I’m finishing the stories about the “Arab Spring” with one more African country- Sudan. So much has happened there in the past year that a timid attempt at local “spring” went unnoticed.

Sudan, of course, is completely different from Algeria, but these two countries also have something in common. Namely, Sudan, like Algeria, experienced its “spring” in the late 80s.
Only the “post-spring” scenario was different there - the army elite chose to enter into an alliance with the Islamists. As a result, after a series of complex collisions, the current “Islamic democracy” arose in Sudan. Or the “authoritarian” regime of President Omar al-Bashir.

This a complex system, in which there is a place for the observance of Islamic values, elections (the democracy of which, albeit with a number of reservations, is recognized by foreign observers - just a wonderful phrase from the report of the EU mission: “competitive struggle during the elections was significantly reduced as a result of rash actions of the authorities”), factional struggle within the ruling party, the opposition (to the Mahdists, unionists, communists and irreconcilable Islamists), media freedom (albeit regularly suppressed by fines and arrests of journalists, and the closure of newspapers), there is no “clanism” in the economy, which is common in the East.

The ruling party in Sudan is the National Congress Party (NCP), a fairly massive and powerful organization in which there are various factions whose opinions al-Bashir has to take into account when making decisions. This is “democratic centralism”.
And the power of President al-Bashir (even after the departure of Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi into irreconcilable opposition) is not as individual as it is imagined in the West. He cannot be compared with Saleh or Mubarak, but can be partially compared with Bashar al-Assad in the first years of his reign.

The country is in a state of permanent socio-economic crisis caused by international sanctions and aggravated by guerrilla warfare on the national outskirts, to combat which the authorities are forced to spend enormous amounts of money.
40% of income comes from oil. Inflation is 21% per year, 60% of the population lives below the poverty line.
In 2011, it came to the cessation of domestic air traffic - spare parts for the planes ran out, and there was no money for new ones.

External debt – $38 billion. True, Sudan “froze” its payment in response to sanctions - and now even other Arab countries do not lend money to Sudan.

But not even that the main problem countries. More precisely, problems in the economy stem from sanctions, and sanctions stem from what is the very big problem the country is an ethno-confessional mosaic. Arabs make up only 39% of its population, and 51% are Nilotic and Nubian blacks.

Formally, 95% of the population are Sunni Muslims. But there is a very big difference between devout Arab Muslims and formally “baptized” African Muslims, who have never been noticed to be particularly zealous in the matter of faith.
Loud slogans like “Sudanese, whether they are Arabs, or Muslim Africans or Christians, are Sudanese first” come into conflict with the real policy of the Islamist government (albeit one that has moderated its ardor after the fall of al-Turabi) of a country where the death penalty is imposed for insulting the Prophet .

Events around problem regions were at the center of Sudanese politics in 2011.
I won’t talk at all about Darfur, where the war and negotiations with local rebels who were away fighting in Libya for their sponsor Gaddafi continue. I’ll just note that in September, Darfurian Adam Youssef al-Hajj took over the post of vice president vacated after the secession of the South.

But we will have to talk about South Sudan (a quarter of the territory and a fifth of the country’s population). The year began with a referendum held in the south on January 9-15, during which 98-something percent of the population there was in favor of secession.
On February 7, al-Bashir accepted the results of the referendum.
On July 9, the Republic of South Sudan was officially proclaimed, after which Sudan ceased to be the most big country in Africa, losing this title to Algeria.
Khartoum immediately recognized the independence of the new state, al-Bashir was present at the proclamation of the new state.

A small digression - the successful secession of the South for Africa can be compared to the recognition of Kosovo for Europe. Because it violates the consensus that has developed on this continent about the inviolability of the borders drawn by the colonialists.

With the secession of the South, Sudan lost 37% of budget revenues.
65% of Sudanese oil remains in the South, but oil refining and pipelines are in the North. The southerners immediately declared that they would not share petrodollars with Khartoum. A crowd of people immediately appeared who wanted to build oil pipelines for Juba, bypassing the North.
Moreover, already in August, disputes began between the North and the South over the price of transit with “closing the valve,” which Khartoum resorted to three times in six months.

Almost immediately, disputes arose about the demarcation of the border - Khartoum insisted on the 1956 border, Juba argued that this border was arbitrarily drawn by the “damned British colonialists” and did not correspond to ethnic realities, for which the South itself separated.

The ethnography of the border territories is very similar to Darfur - Arab "in large numbers" nomads against black "primordial" tribes.
And most importantly, the disputed state of Abyei provides a quarter (and the highest quality) of Sudanese oil.

In March, tribal clashes broke out in Abyei between supporters of the North and South. In May, al-Bashir ordered the army to push the southern forces to the 1956 border line. Abyei was quickly captured. Negotiations followed, the signing of agreements, the fuss of various intermediaries. As a result, Ethiopian peacekeepers were brought into the state in July, but the Sudanese army did not leave.
With the capture of Abyei, Khartoum made it clear that the “parade of sovereignties” was over in the South.

