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123-446: In August 1944, Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , leader of the Ansar , met with senior Congress members and tribal leaders to discuss the formation of a pro-independence political party that was not associated with Mahdism . They launched a daily newspaper, al-Umma (The Community). In February 1945 the al-Umma party was organized and the party's first secretary, Abdullah Khalil , applied for

246-408: A Sudanese national movement. In 1931 the colonial government lowered the starting rates of pay for Sudanese officials. After protests and demonstrations were ignored, a general strike was declared on 24 November 1931. With no other leader taking the initiative, it was left to Sayyid Abd al-Rahman to act as mediator and he successfully brought the strike to an end. This helped consolidate his position as

369-463: A court martial trial and were shot. Organised resistance to the British had ended by 1899, although sporadic fighting continued for a few more years. In theory the British ruled Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in partnership with Egypt through a condominium . In practice, although Egypt bore most of the costs of the military conquest and occupation of Sudan, the British ran the country as they chose. The head of

492-405: A full escort of troops and officials. When Archer arrived on 14 February, he was formally welcomed by Sayyid Abd al-Rahman with 1,500 Ansar supporters. Escorted by horsemen, the dignitaries went on by car to a reception at Abd al-Rahman's house. Replying to a speech by Abd al-Rahman, Archer said his visit marked "an important stage forward in the relations" between Abd al-Rahman and his followers and

615-533: A government license. The constitution made no mention of Abd al-Rahman or of the Ansar. The only visible link to Abd al-Rahman was the party's reliance on him for funding. However, rumors held that al-Umma had been created by the government and aimed to place Abd al-Rahman in power. These rumors persisted until June 1945, when the government publicly said it would not support a Mahdist monarchy. During his premiership, Abdalla Khalil and several senior Umma officials instigated

738-507: A leader in the eyes of intelligentsia. In 1935 Sayyid Abd al-Rahman founded al-Nil ( The Nile ), an organ of the Ansar and the first daily newspaper in Sudan written in Arabic . The newspaper helped him gain influence with the educated elite in Sudan, including politically oriented government officials, many of whom joined the Ansar and became lifetime adherents of Abd al-Rahman. By the mid-1930s,

861-496: A long time the British were ambivalent in their attitude to Abd al-Rahman. He had provided valuable political assistance during World War I and in 1924. On the other hand, the Government of Sudan found that his services had a hidden agenda and described his actions as "evasive and obstructive". On balance the British found it best to treat Abd al-Rahman as an ally, although some felt that Governor-General Reginald Wingate (1900–1918)

984-465: A military force to al-Shakaba. One account stated that the force attacked the family and followers, firing on them at random. Abd al-Rahman was badly wounded and his two elder brothers were killed. Another account said that Muhammad Sharif and the two elder sons of the Mahdi were arrested. There was a skirmish when an attempt was made to rescue them. Muhammad Sharif and the Mahdi's two sons were found guilty by

1107-470: A more distinctly local origin, such as the prediction that the Mahdi would ride the sheikh's pony and erect a dome over his grave after his death. Drawing from aspects of the Sufi tradition that were intimately familiar to both his followers and his opponents, Muhammad Ahmad claimed that he had been appointed as the Mahdi by a prophetic assembly or hadra (Arabic: Al-Hadra Al-Nabawiyya, الحضرة النبوية). A hadra, in

1230-829: A new base in the Nuba Mountains . The Mahdi and a party of his followers, the Ansār (helpers, known in the West as "the Dervishes "), made a long march to Kurdufan . There he gained numerous recruits, especially from the Baqqara , and notable leaders such as Sheikh Madibbo ibn Ali of the Rizeigat and Abdallahi ibn Muhammad of the Ta'aisha tribes. They were also joined by the Hadendoa Beja , who were rallied to

1353-584: A number of central beliefs about the Mahdi, including that he was created from the sacred light at the centre of Muhammad's heart, and that all living creatures had acknowledged the Mahdi's claim since his birth. Muhammad Ahmad framed the Mahdiyya as a return to the early days of Islam, when the Muslim community, or Ummah , was unified under the guidance of Muhammad and his immediate successors. Later, in order to distinguish his followers from adherents of other Sufi sects,

