Uncertain future for Sudan's Islamists after coup attempt
Sudan's Transitional Military Council revealed on July 24 that it had succeeded in foiling a coup attempt.
The attempt was the fourth since the toppling of
Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir on April 11. It exacerbated the crisis of
Islamists in Sudan and made its future totally uncertain.
According to the statement issued by the military
council, the former chief of staff of the Sudanese army Hashem Abdel Mutaleb
Ahmed was involved in the coup attempt along with a number of army officers,
some officials of al-Bashir's regime, and some Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Sudanese authorities arrested Bakry Hassan, the former
Sudanese vice-president, and Ali Turky, the former Sudanese foreign minister.
Turky was one of the most outstanding leaders of the Islamic Movement in Sudan
and the head of Popular Defense Forces.
The authorities also arrested a large number of other
Islamist figures and officials of the al-Bashir regime in connection with the
coup attempt.
Islamist groups
The downfall of the al-Bashir regime put the future of
Sudan's Islamist movements in uncertainty. There are three major Islamist
groups in Sudan, namely the National Congress Party, the Popular Congress Party
and the Muslim Brotherhood.
In his book, "Revisions by Sudan's Islamist
Movement", Sudanese writer Walid al-Tayyip reveals the major problems that
happened inside Sudan's Islamist circles since the Islamist came to power in
Sudan, almost 30 years ago.
The Islamists, he says, conspired against each other and
put each other in jail.
According to a report by Monte Carlo radio, rifts
between the National Congress Party and the Popular Congress Party caused
similar divisions within the Islamist movement in Sudan. The same divisions put
Islamist movements on a dangerous collision course, the report says.
Wider arrests
On July 24, the Forces for Freedom and Change reached an
agreement with the Revolutionary Front in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The
agreement opens the door for the formation of a committee to lead the Forces
for Freedom and Change coalition in the coming days.
The same agreement stipulates speeding up state
authorities in the Sudan with the aim of achieving the objectives of the
revolution.
Omar Daqir, a leader of the coalition, said the
agreement is an important step on the road to achieving the objectives of the
revolution.
Deputy Head of the Arab Center for Political and
Strategic Studies, Mukhtar Ghobashi, described the fourth coup attempt as the
"most dangerous".
"The coup attempt was carried out by important
military, political and Islamist figures," Ghobashi told The
Reference.
He said this would make Islamist figures prone to
attacks in Sudan in the coming days.