There is also oil in Southern Kordofan. In May, gubernatorial elections were held there, which were won by Khartoum’s protégé Ahmed Harun (another ICC indictee for Darfur - apparently a great specialist in “resolving interethnic contradictions”).
In June, fighting broke out in the state between northerners and southerners who did not recognize the election results, with the use of tanks and all aircraft, of which both sides have 10 units between them. The Darfuris also came to the aid of the southerners.

Fighting continues and in September spread to neighboring Blue Nile state, where Khartoum attempted to unseat the elected southern governor, Malik Agar.

In September, an alliance of rebels from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile (the “Sudanese Revolutionary Front”) was created, led by Yasser Armani, with the goal of overthrowing the “criminal regime” in Khartoum and transforming Sudan into a federal secular democratic state.
Moreover, they intend to combine armed struggle with mass demonstrations. In response, authorities banned 17 political parties associated with South Sudan. The reason is that the leaders and most of the members are now "foreign nationals".

There were also serious socio-economic consequences of the new Sudanese war. Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile are the main producers of the country's traditional and staple food, sorghum. And the 100% increase in sorghum prices within a year was a direct result of the war.

But Abyei, Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile are not the only problematic regions of Sudan. Separatist sentiment is strong in eastern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains.

What about the "Arab Spring"? Was she in Sudan? In any case, I tried.
On the eve of the new year, the authorities had to take a number of measures to reduce the budget deficit. Cuts in food subsidies have led to higher prices. Salaries in the public sector were cut by 25%, the import of luxury goods and furniture was banned, and there was talk of privatization.
These measures provoked student unrest and riots in a number of central Sudanese cities in early January.

On January 30, an attempt was made to hold a nationwide “Day of Rage”; demonstrations in Khartoum, Omdurman and El Obeid were dispersed by the police. The number of demonstrators was small, largely because underdeveloped Sudan lacks the powerful layer of unemployed people with a diploma that launched the Arab Spring in other countries.
The rector of the capital's university, who supported his students who went to the rally, was immediately fired. New attempts at demonstrations on February 5 were also suppressed. Arrests of opposition leaders followed (including the arrest of al-Turabi again) and independent journalists, and a number of opposition newspapers were closed.

On February 5, the president promised to “open the door to freedom” in the country, but to fight those who “want chaos.”
In the spring, those arrested were released, and the oppositionists were allowed to publish newspapers again under different names.
New attempts to organize demonstrations in September ended in nothing.

Throughout the year, the factional struggle between “reformers” and “conservatives” continued in the NCP, which resulted in the fall of a number of key figures in the manual.
As the situation deteriorated, the regime tried to strengthen its position by creating a “broad coalition” - when the government was reorganized in November, it included representatives of the Mahdists, unionists and former rebels from the Eastern Province.
Al-Turabi chose to remain in the irreconcilable opposition, sending curses at the “traitors” from the opposition. So in mid-December he was arrested again - again they were sewing up a “conspiracy for a coup d’état.”

In the external arena, Khartoum has consistently supported all the Arab revolutions of the past year. Even when the outcome of events in Tahrir was unclear, al-Bashir repeatedly called on Mubarak to “respect the will of the Egyptian people.” We supplied weapons to the GNA; the Sudanese general headed the Arab League observer mission in Syria.
And the beginning of 2012, al-Bashir, who is under a warrant from the International Criminal Court, celebrated with a visit to Libya, where he was received with open arms by the new authorities.

However, Sudan's foreign policy situation has clearly deteriorated.
The fact is that Khartoum obediently fulfilled all the terms of the 2005 peace agreement, having received public promises from Washington to remove the country from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, write off debts and lift some economic sanctions.
Khartoum fulfilled its obligations in full. Sudan has not been a sponsor of terrorism for a long time; for several years it has been secretly collaborating with the CIA - right down to the presence of an American electronic intelligence station in Khartoum.
And what did you get in return?

Nov. 1 The White house publicly stated that nothing that was promised before would happen due to the “aggressive policy of the Sudanese authorities in South Kordofan, Abyei and Blue Nile.”
USA once again they proved to the world in general and the Arabs in particular what their promises are worth.
Another result of such a “wise” US policy was the weakening of the influence of the liberal faction of the NCP and the strengthening of the positions of military “hawks” in power.
, And .
In the near future there will be another story about and in Tunisia.

Basic geographic data

Christianity came to Sudan in the 6th century and was the religion of the early medieval kingdom of Nubia. After the capture of the country by the Arabs, Islamization began, which was almost completely completed in the 15th century. Christianity in the south and in the Nuba Mountains is the result of missionaries in the 19th century.

Sudan in ancient times

Northern Sudan is the biblical land of Kush. There existed the ancient kingdom of Meroe, which fought with Egypt and even captured it.

At the end of the 4th millennium BC. The kings of Egypt's 1st Dynasty conquered Upper Nubia south of Aswan, spreading Egyptian cultural influence to the African peoples along the Nile. In the following centuries, Nubia was subject to regular military expeditions from Egypt in search of slaves or building materials for royal tombs, which destroyed much of the Egyptian-Nubian culture. The interactions arising from the enslavement and colonization of Nubia led to ever-increasing African influence on the arts, culture, and religions of dynastic Egypt.