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1476-469: A pro-independence political party that was not associated with Mahdism. The first step taken was to launch a new daily newspaper, al-Umma (The Community). In February 1945, the Umma party had been organised and the party's first secretary, Abdullah Khalil , applied for a government license. The constitution of the party made no mention of Sayyid Abd al-Rahman or of the Ansar; the only visible link to Abd al-Rahman

1599-541: A result, Sheikh Sharif expelled his former student from the Samaniyya Order and, despite numerous attempts at reconciliation by Muhammad Ahmad, his mentor refused to make peace. After recognizing that the split with Sheikh Sharif was irreconcilable, Muhammad Ahmad approached another respected leader of the Samaniyya Order named Sheikh al-Qurashi wad al-Zayn. Muhammad Ahmad resumed his life of piety and religious devotion at Aba Island. During this period, he also traveled to

1722-639: Is the Federal Umma Party, led by Ahmad Babiker Nahar, ex-Secretary General of UPRR who formed his party because he was wrongfully fired by al Fadil. He became a member of Environment and Physical Development. As a component of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) that signed Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) charter on 1 January 2019, the Umma Party was integrated into the FFC alliance that coordinated

1845-468: Is the nephew of Mubarak al Fadil and first cousin of Sadiq al Mahdi. Dr. al Sadiq is the son of Imam al Hadi al Mahdi who led a faction of the Umma Party that al Mahdi's faction in the 1960s. Dr al Sadiq is an adviser to the President of Sudan. UPCL became part of the government and agreed to continue cooperation with Sudan's ruling National Congress Party in the mid-interim period after 2008. The last faction

1968-473: The 1958 Sudanese coup d'état , led by General Ibrahim Abboud . Sadiq al-Mahdi was the prominent leader of the party through much of its history. Other historic members include Abdallah Bakr Mustafa . In 2002, 37 elected members split from the National Umma Party and formed the Umma Party (Reform and Renewal) (UPRR) led by Mubarak al Fadil al Mahdi , Sadiq al-Mahdi's first cousin. This party joined

2091-632: The Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan in 1899. Despite that, the Mahdi remains a respected figure in the history of Sudan . In the late 20th century, one of his direct descendants, Sadiq al-Mahdi , twice served as prime minister of Sudan (1966–1967 and 1986–1989), and pursued pro- democracy policies. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Fahal was born on 12 August 1843 in Labab Island, Dongola in northern Sudan. He

2214-469: The Ansār , established many of its theological and political doctrines. After Muhammad Ahmad's unexpected death from typhus on 22 June 1885, his chief deputy, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad took over the administration of the nascent Mahdist State. The Mahdist State, weakened by his successor's autocratic rule and inability to unify the populace to resist the British blockade and subsequent war, was dissolved following

2337-639: The Battle of Shaykan . The defeat of Hicks also resulted in the fall of Darfur to the Ansār, which until then had been effectively defended by Rudolf Carl von Slatin . Jabal Qadir in the south was also taken. The western half of Sudan was now firmly in Ansārī hands. Their success emboldened the Hadendoa, who under the generalship of Osman Digna wiped out a smaller force of Egyptians under the command of Colonel Valentine Baker near

2460-653: The Bayyudah Desert from Wadi Halfa under the command of Brigadier-General Sir Herbert Stewart . This force was attacked by the Hadendoa Beja , or " Fuzzy Wuzzies ", twice, first at the Battle of Abu Klea and two days later closer to Metemma. Twice the British square held and the Mahdists were repelled with high losses. At Metemma, 100 miles (160 km) north of Khartoum, Wolseley's advance guard met four of Gordon's steamers, sent downriver to provide speedy transport for

2583-693: The Egyptian Revolution of 23 July 1952 in which King Farouk was overthrown by a group of officers that included Gamal Abdel Nasser , who later to emerge as the sole ruler in 1954. Sayyid Abd al-Rahman visited London and met the British Foreign Secretary Sir Anthony Eden on 11 November 1952. On 10 January 1953 the Egyptian government ratified an agreement with the Umma representatives and other pro-independence Sudanese parties that gave

