The Situation in Sudan: The Army and the Islamic Movement in an Unstable Scene

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Sudan today finds itself in one of the most complex periods of its history, amid a bloody struggle for power between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemetti). In the backdrop of this military and political scene, the Sudanese Islamic movement, emanating from the Muslim Brotherhood organization, is playing a pivotal role once again, taking advantage of internal fractures and the army’s attempts to reorganize the scene in its favor.

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Political History of the Islamic Movement in Sudan

The origins of the Sudanese Islamic movement date back to the 1940s, under the direct influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The “Muslim Brotherhood” group was officially founded in Sudan in 1946 under the leadership of Rashid al-Taher Bakr. Over the following decades, the movement evolved into various organizational forms, such as the Islamic Charter Front in the 1960s and the National Islamic Front led by Hassan al-Turabi in the 1980s.

The Islamic movement played a central role in the June 30, 1989 coup that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, as the intellectual and organizational force behind it. During al-Bashir’s rule, the movement dominated Sudan’s state institutions, from security to the economy and education, to the point that Sudan was described as a quintessential Islamist state.

Despite internal splits, particularly the dispute between al-Bashir and Turabi in the late 1990s, the Islamic movement continued to control the government in various ways until al-Bashir’s fall in the popular uprising of 2019.

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The Army’s and Al-Burhan’s Connection to the Islamic Movement

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese army, appeared during the revolution as a new military figure promising to protect the democratic transition. However, his subsequent actions revealed deeper ties to the Islamic movement.

Al-Burhan belongs to the conservative faction within the army, having grown up and been trained, both organizationally and ideologically, during the years of Islamist rule. Many senior officers in the armed forces were recruited or trained by cadres of the Islamic movement. After the ousting of al-Bashir, this network sought to reposition itself and preserve its gains through al-Burhan and the military institution.

It is clear that a large segment of the Sudanese army remained loyal, either openly or secretly, to the political Islamist project, considering it a guarantee for protecting its interests in the deep state.

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Al-Burhan’s Willingness to Allow the Islamic Movement to Operate Under New Names

With growing international and regional pressure on Sudan to distance itself from political Islam, al-Burhan began to follow a policy of maneuver. Despite public statements distancing himself from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic movement, evidence indicates that al-Burhan allowed the movement to reorganize itself under new names.

In this context, entities such as “popular resistance” emerged, considered alternative fronts for the Islamic movement to continue its political and military activities. These fronts aim to present the movement in a purely nationalistic guise, away from its Islamist identity, to deceive the international and regional community.

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Al-Burhan’s Agreement with the Islamic Movement to Operate Through New Fronts

According to informed sources and regional reports, al-Burhan reached direct agreements with leaders of the Islamic movement, ensuring them a space for political and organizational activities through civil and popular entities carrying slogans of resistance against foreign aggression and defending national sovereignty.

It was agreed that these entities would operate under the “popular resistance” and “independent national current” and other names that do not suggest any Islamist affiliation. The main goal of these moves is to strengthen the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence within society and prepare the ground for the movement’s return to the political forefront in the future, without direct confrontation with the international community, which rejects any overt presence of political Islam.

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Al-Burhan’s Failure to Honor Regional and International Commitments

Through these agreements with the Islamists, it is clear that al-Burhan is not truly honoring any of the commitments he made to regional or international mediators. He seeks to buy time and reorganize his internal situation, driven by the desire to retain power and prevent any real democratic transition that could threaten the military institution’s influence and its Islamist allies.

Al-Burhan’s maneuvering in dealing with regional and international agreements has turned Sudan into an open arena for polarization, worsening the humanitarian and political crisis in a dangerous way, especially with the continuation of the civil war that is draining the state and society.

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Today, Sudan is heading towards more complexity with the return of the Islamic movement to the scene under new fronts, with the clear complicity of the military leadership represented by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. This return poses a direct threat to any true democratic project in the country, and increases the likelihood of continued armed conflict and Sudan turning into an open arena for regional and international confrontation.

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