During what Egyptologists know as the First Intermediate Period (c. 2130-1938), a new wave of pastoralist immigrants came to Nubia from Libya. These people were able to settle on the Nile and assimilate the Nubians living there without opposition from Egypt. After the fall of the 6th Dynasty (c. 2150), Egypt endured over a hundred years of weakness and internal turmoil, giving immigrants to Nubia time to develop their own distinct civilization, with unique crafts, architecture and social structure, potentially more dynamic than the civilizations to the north.

With the advent of the 11th Dynasty (2081), Egypt regained its strength and began pushing south into Nubia, at first sending only sporadic expeditions to collect tribute, but by the 12th Dynasty (1938-1756) effectively conquered Nubia as far as the city of Semna on south. To counter Nubian resistance, a chain of forts was built on the Nile. At the same time, the cultural influence of Egypt on Nubia was minimal.

The Egyptianization of the local culture occurred during the Second Interregnum (c. 1630-1540 BC), when many Nubians were mercenaries in the Egyptian army fighting against the Hyksos. On the other hand, the presence of these mercenaries in Egypt contributed to the growth of African influence in Egyptian culture. After regaining independence, under Thutmose I (reigned 1493-1482 BC), Egypt captured Nubia, which was divided into two provinces. The center of the northern one was Elephantine, the center of the southern one was the city of Napata. Egyptian colonies appeared in the administrative centers and a layer of Egyptianized Nubians.

Nubia was valuable as a transit area for trade between Egypt, the Red Sea coast and Central Africa. It also had reserves of gold and emeralds and large areas of fertile land.

When Egypt experienced another crisis at the end of the New Kingdom (11th century BC), the governors of Kush, supported by their Nubian armies, became kings virtually independent of Egyptian control. By the 8th century BC. The kings of Kush came from hereditary ruling families of Egyptianized Nubian leaders who had neither political nor family ties to Egypt. Under one of them, Kasht, Kush captured Upper (i.e. southern) Egypt, and under his son Pianhi (750-719 BC) all of Egypt to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

In 671 BC. The Assyrians invaded Egypt and defeated the Kushites. In 654 BC. The Kushites were driven south to their capital Napata. The country was separated from Egypt by barren hills south of Elephantine. Kush continued to control the middle course of the Nile for another thousand years. Its unique Egyptian-Nubian culture with its strong African overlays was preserved while Egypt came under Persian, Greek and Roman influence.

The state's economy was based on the mining of gold and precious stones and on transit trade. The Kushites developed their own writing system, first based on Egyptian hieroglyphs, then their own, and finally an alphabetic one. They worshiped the Egyptian gods, but did not abandon their own. They buried their kings in pyramids, but not the Egyptian model. Soon after the retreat from Egypt, the capital was moved from Napata south to Meroe, where the kingdom was more exposed to established African cultures from the south at a time when its connections with Egypt were rapidly disappearing.

Over the next few centuries the kingdom declined, and in 350 AD. the king of Aksum from Ethiopia destroyed it completely, destroying the capital and all the cities along the Nile. The next 200 years are a dark period of history. Archaeologists have not yet determined which peoples lived in Nubia at this time. But the material culture inherited from the Cushites continued to predominate. Local rulers, in alliance with desert nomads, attacked Roman settlements in Upper Egypt several times until the Romans drove them very far to the south.

Sudan in the Middle Ages

In the 6th century, Christian missionaries arrived in Nubia. At this time, the country was divided into three states, the capital of the southernmost of which was on the site of modern Khartoum. Between 534 and 575, these kingdoms were converted to Christianity thanks to the work of the missionary Julian and his successor Longinus. Christian churches sprang up along the Nile, and ancient temples were renovated to accommodate Christian services. The records of this provide material about the history of Sudan at that time.

After the capture of Egypt in 639, the Arabs attempted to take over the Nubian kingdoms with small raiding forces. After several years of border war, a strong army was sent to the south, which suffered heavy losses, but concluded a peace treaty with the Nubian kings, which lasted almost 600 years. The Arabs had no intention of seizing the territories south of Aswan.

In the 9th to 12th centuries, Egyptian rulers encouraged nomadic Bedouin tribes to move south to get rid of them. Islamized local nomadic tribes also seized territory in these places. The Mameluke rulers of Egypt from the mid-13th century were forced to send military expeditions south against the robber Bedouin tribes that controlled Nubia. These tribes and Egyptian troops plundered the remnants of the Nubian kingdom of Makura, undermining its viability.

In the 15th century, Arabs began to migrate south uncontrollably, mixing with the local population (mainly by capturing local women). Christianity was supplanted by Islam, and the remnants of the centralized kingdom disappeared and were replaced by tribal institutions. The last small Christian kingdom of Alwa in the far south maintained its independence from the Arabs. It was destroyed around 1500 as a result of an attack by an alliance of Arab tribes.

