies of Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization

The Sudan presents a case of a country with a fragmented society, a political system that has little legitimacy, an impoverished and skewed economy, and internal actors who challenge the regime's ... More

The Sudan presents a case of a country with a fragmented society, a political system that has little legitimacy, an impoverished and skewed economy, and internal actors who challenge the regime's right to rule and seek to transform the political system by force. Fragmentation and instability result in sharply fluctuating and highly contested foreign policy orientations and continual challenges to governments' foreign policy objectives. Most importantly, foreign policy is crafted and executed in the context of global and regional forces that provide both opportunities and constraints. It is evident that, in the Sudan, internal conflicts, regional relations, and global orientations are closely interwoven. They feed on each other, heighten each other, and constrain each other. A shift in one of the three levels impacts the other levels.Less

Muhammad Ali's First Army: The Experiment in Building an Entirely Slave Army

Terence Walz and Kenneth M. Cuno

in Race and Slavery in the Middle East: Histories of Trans-Saharan Africans in 19th-Century Egypt, Sudan, and the Ottoman Mediterranean

During the period of the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1171), black slaves continued to be used, especially during the reign of al-Mustansir (1029–94), whose Sudanese slave mother encouraged him to recruit ... More

During the period of the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1171), black slaves continued to be used, especially during the reign of al-Mustansir (1029–94), whose Sudanese slave mother encouraged him to recruit them because of their reputation for bravery, toughness, and obedience. Muhammad Ali's massacre of the mamluks in the Citadel in 1811 did not signal the end of the system of military slavery in Egypt. Muhammad Ali used both white and black for his slaves. Its officers were mamluks, and its soldiers were black slaves. Mamluks continued to be an important element in the military under Ottoman rule, and they had become the main power in Egypt by the arrival of the French in 1798. Historians have never studied that army, except to conclude that it quickly failed, and thus they begin with the second nizam army that Muhammad Ali started building in 1824.Less

African Refugees and Diasporic Struggles in Cairo

Diane Singerman

in Cairo Contested: Governance, Urban Space, and Global Modernity

This chapter argues that African migrant groups are marginalized on the level of governmental policies, national discourse, and daily life yet, despite these exclusionary policies and economic ... More

This chapter argues that African migrant groups are marginalized on the level of governmental policies, national discourse, and daily life yet, despite these exclusionary policies and economic hardships, Cairo's spaces of illegality, informality and (transnational) kinship networks, and community solidarity can make it a “more fluid and thus safer urban space” than that experienced by refugees in many other nations. It also covers the ways in which Somali and Sudanese communities, fleeing civil war and violence in their own countries, rebuilt their communities in Egypt, yet, when Sudanese refugees grew frustrated by very slow resettlement programs and the diminishing possibilities to gain refugee status, over 1,200 men, women, and children staged a sit-in. In general, Egypt, with its rigid citizenship laws and its public discourse of exclusionary nationalism and its simultaneous commitment to the protection of refugees and the cosmopolitan daily realities of its urban spaces, seems to be a host society that is both closed and open to refugees.Less

The Sociopolitical Construction of a Country

Abdullahi A. Gallab

in A Civil Society Deferred: The Tertiary Grip of Violence in the Sudan

This chapter sets forth and frames an analysis of the rise of the Sudanese order and its social, political, and cultural productions. It focuses on: three transformations within the pre-colonial, ... More

This chapter sets forth and frames an analysis of the rise of the Sudanese order and its social, political, and cultural productions. It focuses on: three transformations within the pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial state; how these transformations affected the written and unwritten rules for emerging social and political groups; and how various sociopolitical developments and institutions have produced various types of violence.Less

A Tale of Three Cities: Cairo

Abdullahi A. Gallab

in A Civil Society Deferred: The Tertiary Grip of Violence in the Sudan

The rise and fall of Omdurman was intertwined with Cairo's destiny for two centuries. Between 1821 and 1956, Cairo took center stage in Sudanese life. Within its multi-layered political, cultural, ... More

