Sadiq al-Mahdi (Arabic: الصادق المهدي, romanized: aṣ-Ṣādiq al-Mahdī; 25 December 1935 – 26 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Umma Party and Imam of the Ansar, a Sufi order that pledges allegiance to Muhammad Ahmad (1844–1885), who claimed to be the Mahdi, the messianic saviour of Islam.
Political life
Sadiq al-Mahdi was Prime Minister of Sudan on two occasions: first briefly between 1966 and 1967 and second from 1986 until his ousting on 30 June 1989.[1]
Mahgoub's resignation split the Umma party into two factions: the opposition faction was led by Mahgoub and endorsed by Sadiq's uncle, the Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi, while Sadiq led the faction that was willing to work with the NUP. As Sadiq's faction was larger, he became prime minister with NUP support. He supported regional development and greater autonomy for the southern provinces. These proposals were unpopular with many educated Sudanese civilians and army officers. In May 1967, Sadiq lost the support of his coalition partners, and Mahgoub returned as prime minister in a coalition with the National Unionist Party and the People's Democratic Party. In the 1968 elections, Sadiq's faction won more seats than Mahgoub's faction, but Sadiq lost his own seat to a candidate from Mahgoub's faction.[3]
In the opposition (1967–1986)
Jaafar Nimeiry took power in Sudan through a coup on 25 May 1969. After the attack on Aba Island in March 1970,[2] Sadiq was imprisoned repeatedly by Nimeiry, finally going into exile in 1974.[4] From abroad, Sadiq formed an opposition organization known as the National Front. In 1977, Sadiq and Nimeiry negotiated an agreement that freed 1,000 political prisoners, granted amnesty to Sadiq, allowed nonpartisan opposition candidates in Parliament, and planned further democratic reforms. Sadiq then returned and started forming an opposition to Nimeiry's Sudanese Socialist Union.[2]
Sadiq continued to lead the Umma Party in opposition to Bashir after being ousted.[6][7] He spent a period in exile, but eventually returned to Sudan in November 2000.[7] As a former head of government, he joined the Club of Madrid.[4]
He ran unsuccessfully for the 2010 presidential elections, pledging not to hand Bashir to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes on the grounds that it would destabilize the country.[8] In 2014, the government alleged that Sadiq had collaborated with rebels, forcing him to flee to Egypt. He eventually returned to Khartoum on 26 January 2017.[9]
On October 24, 2020, as Sudan began to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel, Mahdi strongly condemned the move, while accusing U.S. president Donald Trump (a chief facilitator of the deal) of being racist against Muslims and black people, and calling Israel an "apartheid state."[13]
Personal life
Sadiq al-Mahdi was born on 25 December 1935 in Al-Abasya, Omdurman, Sudan.[14][4]
Sadiq al-Mahdi married twice and had ten children, including a son named Siddig after his grandfather al-Imam al-Siddiq, born in 1968, who is now a leader in National Umma Party,[19] and a daughter, Mariam, who is the leader of the National Umma Party.[20]
He was the author of a variety of scholarly and political books, including The Southern Question (1964); Speeches in Exile (1976); Questions on Mahadism (1979); Legitimate Penalties and Their Position in the Islamic Social System (1987); Democracy in Sudan: Will Return and Triumph (1990); Challenges of the Nineties (1991).[4] In addition to his political career, he is remembered for helping theorize and explicate "a new kind of religious thought which would draw out of the Qur’an and Hadith a shari‘a which was adapted to the needs of the modern world."[16] Professor of History Albert Hourani characterizes Sadiq's intellectual contributions as "responsible but bold."[16]
^ abcHourani, Albert. "A Disturbance of Spirits (since 1967)." In A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belnap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.