In its place arose a tribal state fange, whose origins are unclear, which successfully resisted the Arabs in the 16th and 17th centuries. Muslim missionaries, mainly of their Sufi sects, actively worked there, converting the aristocracy and common people to Islam.

Sudan in modern times

At the end of the 17th and throughout the 18th centuries, the Fandj kingdom gradually declined, fell apart and was culturally degraded under the influence of Islamized nomadic tribes that seized power in its individual areas. In 1821, the governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, conquered Eastern Sudan. Muhammad Ali's son Ismail, who commanded the military expedition, was killed, but by 1826 the resistance was suppressed, and all of present-day Sudan came under Egyptian rule. The Egyptian governor Ali Khurshid Agha carried out a tax reform, established a civilized order, came to an agreement with spiritual leaders and in 1838 left the country in greater order than it was before him.

During the 19th century, European powers pressured Egyptian authorities to eradicate the slave trade and ensure the safety of European merchants in Sudan. The effectiveness of these measures was very weak. In 1869, the ruler of Egypt sent a military expedition to Sudan under the leadership of the Englishman Baker, who managed to restore order in the east of Sudan, but not in its west. There the slave traders consolidated, united, and after Baker’s resignation, their leader Zubair forced the Egyptian Khedive appoint him governor of Sudan.

Throughout the end of the 19th century, the Egyptian authorities continued to fight slave traders and semi-wild independent kings in South Sudan, hiring English and other Western specialists for this purpose. At the end of the 19th century, Eduard Schnitzer, who went down in history as Emin Pasha, worked in the British administration. He was the governor of the southern province of Sudan.

In the religious and political life of Sudan, associations of dervishes play an important role - tariqas. In 1881, Muhammad Rauf Pasha, appointed governor of Sudan, declared himself Mahdi- divine messenger. An army of Muslim fanatics gathered around him, destroying the Egyptian troops and the British administration and capturing the entire country. As a result, a theocratic state arose under the control of Islamic fanatics-dervishes from the sect Mahdiyya, which started a war with all its neighbors, attacked Egypt, Ethiopia and neighboring British possessions. It was not until 1894 that joint British-Egyptian forces managed to clear the country of them, after which Sudan was ruled by their joint administration until 1956.

Jewish geographers L. G. Benge (1856–1936) and R. Franchetti (1890–1935) explored Sudan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the 1920s, Sudanese nationalism, closely related to Egyptian nationalism, emerged. In 1924, anti-British riots were organized, which had to be suppressed by force. During and after the Second World War, Sudan was one of the places where the British authorities sent captured LEHI fighters to serve imprisonment. In the 1940s, tariqats created associated political parties that determine the country's policy to this day.

In 1956, Sudan became independent and joined the Arab League. In 1958, a military coup took place there, the parliament was dispersed and political parties were banned. Sudan entered into an agreement with Egypt to share the Nile waters. The Sudanese dictator received the support of the Egyptian dictator Nasser, including military support. The government began a policy of Islamization in South Sudan, which sparked an uprising in 1962 (see below). Egyptian troops helped suppress the southern uprising. This crisis caused the fall of the military dictatorship and the rise of a civilian government; however, it did not change anything either in politics or in the economy.

In the 1950s and 60s, Sudan sought to maintain good relations with the West, and therefore declared recognition of UN Resolution 242 after the Six-Day War. In 1969, a military coup took place and dictator Nimeiry sent troops to Egypt during the Yom Kippur War (1973). In 1970, all banks in the country were nationalized, but in 1975 the government was forced to allow foreign banks to operate.

In the 1970s, the Nimeiri regime attempted to modernize the country along socialist models. But all attempts failed due to incompetent leadership and corruption. By the end of the decade, Sudan was in severe economic crisis and heavily in debt. The Nimeiri dictatorship sought support from the Muslim Brotherhood organization, filling the state apparatus with its members and pursuing a policy of Islamization. In 1986, the Nimeiri regime was overthrown by a military coup.

Sudan did not object to President Sadat's peace talks with Israel in 1977-78. After the peace treaty was concluded, Sudan did not break off diplomatic relations with Egypt. Sudan opposed the so-called “secondary boycott,” that is, attempts by Arab countries to boycott all those identified as “Zionist collaborators,” that is, countries and firms that traded with Israel.

In 1989, another coup took place and power was seized by Islamic extremists. They abolished the constitution, dissolved parliament and banned political parties and trade unions. In 1990, the Bank of Sudan announced its intention to Islamize the entire banking system countries. Since 1993, the country has been ruled by President (dictator) Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. In 1998, a policy was officially announced to introduce Sharia law as the basis of the country's laws. In 1999, parties were again created - the ruling Islamist party and its satellites (the Umma party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North).

In the 1990s, Sudan became a base for Islamist terrorist organizations, both Sunni (Al-Qaeda and others) and Shia, supported by the Iranian government. The US State Department has officially added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terror. Groups that tried to assassinate Egyptian President Mubarrak were based there and there were industrial enterprises for the production of weapons. mass destruction. Support for terrorist groups operating against the governments of other African countries led to a deterioration in Sudan's relations with these countries - primarily with Egypt.