The rise and fall of Omdurman was intertwined with Cairo's destiny for two centuries. Between 1821 and 1956, Cairo took center stage in Sudanese life. Within its multi-layered political, cultural, and ideological character and content, which influenced the state of affairs in the Sudan, these events' developments substantially transformed Cairo itself. By invading the Sudan in 1821, Muḥammad 'Ali and his heirs turned Cairo into the seat of an extended “empire that was half the size of Europe,” controlling almost all the major waterways of the region, including the entire Nile Valley from Alexandria to the Great Lakes, and the Red Sea from the Gulf of Suez to Bab al-Mandab. Muḥammad 'Ali's invasion was a point of departure, involving more than a mere event in history. It was the very essence of that event, its functions, and its constitutions, which turned Cairo into an instrument of the nature and ambitions of the prevailing power of Muhammad Ali's state. The target of that power contested the policies and practices of the centrifugal machine for simulating and portraying the Sudanese “as no more than an empire of domestics.” This vicious circle produced a prevalence of violence and promoted conditions of social, civic, and hegemonic discourses.Less

Sudan

Radwa Ashour, Ferial J. Ghazoul, and Hasna Reda-Mekdashi

in Arab Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide, 1873-1999

Sudanese literature, written by both men and women, is generally in short supply due to the conditions of Sudan's historical development. The country is economically underdeveloped despite its ... More

Sudanese literature, written by both men and women, is generally in short supply due to the conditions of Sudan's historical development. The country is economically underdeveloped despite its enormous resources, which are either unexploited or wasted, and with sporadic exceptions, it has also been involved in the quagmire of civil war since the 1950s because of an underlying identity conflict. Women's political influence in Sudan has been remarkable, and they obtained their electoral rights relatively early compared to other African and Arab nations. Sudan is currently experiencing an economic and political crisis, at the time of writing, and an acute identity conflict, torn between Arabism and Africanism. This has ramifications for writing in general, but women seem to be most keenly affected by the conflict and crisis.Less

Being “Black,” Being “Sudanese”: Colonial Education, Privilege, and National Identity

in Living with Colonialism: Nationalism and Culture in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

In many places in Africa and Asia where European imperialist forced borders and named the regions within them, early nationalists modified territorial labels to suit their potential identities. The ... More

In many places in Africa and Asia where European imperialist forced borders and named the regions within them, early nationalists modified territorial labels to suit their potential identities. The early nationalists of India came to regard themselves as “Indians,” just as how in Nigeria, they call themselves as “Nigerians.” Some nationalist leaders chose names for nations to signal their brand new starts. In the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the story of naming the nation is dramatic. The term sudani, or “Sudanese,” evolved into a badge of national pride because earlier, it was only applied to the slaves. This redefinition involved assigning common values and a fine historical pedigree to the people in the landscape.Less

Life and the Regime: The Terms of Cooperation

in Living with Colonialism: Nationalism and Culture in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

As Britain's “colonial moment” in Africa and Asia was established, evaluations of its character and impact changed. Whereas colonial-era accounts highlighted the participation and cooperation of ... More

As Britain's “colonial moment” in Africa and Asia was established, evaluations of its character and impact changed. Whereas colonial-era accounts highlighted the participation and cooperation of “natives” in government, narratives in the early independence era focused on their resistance. Colonial government employment offered the educated Northern Sudanese a livelihood. The pay was steady, and the jobs held prospects for low-scale promotions and salary increases. Government jobs satisfied basic needs, and yet many of the educated Northern Sudanese had wide grounds for frustrations. They were sensitive to their low rank, exclusion from policy-making decisions, and subordination to British officials.Less

The Nation after the Colony

in Living with Colonialism: Nationalism and Culture in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

There were assumptions that described colonial states and nation states. As pieces of empires, colonial states had been maintained for the sake of a distant metro-pole, while the nation states were ... More

There were assumptions that described colonial states and nation states. As pieces of empires, colonial states had been maintained for the sake of a distant metro-pole, while the nation states were meant to be autonomous, dependent, and responsible to the collectives of people within them. This chapter examines efforts to define the nation, in theory and practice, during and after colonialism. By tracing the career and plight of Sudanese nationalism over the course of the twentieth century—as its ideas first originated in literary debates, later gained application in government policies, and finally became ensnared in civil war—one can really appreciate how the colonial state evolved into the nation state, with far-reaching social consequences.Less

Israel’s Clandestine Diplomacy With Sudan: Two Rounds of Extraordinary Collaboration

