How the Muslim Brotherhood could use Sudan’s protracted crisis to plot a comeback

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Experts warn that chaos and lawlessness in Sudan has provided the Muslim Brotherhood with an opportunity to plot a comeback. (AFP)
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Updated 15 June 2023
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How the Muslim Brotherhood could use Sudan’s protracted crisis to plot a comeback

  • Group played a pivotal role in establishing the deposed Islamist government of Omar Bashir in 1989
  • Experts say the Brotherhood might exacerbate existing divisions within the military and compound ongoing feud

JUBA, South Sudan: The role of the Muslim Brotherhood in shaping Sudan’s continuing conflict is a cause for concern among experts, who warn that the group could influence the country’s military leaders and even determine the nation’s political direction.

As a transnational Islamist organization deeply rooted in Sudanese politics, the Muslim Brotherhood played a pivotal role in establishing the former Islamist government of Omar Bashir in 1989.




Sudan's strongman Omar al-Bashir (R) and breakaway Islamist Hassan al-Turabi met on March 14, 2014 for the first time in 14 years, as the government reached out to opponents after calls for reform. (AFP file photo)

Even after that government’s overthrow in 2019, the Brotherhood proved to be resilient and influential. Now, against the backdrop of the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, some fear that the group may attempt to make a comeback.

Over several decades, the Brotherhood was able to build support among various segments of Sudanese society through its advocacy of political Islam and social justice. During their rule, the Islamists implemented Sharia law — a move rejected by swathes of the population who adhered to Christianity and other local faiths, triggering a brutal civil war.

The fall of the Islamist government in 2019 marked an important turning point. However, concerns surrounding its lingering influence over Sudan’s military leadership have persisted.




Members of the Muslim Brotherhood rally in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Khartoum. (AFP File)

The Brotherhood’s influence has continued through para-police units affiliated with the former regime — units that have been accused of targeting women in response to their growing role in public life.

Differing visions of the role of Islam in Sudan’s democratic future have contributed to splits within the nation’s biggest political parties, providing the Brotherhood with new potential constituencies to exploit.

Following a 2021 agreement between Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, head of the armed forces and the current de-facto ruler of Sudan, and Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu, chair of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA-North, to separate religion and state, a schism emerged within the National Umma Party.




Sudanese army chief Fattah al-Burhan visiting the frontline in Khartoum amid fighting with paramilitary rivals in May. (AFP)

The party leadership suggested postponing the debate until the end of the transitional period, when a civilian-led government was expected to take over from Sudan’s military rulers. At the same time, however, the minister for religious affairs, Nasr Al-Din Mufreh, who was himself a National Umma Party member, began drafting legislation to ban religious-based political parties.

Following these developments, Umma officials issued conflicting statements on the matter.

Al-Wathiq Al-Berair, secretary general of the National Umma Party, denied that his party was founded on a religious basis. However, another party official later stated it followed the principles of the 1881 Mahdist revolution, which had both religious and national aspects.

Over the years, many Islamists have shifted their approach, having decided to focus on supporting “sectarian” parties as a bulwark against the political left.




This photo taken on December 5, 2022, shows government security forces dispersing Sudanese activists demonstrating in Khartoum against a deal aimed at ending the crisis caused by the 2021 military coup. (AFP)

This new approach reflects an apparent recognition of their weakened position and failure to achieve their previous goals. The continuing demand among Islamists for early elections further emphasizes this shift in strategy.

“When the coup happened in October 2021 and afterward, the Muslim Brotherhood kept quiet,” Peter Schuman, a former deputy joint special representative of the UN–African Union Mission in Darfur, told Arab News.

“There are, though, individuals who have pursued a certain interest, particularly Ali Ahmed Karti,” he added, referring to Sudan’s former foreign minister, who served in the post under Bashir from 2010 to 2015.

Against this backdrop, some Sudanese generals may view the Brotherhood as a potential ally in their pursuit of power and control. Indeed, the group’s political base and ability to mobilize support among Islamist groups in the region make it an attractive partner.




Analysts fear the Muslim Brotherhood’s exclusionary interpretation of Islam could jeopardize the inclusive governance necessary for sustainable democracy in Sudan. (AFP File Photo)

Speaking to Arab News, Cameron Hudson, an analyst and consultant on African peace and security, said that “the involvement of the Muslim Brotherhood could exacerbate existing divisions within the military, leading to factionalism and power struggles.”

Since the conflict in Sudan erupted on April 15, the RSF has adopted a vehemently anti-Islamist tone, accusing groups such as the Brotherhood of infiltrating the SAF as a vehicle to further their political agenda.