By the end of the 20th century, Sudan was one of the poorest countries in Africa. At the beginning of the 21st century, up to 40% of Sudanese are illiterate (in rural areas - up to half).

At the beginning of the 21st century, the government-backed genocide of the Fur people began in the southwestern province of Darfur. The Arab League withdrew from the search for a solution to the problem and defended the Islamist dictator of Sudan from international pressure. In 2015, Sudanese troops joined an inter-Arab force to fight Shiite rebels in Yemen.

In 2016, the Sudanese foreign minister said that Sudan would “explore the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.”

Jews in Sudan

There were approximately 1,000 Jews living in Sudan by the mid-20th century. After independence was declared in 1956, about 500 of them went to Israel, the rest to other countries.

The struggle for the independence of South Sudan

Division of Sudan into North and South.

Muslim North Sudan and non-Muslim South Sudan have always been different geographical areas and most of the time were divided administratively. In 1947, the British authorities united them, effectively placing the Christian and pagan populations of South Sudan under the rule of the Arab government.

Immediately after the declaration of independence of Sudan in 1956, a spontaneous uprising of South Sudanese tribes began, which lasted until 1972.

In 1967, after the Six-Day War, South Sudanese leaders met in Paris with Levi Eshkol and established ties with Israel. Israel helped South Sudan improve its economy. The Mossad helped Christian militias in South Sudan, a natural ally of Israel.

After the 1969 coup, Sudanese authorities intensified efforts to Islamize South Sudan, reaching a peak under Islamist dictator Omar al-Bashir. In 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed, recognizing the autonomy of South Sudan and giving legal status to the rebel army and police.

In 1983, the dictatorial regime of Sudan violated the terms of the Addis Ababa agreement, imposed its rule in the south and continued its policy of forced Islamization. After the creation of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1983, a second, even bloodier round of struggle followed.

The regime of Omar al-Bashir committed genocide against the people of South Sudan. Punishers burned villages and fields, the local population was sold into slavery or completely destroyed. About 2.5 million people were killed, and more than 5 million were driven from their homes. Impenetrable swamps saved local tribes from complete extermination.

A ceasefire was reached in 2005. South Sudan actually gained autonomy, and a referendum on independence was planned for 2011. In it, the majority of the population voted for secession from Sudan.

On July 9, 2011, the Republic of South Sudan officially declared its independence from Sudan. During mass festivities in the capital of the new state, Juba, many held Israeli flags in their hands.

Republic of Sudan, a state in northeast Africa. The country's territory is part of the vast natural region of Sudan, which stretches from the Sahara Desert to the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa.

In terms of its area (2.5 million sq. km), Sudan is the largest state on the African continent. Population - 41.98 million (estimate as of July 2010).

The territories that became part of modern Sudan were first united in the 19th century, and the current state borders were established in 1898. On January 1, 1956, the independence of Sudan was proclaimed. The capital of the country is Khartoum.

Ethno-racial composition - blacks (Nilotics, Nubians) 52%, Arabs 39%, Beja (Cushites) 6%, others 3%.

Languages ​​- Arabic and English official, Nilotic languages, Nubian, Beja.

Religion.

The main religion is Islam. Muslims - Sunnis 70%, Christians - 5%, indigenous cults - 25%.

Since the vast majority of Sudan's population is Muslim, Islam is the state religion, beginning to spread here in the 8th century. AD

In fact, the entire population of the north of the country is Sunni Muslims. Islam permeates all spheres of social life, the most influential political parties were created on the basis of Islamic religious organizations. The religious situation in the south is characterized by great diversity: each tribe professes its own religion (most often animist), a significant part of the South Sudanese population professes Christianity, which was actively propagated since mid-19th V. European Catholic and Protestant missionaries. This factor plays a big role in deepening the problem in the south. Ignoring it brings numerous social consequences, affecting customs and individual behavior.

In the north of the country there is a large number of mosques and schools for the study of religious sciences and Sharia (Islamic law). All this creates a layer of people who can read and write and have knowledge in the field various sciences. This leads to an increase in culture, the emergence of writers, poets and politicians.

In the south, the Christian population predominates and Christianity is widespread. Missions were sent from Europe, whose first concern was to serve the colonialists and incite national clashes between north and south.

The danger of the religious factor lies in the use of some layers to achieve political and economic goals, in which inter-confessional and inter-religious strife between peoples intensifies.

Tariqas play an important role in the religious, political and cultural life of the country. The largest of the tariqats are Ansariyya (more than 50% of the Arab-Sudanese living in the western part of the country and in areas along the banks of the White Nile belong to it), Khatmiya (other names are Hatymiya, Mirganiyya), predominant in the north and east of Sudan, and Qadiriyya. There are many followers of the Shazalia and Tijani tariqas in northern Sudan.

