The Question of Citizenship in Sudanese Islamic Thought: Traditional, Renewalist, and Post-Salafist Approaches

​The question of equal citizenship was the axis of the protracted conflicts in Sudan even before the country’s independence. The transition from the traditional context that governed the question of citizenship in precolonial times led to the “pasting” of modern concepts of citizenship during the colonial era, resulting in a failure to develop a culture of citizenship among both the political elite and the average citizen. With the emergence of political Islam and Islamic currents calling for the implementation of an Islamic constitution, ideological and constitutional discrepancies began to crystallize with regards to the concept of equal citizenship. At the same time, due to Sudan’s ethnic diversity, efforts at religious renewal and reform, with the objective of conciliating Islamic thought and the principles of citizenship, have also been evident. With a specific focus on the Islamic currents’ stances on women and religious minorities, the author attempts to identify aspects of Islamic thought in Sudan that contravene the fundamentals of equal citizenship. He also explores renewalist and reformist attempts that emerged from these contradictions.

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​The question of equal citizenship was the axis of the protracted conflicts in Sudan even before the country’s independence. The transition from the traditional context that governed the question of citizenship in precolonial times led to the “pasting” of modern concepts of citizenship during the colonial era, resulting in a failure to develop a culture of citizenship among both the political elite and the average citizen. With the emergence of political Islam and Islamic currents calling for the implementation of an Islamic constitution, ideological and constitutional discrepancies began to crystallize with regards to the concept of equal citizenship. At the same time, due to Sudan’s ethnic diversity, efforts at religious renewal and reform, with the objective of conciliating Islamic thought and the principles of citizenship, have also been evident. With a specific focus on the Islamic currents’ stances on women and religious minorities, the author attempts to identify aspects of Islamic thought in Sudan that contravene the fundamentals of equal citizenship. He also explores renewalist and reformist attempts that emerged from these contradictions.

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