“We are fighting Islamists, not SAF. This is the political issue,” Youssef Ezzat, political adviser to the RSF, told Arab News, rejecting claims that the paramilitary group was responsible for starting the war.

“Islamists hijacked the SAF, and they want to control the country. This is the root cause for the war … Islamists promised Al-Burhan to be a full-power president without RSF.”

While the political reality is probably more complicated than how the RSF seeks to portray it, the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence does call into question the durability of Sudan’s secular foundations.

 

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“There are concerns that the group’s support for political Islam could undermine the country’s secular state institutions and lead to a more conservative and restrictive society,” Brian Adeba, deputy director of policy at The Sentry, a Washington-based investigative non-profit organization, told Arab News.

The impact of the Brotherhood’s involvement in Sudan might very well be felt beyond the country’s borders. Khalid Mustafa Medani, author of “Black Markets and Militants,” draws attention to the group’s wider regional network.

“Its actions in Sudan could have ramifications for neighboring countries and regional stability,” he told Arab News. Sudan’s location and porous borders create an environment that terrorist organizations such as Daesh could exploit for their own gain.




A soldier stands as Sudanese women who fled the violence in their country, wait to receive food supplies from a Turkish aid group IHH near the border between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad, on May 7, 2023. (REUTERS/File Photo)

To safeguard Sudan’s democratic values and foster political pluralism, experts such as Sargis Sangari, CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement, argue that a future transitional government needs to confront the Brotherhood’s influence and counter its narrative, while underscoring the importance of alternative channels for political participation.

“The Muslim Brotherhood’s dominant presence has marginalized other ethnic groups and led to the persecution of religious minorities,” Sangari said.

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For his part, Adeba highlights the Brotherhood’s extensive network and mobilization capabilities within the country, pointing out how it has successfully infiltrated political parties and civil society organizations, enabling it to influence Sudan’s political landscape. 

Such successes have raised concerns among experts over the group’s ability to shape Sudanese political discourse and limit pluralism.

 

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The experts say that the conflict has presented the Brotherhood with an opportunity to capitalize on the power vacuum created by the ousting of Bashir.

International affairs expert, Gordon Kachola, says that the group was able to take advantage of the transitional period, using its networks to fuel sectarian tensions and exacerbate the crisis. This has further complicated efforts to establish stability and consolidate power in Sudan.

Peter Schuman, an expert in regional security, believes the Brotherhood poses a challenge to Sudan’s long-term democratic aspirations. In his view, the group’s presence undermines the establishment of democratic institutions, thus hindering the country’s journey toward stability.

Schuman also believes the Brotherhood’s exclusionary interpretation of Islam could jeopardize the inclusive governance necessary for sustainable democracy in Sudan.

Hudson, the analyst and consultant, also has concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in Sudan’s transition, arguing that the group’s influence could impede the development of democratic institutions and stifle dissenting voices.




The resurgence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan could impede the development of democratic institutions and stifle dissenting voices, warn experts. (AFP File Photo)

He believes that Sudan’s transitional government should address the Brotherhood’s influence to ensure the preservation of democratic values. As the international community, regional actors and Sudanese society at large have been demanding an end to the fighting, Hudson says that “negotiations without the participation and monitoring of civilians are hard to be understood.”

The Brotherhood’s control over various sectors, particularly agriculture, has also brought to the fore its impact on Sudan’s economy and society.

Medani says that the group’s control over the black market, in particular, has allowed it to sustain its power while contributing to the impoverishment of Sudanese society.

Sudan’s economic crisis, exacerbated by international sanctions and government policies, has fueled public discontent and protests, which Brotherhood-aligned politicians have in the past struggled to contain.

When Sudan eventually arrives at its post-conflict destination, the influence of the Brotherhood will remain a contentious issue. Balancing the desire for stability with the preservation of democratic values will be a delicate task.

 


Palestinian official says Israeli forces killed West Bank teen with US citizenship

Updated 07 April 2025
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Palestinian official says Israeli forces killed West Bank teen with US citizenship

  • Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into occupied territory and raids on Bedouin villages and encampments, has intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: A Palestinian official told AFP that Israeli forces shot dead a teenager holding US citizenship in the occupied West Bank Sunday, while the Israeli military said it had killed a “terrorist” who threw rocks at cars.
Omar Muhammad Saadeh Rabee, a 14-year-old “who was killed in Turmus Ayya, held US citizenship,” the town’s mayor, Lafi Shalabi, told AFP.
The Israeli military said that during “counter-terrorism activity” in Turmus Ayya, “soldiers identified three terrorists who hurled rocks toward the highway, thus endangering civilians driving.”
“The soldiers opened fire toward the terrorists who were endangering civilians, eliminating one terrorist and hitting two additional terrorists,” a military statement added.
The Palestinian health ministry said one person was in critical condition and another suffered minor injuries in the same incident.
Shalabi said one of the wounded also had US citizenship. And Turmus Ayya, northest of the main West Bank city of Ramallah, is known for having many dual US-Palestinian citizens.
The Palestine Red Crescent said its teams had taken the body of the deceased boy to a hospital. It also reported the injuries of two boys shot in the lower abdomen and thigh respectively, during “clashes” in Turmus Ayya.
One of the two, 14-year-old Abdul Rahman Shehadeh, told AFP he was shot by a soldier while collecting fruit near the town.
The second, who was shot in the abdomen, was identified as 14-year-old Ayoub Asaad by his father Ahed Asaad. He confirmed that the boy had a US passport.
Ahed Assad said that an ambulance that took his wounded son to hospital was stopped by soldiers.
“We were stopped at a military checkpoint at the village entrance, and a soldier told me that he was the one who shot the three boys,” he told AFP.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign affairs ministry denounced the Israeli forces’ “use of live fire against three children.”
“Israel’s continued impunity as an illegal occupying power encourages it to commit further crimes,” it added.
Violence has soared in the West Bank since the Gaza war started on October 7, 2023.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 918 Palestinians, including militants, in the West Bank since then, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
Palestinian attacks and clashes during military raids have killed at least 33 Israelis, including soldiers, over the same period, according to official figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, home to about three million Palestinians, since 1967.
 

 


Hamas fires rockets at Israeli cities, Israel issues evacuation orders in Gaza

Updated 07 April 2025
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Hamas fires rockets at Israeli cities, Israel issues evacuation orders in Gaza

  • Israel’s Channel 12 television said at least 12 lightly injured people have been treated as a result of the rocket firing from Gaza, quoting officials at the Bazilai Hospital in Ashkelon

JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Palestinian militant group Hamas said it fired a barrage of rockets at cities in Israel’s south on Sunday in response to Israeli “massacres” of civilians in Gaza.
Israel’s military said about 10 projectiles were fired, but most were successfully intercepted. Israel’s Channel 12 reported a direct hit in the southern city of Ashkelon.
Israeli emergency services said they were treating one person for shrapnel injuries, and teams were en route to locations of fallen rockets. Smashed car windows and debris lay strewn on a city street, videos disseminated by Israeli emergency services showed.
Meanwhile, Gaza local health authorities said Israeli military strikes killed at least 39 people across the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
Shortly after the rocket firing, the Israeli military posted on X a new evacuation order, instructing residents of several districts in Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip to leave their areas, citing earlier rocket firing.
“This is a final warning before the attack,” the military warning statement said.
Later, it said it struck the rocket launcher from which projectiles were launched earlier from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a flight to Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, was briefed on the rocket attack by his Defense Minister, Israel Katz.
A statement issued by his office said Netanyahu instructed that a “vigorous” response be carried out and approved the continuation of intensive activity by the Israeli military against Hamas.
Israel’s Channel 12 television said at least 12 lightly injured people have been treated as a result of the rocket firing from Gaza, quoting officials at the Bazilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on January 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.
However, Israel said on March 19 that its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Both parties blamed one another for a stalemate in the ceasefire talks.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say. Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

 


Syria’s president to visit Turkiye and UAE next week

Updated 07 April 2025
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Syria’s president to visit Turkiye and UAE next week

  • Sharaa and other members of the new Syrian leadership have been working to strengthen ties with both Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive in December, led by Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham

BEIRUT: Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa will make his first visit to the United Arab Emirates and is also scheduled to visit Turkiye next week, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, as he continues to garner support for the new administration.
Sharaa, who previously visited Turkiye in February, will make the UAE his second Gulf destination after traveling to
Saudi Arabia that same month on his first foreign trip since assuming the presidency in January.
He and other members of the new Syrian leadership have been working to strengthen ties with both Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive in December, led by Sharaa’s Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.
Sharaa and his officials have also called for a full lifting of sanctions on Syria.
Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief to kick start an economy collapsed by nearly 14 years of war, during which the United States, the UK and Europe placed tough sanctions on people, businesses and whole sectors of Syria’s economy in a bid to squeeze now-ousted leader Assad.