Almost all the Arab settlers who came to Sudan were Muslims, and the spread of Islamic culture in northern Sudan, dating back to the 15th-17th centuries, occurred thanks to the efforts of Muslim preachers and Sudanese who studied in Egypt or Arabia. These people were Sufis who adhered to tariqa, and in Sudan Islam was characterized by Muslim devotion to their spiritual guides and adherence to an ascetic lifestyle.

Initially, they were an association of sincere and submissive Muslims, familiar with secret knowledge.

Despite the large number of tribes in the north of the country, they are united by the Arabic language, which is common to them; even tribes that have no connection with the Arab clans speak Arabic, which is a second language for them. His knowledge is due to their contacts with the Arab tribes who make up the majority in the north of Sudan.

Some Muslim tribes in the north of the country do not know Arabic, these are primarily the Cushitic-speaking Beja on the Red Sea coast, the Dongola and other Nubian peoples living in the Nile Valley and from Darfur.

Ancient and Middle Ages.

In ancient times, a significant part of the territory of modern Sudan (called Kush, and later Nubia) was inhabited by Semitic-Hamitic and Cushitic tribes related to the ancient Egyptians.

By the 7th century AD e. Sudan consisted of small scattered kingdoms (Aloa, Mukurra, Nobatia) and possessions. In the 640s, Arab influence began to penetrate from the north, from Egypt. The area between the Nile and the Red Sea was rich in gold and emeralds, and Arab gold miners began to penetrate here. The Arabs brought Islam with them. Arab influence spread mainly to the north of Sudan.

Around 960, a state was formed in eastern Nubia led by the top of the Arab Rabia tribe. Other Arab tribes settled Lower Nubia, which was annexed by Egypt in 1174.

XIX century.

In the second half of the 19th century, British influence increased in Sudan. An Englishman became the Governor-General of Sudan. Brutal exploitation and national oppression led to the emergence of a powerful popular movement protest with a religious orientation.

Mahdi of Sudan (1844?–1885).

Religious leader Muhammad ibn Abdullah, nicknamed "Mahdi", attempted to unite the tribes of western and central Sudan in 1881. The uprising ended with the capture of Khartoum in 1885 and bloodshed. The leader of the uprising soon died, but the state he created, headed by Abdallah ibn al-Said, lasted another fifteen years, and only in 1898 the uprising was suppressed by Anglo-Egyptian troops.

Having established dominance over Sudan in the form of an Anglo-Egyptian condominium (1899), British imperialism pursued a deliberate course of isolating the southern provinces. At the same time, the British encouraged and inflamed tribal tensions. Southerners were considered second-class citizens. An atmosphere of mutual mistrust and hostility was created in the country. Separatist sentiments fueled by the British found fertile ground among the South Sudanese population.

XX century

After the end of the First World War, British colonialists set a course to transform Sudan into a cotton-producing country. A national bourgeoisie began to form in Sudan.

The British administration, in order to strengthen its power, in particular, encouraged the ethnic and political separatism of the population of the Sudanese south, who adhere to traditional beliefs and profess Christianity. Thus, the preconditions were laid for future ethnic and religious conflicts.

Period of independence.

Egypt, after the July Revolution of 1952, recognized the right of the Sudanese people to self-determination. On January 1, 1956, Sudan was declared an independent state.

The central government in Khartoum, in which Muslims occupied key positions, refused to create a federal state, which led to a mutiny among southern officers and civil war, which lasted from 1955 to 1972.

The country experienced several military and coup d'etat in the 20th century (in 1958, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1985), but successive regimes were unable to cope with ethnic disunity and economic backwardness.

In 1983, Jafar al-Nimeiri replaced all existing legal laws with Muslim Sharia laws based on the Koran. But in 1986 Sharia law was repealed and a judicial system based on civil code Anglo-Indian model. In 1991 there was a return to Islamic law.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the country has been intensively pursuing the Islamization of life. Always in foreign policy Sudan followed a nationalist, pro-Arab and pro-Islamic course.

As a result of long-term colonial rule, the people of Sudan inherited many problems.

Having gained independence, Sudan also inherited the problem of the south of the country, which consists of the inequality in the levels of development of the southern and northern regions of the country, and the discriminatory policies of the central authorities towards the southern provinces.

Sudan is cultural.

Omdurman, a satellite city of Khartoum, is a huge African city with a population of about a million people. This is one of the oldest cities in the country and a kind of “gateway to rural Sudan”. The Hamed Ala Neel Mosque (Namdu Neel), constantly surrounded by Muslims, adds to the charm of Omdurman.

Omdurman is home to the most photographed building in the country - the tomb of the Mahdi, one of Sudan's most respected rulers.

Nearby is another attraction of Sudan - Al-Khalifa Belt. Here are exhibited things that were in one way or another related to the aforementioned Mahdi: flags, things, weapons. In the same building you can see an interesting exhibition of photographs depicting Sudan during the Mahdi uprising.

The best market in the country is also located here. Here you can buy unique silver jewelry and other decorations, as well as order yourself an exclusive souvenir made of ebony, which will be made before your eyes.