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2706-648: The Mahdi , and led a war against Egyptian rule in Sudan which culminated in a remarkable victory over them in the Siege of Khartoum . He created a vast Islamic state extending from the Red Sea to Central Africa, and founded a movement that remained influential in Sudan a century later. From his announcement of the Mahdist State in June 1881 until its end in 1898, the Mahdi's supporters,

2829-501: The Mahdi , the promised redeemer of the Islamic world. The Mahdi's followers were named " Ansar ", or helpers, the name that was given to the citizens of Medina who helped Muhammad . The religious and political revolt gathered momentum, with the Egyptians steadily losing ground and the British showing little enthusiasm for a costly engagement in this remote region. By the end of 1883,

2952-622: The Red Sea port of Suakin . Major General Gerald Graham was sent with a force of 4,000 British soldiers and defeated Digna at El Teb on 29 February. Two weeks later he suffered high casualties at Tamai , and Graham eventually withdrew his forces. After much debate the British decided to abandon Sudan in December 1883, holding only several northern towns and Red Sea ports, such as Khartoum , Kassala , Sannar , and Sawakin . The evacuation of Egyptian troops and officials, and other foreigners from Sudan

3075-604: The Sudanese Revolution and holds a strong constitutional role in the 39-month transitionary period to democracy . On 4 November 2019, according to Sudan News Agency , one of the Umma Party vice-chairs, Mariam al-Mahdi (daughter of party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi), was nominated to the Central Council of the FFC as a representative of Sudan Call , while the NCF of which the Umma Party is a member, had five other representatives on

3198-888: The Ulema , or orthodox religious authorities, rejected Muhammad Ahmad's claim as the Mahdi. Among his most prominent critics were the Sudanese Ulema loyal to the Ottoman Sultan and employed by the Turco-Egyptian government . Examples were the Mufti Shakir al-Ghazi, who sat on the Council of Appeal in Khartoum, and the Qadi Ahmad al-Azhari in Kordofan. These critics were careful not to deny the concept of

3321-473: The Umma (Nation) political Party in the period before and just after Sudan became independent in 1956. In modern-day Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad is sometimes considered to be a precursor of Sudanese nationalism. The Umma party claim to be his political descendants. Their former leader, Imam Sadiq al-Mahdi , was the great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ahmad, and also the imam of the Ansār, the religious order that pledges allegiance to Muhammad Ahmad. Sadiq al-Mahdi

3444-453: The siege of Khartoum . After the Nile had receded from flood stage, one of Gordon's pashas (officers), Faraz Pasha, had opened the river gates and let the Ansār in. The garrison was slaughtered, the male population massacred, and the women and children enslaved. Gordon was killed fighting the Mahdi's warriors on the steps of the palace, where he was hacked to pieces and beheaded. When Gordon's head

3567-492: The 1930s, he spoke out against a treaty between Egypt and Britain that recognized Egyptian claims of sovereignty in Sudan, although no Sudanese had been consulted. He travelled to London to make his case. His Ansar followers became an influential faction in the General Congress established in 1938, and in the successor Advisory Council set up in 1944. al-Mahdi was patron of the nationalist Umma (Nation) political party in

3690-412: The 29 June 1881 declaration by Muhammad Ahmad as the Mahdi, he believed that the man would be satisfied with a government pension, and he sent Ahmad a friendly letter. The Mahdi telegraphed an uncompromising reply, saying, "He who does not believe in me will be purified by the sword." Mohammed Rauf Pasha sent a small party to arrest the Mahdi on Aba Island, but on 11 August 1881 it was overwhelmed , and

3813-644: The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1922 and more in the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 . The 1936 treaty was designed to counter Benito Mussolini 's ambition to link Libya to Ethiopia via Sudan in a new Italian empire. The treaty recognized Egyptian claims of sovereignty in Sudan in return for British rights in the Nile valley and the Suez Canal . It allowed for unrestricted immigration of Egyptians to Sudan and for

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3936-472: The Ansar army had wiped out three Egyptian armies. A force under William Hicks was sent to suppress the revolt but was destroyed. When the governor of Darfur , Slatin Pasha , surrendered to the Mahdi almost all of the west of Sudan had come under the Mahdi's control. Major-General Charles George Gordon was given the job of evacuating the Egyptian garrison from Khartoum . He arrived on 18 February 1884. Gordon