 


Moroccans protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza and take aim at Trump

Updated 07 April 2025
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Moroccans protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza and take aim at Trump

  • Moroccan authorities tolerate most protests, but have arrested some activists who have rallied in front of businesses or foreign embassies or implicated the monarchy in their complaints
  • More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed as part of Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants

RABAT, Morocco: Tens of thousands of Moroccans on Sunday protested Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza, putting fury toward US President Donald Trump near the center of their grievances.
In the largest protest Morocco has seen in months, demonstrators denounced Israel, the United States and their own government. Some stepped on Israeli flags, held banners showing slain Hamas leaders and waved posters juxtaposing Trump alongside displaced Palestinians fleeing their homes.
Organizers condemned Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since Israel renewed air and ground strikes last month, aimed at pressuring Hamas to release remaining hostages.

Women lift a banner during a national march in support of Palestinians and against Morocco's normalisation of ties with Israel, in the capital Rabat on April 6, 2025. (AFP)

Such protests have erupted across the Middle East and North Africa, where leaders typically worry about demonstrations undermining domestic stability. Pro-Palestinian rallies were also staged this weekend in the capitals of Tunisia and Yemen as well as in Morocco’s most populous city Casablanca.
In countries that have historically aligned with the US, anti-Trump backlash has emerged as a theme. Demonstrators in Rabat on Sunday condemned his proposal to displace millions of Palestinians to make way for the redevelopment of Gaza. as well as the US efforts to pursue pro-Palestinian activists.
Still, many Moroccans said they saw Trump’s policies as mostly consistent with his predecessor, Joe Biden’s.
“(Trump) has made the war worse,” said Mohammed Toussi, who traveled from Casablanca with his family to protest.
“Biden hid some things but Trump has shown it all,” he added, likening their positions but not their messaging.
Protesters, Toussi said, remain angry about Morocco’s 2020 decision to normalize ties with Israel.
Abdelhak El Arabi, an adviser to Morocco’s former Islamist prime minister, said the reasons Moroccans were protesting had grown throughout the war. He predicted popular anger would continue until the war ends.
“It’s not a war, Gaza is getting erased from the earth,” the 62-year-old Tamesna resident said.
Demonstrations have included a range of groups, including the Islamist association al Adl Wal Ihsan. Moroccan authorities tolerate most protests, but have arrested some activists who have rallied in front of businesses or foreign embassies or implicated the monarchy in their complaints.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed as part of Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The war has left most of Gaza in ruins, and at its height displaced around 90 percent of the population.

 


Sudan activists sound alarm on ‘catastrophic’ situation in besieged Darfur city

Updated 06 April 2025
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Sudan activists sound alarm on ‘catastrophic’ situation in besieged Darfur city

  • According to UN estimates, around two million people face extreme food insecurity in North Darfur state, with 320,000 already suffering famine conditions

KHARTOUM: Civilians trapped in Sudan’s El-Fasher city are facing “catastrophic” conditions, activists warned on Sunday, with their situation rapidly deteriorating amid a months-long paramilitary siege.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have taken most of the vast Darfur region in their war against the regular army since April 2023, but El-Fasher in North Darfur remains the only regional state capital the RSF has not conquered.
A local advocacy group, the Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees, said in a statement that residents “bear the brunt of artillery shelling” and live “with the sounds of aircraft and their terrifying and deadly missiles, in addition to the daily suffering of hunger, disease and drought.”
Life in El-Fasher and other areas of Darfur “has come to a complete standstill,” the group said, with no food at markets and a “complete halt” in humanitarian aid.
There was a sharp rise in prices of basic commodities and “a severe shortage in cash,” it added, warning of an “unprecedented and catastrophic deterioration” in already dire conditions in and around El-Fasher.
The RSF-aligned armed group Sudan Liberation Army called on Saturday for civilians in El-Fasher and the nearby displacement camps of Abu Shouk and Zamzan to leave, warning of an “escalation of military operations.”
Another RSF ally, the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces, said it was ready to “provide safe corridors” for residents to leave and head to “liberated areas” under paramilitary control.
In late March, the RSF announced its fighters had seized Al-Malha, which lies at the foot of a mountainous region 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of El-Fasher.
Al-Malha is one of the northernmost towns in the vast desert region between Sudan and Libya, where the RSF’s critical resupply lines have come under increasing attack in recent months by army-allied groups.
The war has created what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises. More than 12 million people have been uprooted, tens of thousands killed and a UN-backed assessment declared famine in parts of the country.
According to UN estimates, around two million people face extreme food insecurity in North Darfur state, with 320,000 already suffering famine conditions.
Zamzam is one of three displacement camps around El-Fasher hit by famine, which a UN-backed assessment says is expected to spread to five more areas including the state capital itself by May.