Crafts and arts are widespread in Sudan. In the northern provinces, Arab craftsmen perform filigree work on copper and silver, and make objects from smooth and embossed leather (saddles, camel and horse harnesses, waterskins and buckets). In the south, it is common to make products from wood, clay, metal (bronze, iron and copper), bone and horn: round-bottomed vessels with engraved and impaled line patterns. There is a variety of wicker products made from grass and dyed straw - mats (used as prayer rugs in homes and mosques), dishes and covers for them, as well as a variety of baskets.

National literature.

National literature is based on the traditions of oral folk art (Nubian folklore, oral poetry of the Bedouins, fairy tales of the peoples of South Sudan); the literature of Egypt also had a great influence on its formation. The first monuments of folklore - poetic tales - date back to the 10th century. n. e. Since the 8th century. AD and up to the second floor. In the 19th century, Sudanese literature (mainly poetry) developed as part of Arabic literature. The most significant works of this period are the so-called. The Chronicles of Sennar (narratives of the Sultanate of Sennar, which existed in the 16th–19th centuries in the territory of modern southern Sudan; the author of one of the most famous versions of the chronicles was Ahmed Katib al-Shun) and a biographical dictionary of Muslim saints, ulama and poets called Tabaqat (Steps) , written by Muhammad wad Dayfallah al-Ja'ali. The poet of the Mahdist movement, Yahya al-Salawi, is considered the founder of political poetry in Sudan.

Sudanese literature develops mainly in Arabic (since the 1970s, some authors also write in English language). Literature of the peoples inhabiting southern regions Sudan began to develop after the country gained independence. The poetry of black authors Muhammad Miftah al-Feituri and Mukha ad-Din Faris reflects the problems of relations between the South and the North.

Literature:

Gusterin P.V. Cities of the Arab East. - M.: Vostok-Zapad, 2007. - 352 p. - (Encyclopedic reference book). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-478-00729-4

Gusterin P.V. Sanai cooperation group: results and prospects // Diplomatic service. 2009, no. 2.

Smirnov S.R. History of Sudan. M., 1968 Democratic Republic of Sudan. Directory. M., 1973

Ihab Abdallah (Sudan). Role national question in the process of political development of Sudan.

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Story

From the 8th century, Arabic writing began to spread in Sudan, and the states of Sudan began to join Arab culture, including Islam. As a result, areas of Northern Sudan become vassal states paying tribute to the Muslim rulers of Egypt. In the 16th century, in the Nile Valley, we already see the feudal state of Sennar, the main Negroid agricultural population of which was gradually Arabized. In South Sudan, populated mainly by Negroid tribes, pre-feudal relations were still preserved (Fadlalla M. H. 2004: P. 13 - 15).

Religion

The penetration of Islam into Sudan took several routes. Firstly, thanks to the efforts of Arab missionaries, usually members of the tariqah. Secondly, by the Sudanese themselves, who were trained in Egypt or Arabia. As a result, the Sudanese version of Islam developed under the distinct influence of Sufi orders, with its devotion of ordinary Muslims to the head of the order and commitment to ascetic practices.

IN early XIX century, a powerful movement of tariqa al-Khatmiyya (or Mirganiyya, after the name of its founder) emerged.

In 1881, the messianic movement of the Sudanese religious reformer Muhammad Ahmad began, declaring himself the messiah-Mahdi. His followers began to call themselves Ansars. This is how the second most influential Sufi order appeared in Sudan - al-Ansar.

After the Second World War (since 1947), sermons of the Muslim Brotherhood began in the country, which was explained by Sudan’s close ties with neighboring Egypt. However, if in Egypt the movement quickly gained popularity among the middle strata of the population, then in Sudan “Ikhwan Muslimun” became the lot of only Muslim graduates educational institutions. In 1989, the Muslim Brotherhood, represented by the National Islamic Front, seized power, becoming the ruling elite of the state (Fadlalla M. H. 2004: P. 18 - 29.).

The arrival of the Arabs made it difficult for Christianity to spread into the territory of once Christian Nubia. In the 19th century, several Catholic missions still operated, which carried out propaganda among the pagan population without much success, and Catholics and Protestants operated only in strictly defined areas. In 1964, the Sudanese government banned foreign missionaries in the country, but by that time Christianity had already gained a foothold in the southern provinces and had become an essential element of the political system.

It is also impossible not to note the role of the Coptic Church in Sudan. The few Sudanese Copts concentrated in the north, however, hold a significant part of the capital in their hands (Kobishchanov T. Yu. 2003: pp. 6 - 19).

Language

They speak Egyptian-Sudanese Arabic. The Sudanese dialects of the sedentary (Ga'aliyun) and nomadic (Guhaina) tribes are very different. The latter are close to the dialects of southern Egypt. In the east of the country, the Hadarib tribe speaks one of the southern Hijaz dialects of the Arabian-Arabic language.

The substrate influence of Nubian languages ​​can be traced (Rodionov M. A. 1998: p. 242).