Yehudit Ronen

in Israel's Clandestine Diplomacies

This chapter shows Israel’s interest in Sudan and its Arab and African neighbours. Israel’s increased attentiveness to the political situation in Khartoum was clearly discernable by its prompt ... More

This chapter shows Israel’s interest in Sudan and its Arab and African neighbours. Israel’s increased attentiveness to the political situation in Khartoum was clearly discernable by its prompt message of congratulations to the new Sudanese state on the ‘memorable occasion of the proclamation of the Sudanese Republic’ and in the subsequent wishes for the ‘prosperous future and peaceful consolidation of the Sudanese nation’. During the 1950s, Israel’s foreign policy-makers considered Sudan and Ethiopia as two major pillars in its so-called ‘periphery doctrine’. This strategy was designed to minimise what Israel perceived as the danger inherent in the two overlapping Arab circles of threat: the ‘first circle of confrontation’ comprised frontline Arab countries hostile to Israel, while the ‘second circle of confrontation’ was made up of other Arab and non-Arab states located on the geopolitical periphery of the first.Less

Beyond Bare Life: Southern Sudanese in Fargo

Jennifer Erickson

in Race-ing Fargo: Refugees, Citizenship, and the Transformation of Small Cities

This chapter discusses Southern Sudanese forms of citizenship, resettling Christians, social and cultural citizenship, political citizenship, gendered citizenship, and the Lost Boys. It discusses how ... More

This chapter discusses Southern Sudanese forms of citizenship, resettling Christians, social and cultural citizenship, political citizenship, gendered citizenship, and the Lost Boys. It discusses how the Southern Sudanese enacted multi-sited citizenship through religious, social, political, and familial assemblages. The chapter discusses how the Church became an important social service to the Southern Sudanese because social services were not providing enough support. It talks about the New Sudanese Community Association, which was the only Southern Sudanese–led organization registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in Fargo Moorhead in 2007–2008. It also discusses women's participation in the community and how men viewed Sudanese women who have lived in the United States. It also discusses The Sudan People's Liberation Army and Sudan People's Liberation Movement formed in 1983 to fight the military domination and political interests, respectively, of the ruling Northern Sudanese elite.Less

Allocative and Technical Inefficiency in Sudanese Islamic Banks: An Empirical Investigation

Abd Elrhman Elzahi Saaid

in Islamic Perspectives on Wealth Creation

This chapter examines the allocative and technical inefficiency of the Sudanese Islamic banks through the stochastic frontier approach. While the studies of efficiency using frontier approaches were ... More

This chapter examines the allocative and technical inefficiency of the Sudanese Islamic banks through the stochastic frontier approach. While the studies of efficiency using frontier approaches were introduced long ago, their application in evaluating the performance of banks did not start until Sherman and Gold (1985) initiated their study. They applied the frontier approach to the banking industry by focusing on the operating efficiency of the branches of a savings bank. Since then, several studies have been conducted using the frontier approach to measure the efficiency in banking. The frontier approach represents a very powerful tool, as it allows individuals with very little institutional knowledge or experience to identify the best banking practices within the industry.Less

Escaping the Islamic State?

Noah Salomon

in For Love of the Prophet: An Ethnography of Sudan's Islamic State

This epilogue first describes cases of Sudanese university students joining ISIS. It then argues that if we begin to evaluate the success of the Sudanese Islamic state project based not on the ... More

This epilogue first describes cases of Sudanese university students joining ISIS. It then argues that if we begin to evaluate the success of the Sudanese Islamic state project based not on the staying-power of the particular doctrines the Inqadh regime imposed or on the institutional forms it assumed, but rather on the questions it continues to provoke and the aspirations it engenders, we will better be able to explain why groups like ISIS have become attractive to Sudanese students living in the era of the late Inqadh. The fact that the renegade students felt they could not fulfill Islamic political aspirations in Sudan but needed to make the radical move of traveling across the world to join an organization vilified both at home and internationally suggests not only that the definition of an Islamic state remains as contested as ever, but that, contrary to some predictions, the failures of the Islamic state model in Sudan have led not to the eclipse of Islam as a viable political foundation, but rather to an even more active search for its true embodiment.Less