One of the two main Darfur rebel groups, the Islamist Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), is allied with al-Turabi, yet even they have rejected bin Laden’s appeal. Ironically, in view of his own failure to grasp regional issues, Bin Laden calls on the mujahideen to learn everything they can about Darfur, for “it has been said that a man with knowledge can conquer land while land can conquer the ignorant.” His assertion that the southern separatist/nationalist movement was sponsored by Great Britain after independence defies historical reality. Any attempt by the “crusaders” to bring Sudanese petroleum reserves under Western control could cause friction with China.īin Laden also claims that the Sudanese government has abandoned Sharia law, which is surely news to everyone in Sudan. Sudan already provides 10 percent of China’s petroleum imports. China has been quietly active in Sudan for decades, developing a close relationship with the current regime. The Sudanese/Swiss ABCO corporation claims that preliminary drilling in Darfur revealed “abundant” reserves of oil, but it appears that the rights may have already passed into Chinese hands (AlertNet, JGuardian, June 10, 2005).Ĭhina has emerged as the Sudanese regime’s protector on the UN Security Council, and may use its veto to prevent the formation of a UN force in Darfur. It will take much more than a peacekeeping force to change that. Sudan’s main oil industry is located in Upper Nile Province and is already owned by a Chinese-Malaysian consortium. His suggestion that “crusader” forces are trying to “steal” Darfur’s oil resources under the pretext of peacekeeping is absurd. He describes the conflict in Darfur as tribal differences cleverly manipulated by the United States to “send crusader troops to occupy the region and steal its oil under the guise of preserving security there.” In doing so, bin Laden ignores all the environmental, economic, political, ethnic and religious factors behind the current war. Attempts were made to turn thousands of pages of intelligence over to the United States after bin Laden was deported in 1996, but the Clinton administration refused to have anything to do with a “state sponsor of terrorism.”ĭespite his sojourn in Sudan, the al-Qaeda leader appears poorly informed about the country. When bin Laden was in Sudan, the suspicious Mukhabarat (secret service) took note of every move and utterance by bin Laden and his associates. Not everyone in the Khartoum regime shared al-Turabi’s fondness for al-Qaeda. While al-Turabi and others have had some success in their efforts to radicalize the population, most local Muslims will tell you that Sudanese Islam is in no need of improvement by outsiders. Their Islam is based on the proud Sufi lodges, whose form of worship is violently opposed by al-Qaeda. Most Sudanese do not admire the Wahhabist-style Islam espoused by al-Qaeda. The government has seen changes as well under the provisions of the peace treaty with the South, Southern Sudanese Christians now occupy leading positions in the administration. Al-Turabi made many enemies in his ruthless pursuit of an Islamic state in Sudan, and they will surely now circle in to take their revenge. To add to his woes, he has been accused of heresy for his recently declared liberal views on the role of women in Islamic society. His one-time deputy has usurped his position, and al-Turabi has spent most of the last few years in prison or under house arrest. Al-Turabi’s influence on the government waned long ago. The Sudanese government is doing everything possible to prevent a large-scale UN deployment in Darfur, but this sudden offer of al-Qaeda assistance is surely unwelcome in Khartoum.īin Laden’s presence in Sudan from 1991 to 1996 was enabled by Hassan al-Turabi, the country’s leading Islamist, widely regarded at the time as the real (and unelected) power behind the presidency. The commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan has announced that the UN force is treating Bin Laden’s threat with “whole seriousness” (Sudan Tribune, April 26). On April 23, al-Jazeera television broadcast a bin Laden audiotape in which he called for al-Qaeda fighters to begin traveling to Darfur to prepare for a “long-term war against the Crusaders,” an apparent reference to the UN force (controlled by the United States in bin Laden’s mind) that could replace the ineffective African Union mission in the region. Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies CommentaryĬould a United Nations peacekeeping mission face al-Qaeda’s fighters in Darfur? According to Osama bin Laden, if a UN force deploys in the region, al-Qaeda will attack UN troops.

Sultan gustaf al ghazali