Sudan after Al-Turabi

Abstract

The death of Sudanese Islamist ideologue Hassan Al-Turabi (1932–2016) warrants an examination of Al-Turabi’s and Islamism’s legacy in Sudan and in the broader Middle East and Africa regions. This article outlines the reasons for the rise of Islamism and extremism in these regions, and argues that this rise is rooted, among other factors, in local and global processes that exacerbated inequalities within and between countries in the two regions; and between these regions and other parts of the world. The article further examines the gendered politics of the National Islamic Front (nif)/National Congress Party (ncp) within a wider discussion of the rise of politicised Islam in the Middle East and North Africa. I highlight Islamist discourses and practices and the impact on women in Sudan.