Hassan al-Turabi | |
|---|---|
حسن الترابي | |
 Al-Turabi in 2015 | |
| Secretary General of the Popular Congress Party | |
| In office 1999–2016 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ibrahim al-Sanousi |
| Speaker of the National Assembly | |
| In office 1996–1999 | |
| President | Omar al-Bashir |
| Preceded by | Mohamed Al-Amin Khalifa |
| Succeeded by | Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir |
| Foreign Minister of Sudan | |
| In office 1989–1989 | |
| President | Omar al-Bashir |
| Preceded by | Hussein Suleiman Abu Saleh |
| Succeeded by | Sid Ahmad al-Hussein |
| Attorney General of Sudan | |
| In office 1978–1982 | |
| President | Gaafar Nimeiry |
| Secretary General of the National Islamic Front | |
| In office October 1964 – 1999 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 February 1932 Kassala, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
| Died | 5 March 2016 (aged 84) Khartoum, Sudan |
| Political party | PCP |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouse | Wissal al-Mahdi |
| Relations | Sadiq al-Mahdi (brother-in-law) |
| Alma mater | |
Hassan al-Turabi (Arabic: حسن الترابي, romanized: Ḥasan al-Turābī; 1 February 1932 – 5 March 2016) was a Sudanese politician and scholar. He was the alleged architect of the 1989 Sudanese military coup that overthrew Sadiq al-Mahdi and installed Omar al-Bashir as president.[1][2] He has been called "one of the most influential figures in modern Sudanese politics"[3] and a "longtime hard-line ideological leader".[4] He was instrumental in institutionalizing Sharia (Islamic law) in the northern part of the country and was frequently imprisoned in Sudan, but these "periods of detention" were "interspersed with periods of high political office".[5]
al-Turabi was leader of the National Islamic Front (NIF) (which later changed its name to National Congress in the late 1990s[6]), a political movement that developed considerable political power in Sudan while never obtaining significant popularity among Sudanese voters. It embraced a "top down" approach to Islamisation by placing party members in high posts in government and security services. al-Turabi and the NIF reached the peak of their power from 1989 following a military coup d'état, until 2001, as what Human Rights Watch have called "the power behind the throne",[7] head of the only Sunni Islamist movement to take control of a state.[8]
al-Turabi oversaw highly controversial policies such as the creation of the "NIF police state" and associated NIF militias that consolidated Islamist power and prevented a popular uprising, but according to Human Rights Watch committed many human rights abuses, including "summary executions, torture, ill treatment, arbitrary detentions, denial of freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and violations of the rules of war, particularly in the south".[7] Turabi was a leader of opposition to the American–Saudi "coalition forces" in the Gulf War, establishing in 1990–1991 the Popular Arab and Islamic Congress (PAIC), a regional umbrella for political Islamist militants, headquartered in Khartoum.[7]
After 1996, al-Turabi and his party's "internationalist and ideological wing" saw a decline in influence in favor of more pragmatic leaders, brought on by the imposition of UN sanctions on Sudan in punishment for Sudan's assistance to Egyptian Islamic Jihad in their attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. al-Turabi was out of power beginning in 1999, leading a splinter group of the National Congress known as the Popular National Congress.[9] He was imprisoned by Omar Al-Bashir on 17 January 2011 for nine days, following civil unrest across the Arab world.[9][10] He died in 2016 without facing trial for his role in the 1989 coup.[1]
- ^ a b Walsh, Declan (21 July 2020). "Three Decades After His Coup, Sudan's Former Ruler Is Held to Account". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
GSNIF-1989was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Natsios-85was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ The Appendix of the 9/11 Commission Report
- ^ "Hassan Abdallah al-Turabi". globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "National Islamic Front". globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
According to the Political Handbook of the World 2011, the NIF was renamed as the National Congress (NC) in 1996 (2011, 1356). Other sources report that in November 1998, the NIF renamed itself the National Congress (NC).
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
turabi-hrwwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kepel, Gilles (2002). Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Harvard University Press. p. 184. ISBN 9781845112578.
- ^ a b Lansford, Tom, ed. (24 March 2015). "Popular (People's) National Congress". Political Handbook of the World 2015. CQ Press. p. 1395. ISBN 9781483371580.
- ^ Chris Stefanowicz, Crackdown in Khartoum: as Jasmine Filters down the Nile, al-Turabi is Arrested Again. Archived 26 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine Think Africa Press Archived 13 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine. 24 January 2011