Lifestyle and life

Today, most of the Arabs and the Cushites close to them, both territorially and ethnically, the Beja, are city dwellers and cotton farmers. Only a modest portion of the Arabs and Beja continue to roam with their herds.

But even this share cannot be called uniform. According to the organization of work, according to the culture of life, even in appearance, camel breeders, goat herders and the so-called “cowboys” - baggara, engaged in cattle breeding, differ. An ancient breed of horses is bred in Nubia, and riding camels are bred in the Beja and Sahara deserts. Among the Arabs there is still a division into tribes with their own cultural characteristics and different dialects. This trend continues even in cities, where they prefer to marry their fellow tribesmen. The kinship system is bifurcated-collateral (relatives on the maternal and paternal lines are distinguished; collateral and direct relatives). The basis of the tribal organization is a family-kinship group that has a common ancestor in the male line and is bound by the customs of mutual assistance and blood feud; patrilateral ortho-cousin marriage is preferred). Several groups make up a subdivision of a tribe or the tribe itself, led by a chief. Social relations traditionally expressed as declared consanguineous (Rodionov 1998: 201), (Abu-Lughod L. 1986: P. 81-85).

Cultivation of land in Sudan presents a certain problem. Only 3% of the territory is arable; in the north, the Nile is the only water source. Every piece of land is carefully cultivated. Shadufs are still used (Human Development Report 2006: p. 164).

The national cuisine of the Arabs of Sudan is close to Egyptian. Traditional dishes: ful of legumes with vegetables, meat, seasonings, porridge or pilaf. Alcoholic drinks are prohibited; in the past (probably still) they were made from sorghum and millet.

SUDANES, Sudanese Arabs, Arab-Sudanese, people, the main population of Sudan (mainly the central, northern and western regions of the country). The population is about 15 million people, including 13.5 million people in Sudan and 1.25 million people in Chad. They are divided into several dozen regional and tribal groups: Shaigia, Barabra, Jaaliyin, etc. - in the Nile Valley; Hasaniyya, Rufaa - on the White Nile; fungi, etc. - on the Blue Nile; Shukriya, Gawazma, etc. - in the south of the Red Sea province; bagtara - in the savannas of Kordofan, Darfur, Bahr el-Ghazal and eastern Chad; Kababish, Hawavir, Hamar, Khomran, etc. - north of Baggara, etc. They speak a dialect of Arabic with a number of sub-dialects and local dialects. Sudanese are Sunni Muslims.

The first groups of Arabs entered Sudan in the 9th century from Egypt and from Arabia via the Red Sea. In the 9th-10th centuries, as a result of their mixing with Africans, Arab-Sudanese tribes were formed, which, together with the Arabs of Upper Egypt, began to move into the territory of the Christian Nubian states, and then west to Lake Chad. In this vast territory, Arabs mixed with slaves of various ethnic origins and the indigenous population, who gradually lost their language and religion, but retained their anthropological type and economic and cultural characteristics.

The established Arab-Sudanese tribes and tribal unions were conquered by Egypt in 1820 and formally annexed to Ottoman Empire. An Arabic-speaking urban population appeared, resulting from the mixing of Europeans, Turks, Circassians, Egyptians with Ethiopian and South Sudanese slaves. The consolidation of the Sudanese, accompanied by the Arabization of heterogeneous ethnic communities, intensified during the period of the Mahdist uprising (1881-1898) and the Mahdist state. In the 20th century (the periods of Anglo-Egyptian condominium and independence), the spread of the Arabic language and culture among the population of Sudan and its consolidation into the Arab-Sudanese people continued. A national intelligentsia was formed. The growth of the liberation movement led to the proclamation of Sudan as an independent state in 1956 and the strengthening of the processes of national consolidation.

On the farm, manual and plowed irrigated farming (wheat, barley, legumes, garden and melon crops, date palm, etc.) is of primary importance. The main cash crop is cotton. In Darfur and the south, hand farming predominates (sorghum, millet, maize, etc.). Some Sudanese (kababish, etc.) are nomadic (camels, goats, sheep) and semi-nomadic (large and small cattle) cattle breeding (baggara, etc.). On the Red Sea coast, individual communities (some of them descendants of immigrants from the Arabian coast) are engaged in fishing, pearl and coral mining, and in the Kordofan savannas - collecting aromatic resins.

The types of dwellings are diverse: among the Sudanese in Nubia, adobe houses with a flat or domed roof are common, in the Blue Nile Valley - round huts made of branches and reeds; there are pile huts; the nomadic population lives in tents.

The traditional costume became especially widespread during the period of the Mahdist state, mainly of the pan-Arab (see Arabs) type with a number of local features; A typical male headdress is a turban.

Traditional cuisine includes pan-Arabic (flatbread, spiced bean sauces, dairy products), African (sorghum beer - Mizr) and local dishes.

Among Muslims, there are adherents of rival Sufi orders, membership in which is inherited through the father's line and often covers entire regions and tribal groups. A variety of musical and poetic folklore, extensive oral professional poetry praising “one’s” tribe, blaspheming others, parables, anecdotes, and proverbs have been preserved.