4059-456: The Ansar movement. By the end of 1942, the government had decided the Congress had no political value. The Mahdists had split into rival camps, other factions had emerged, and the attendees at the annual meeting of the Congress included artisans, merchants and illiterates. In May 1944, the government created a central Advisory Council, with the full backing of Sayyid Abd al-Rahman. The majority of

4182-460: The Ansār that they were unable to penetrate the city. Once the waters rose, Stewart used gunboats on the Nile to conduct several small skirmishes and in August managed to recapture Berber for a short time. But Stewart was killed soon after in another foray from Berber to Dongola, a fact Gordon learned only in a letter from the Mahdi himself. Under increasing pressure from the public to support Gordon,

4305-467: The Ansār, armed only with spears and swords, overwhelmed a 4,000-man Egyptian force not far from El-Obeid , and seized their rifles and ammunition. The Mahdi followed up this victory by laying siege to El-Obeid and starving it into submission after four months. The town remained the headquarters of the Ansār for much of the decade. The Ansār, now 40,000 strong, defeated an 8,000-man Egyptian relief force led by British officer William Hicks near Kashgil, in

4428-527: The British Government under Prime Minister Gladstone eventually had ordered Lord Garnet Joseph Wolseley to relieve Gordon. He was already deployed in Egypt due to the attempted coup there earlier, and organized a large force of infantry, but advanced at an extremely slow rate. Realizing they would take some time to arrive, Gordon pressed Wolseley to send forward a " flying column " of camel-borne troops across

4551-471: The British realised that Abd al-Rahman expected to be recognized as royalty, had firm control over a thriving Mahdist movement, and was actively seeking new adherents. British officials became increasingly suspicious of his motives, and their correspondence showed a mixture of hostility and fear of his growing influence. In 1933, and more forcefully in 1934, during Muhammad's birthday celebrations Abd al-Rahman displayed signs with "various expressions advertising

4674-663: The British severely restricted al-Mahdi's movement and activity. However, he soon emerged as the Imam (leader) of the Ansar religious sect, supporters of the Mahdist movement. The British maintained a close political relationship with al-Mahdi. Meanwhile, he grew wealthy from cotton production, for which his supporters provided labour since he was a child exiled to Aba Island , and was influential and well loved among his people. The British administration distrusted him because they could not control him or use him to exert influence in Sudan. In

4797-600: The British were engaged in delicate and unstable arrangements characterised by mutual distrust. When, in 1946, Ismail al-Azhari of the Sudanese al-Ashiqqa party began seeking support for unification of the Nile Valley, Abd al-Rahman was strongly opposed to any hint that the King of Egypt might have authority of any kind in Sudan. He and his followers set up an "Independence Front" and organised huge demonstrations throughout Sudan against

4920-564: The Christian colonists out of Sudan. The British found that Abd al-Rahman was in correspondence with agents and leaders in Nigeria and Cameroon , predicting the eventual victory of the Mahdists over the Christians. They blamed him for unrest in these colonies. After pilgrims from West Africa held mass demonstrations on Aba Island in 1924, Abd al-Rahman was told to put a stop to the pilgrimages. For

5043-537: The Council members were Ansar or tribal leaders. Many educated Sudanese were suspicious of the Council and drifted towards the Khatmiyya side in the 1944 elections, not for religious reasons but because they were hostile to the government, wanted to retain links with Egypt as a counterpoise to British influence and did not want a monarchy under Sayyid Abd al-Rahman. In August 1944, Sayyid Abd al-Rahman met with senior Congress members and tribal leaders to discuss formation of

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5166-517: The Egyptian army. The slaves, paid in lieu of taxes, were brought from the formerly inaccessible regions of southern Sudan. When the British explorer Samuel Baker visited Khartoum in 1862, he found that everyone in the town was involved in the slave trade, including the Governor-General. The Egyptian and Nubian garrison lived on the land like an army of occupation. Bribery was the only way to get anything done. Torture and floggings were routine in

5289-530: The Government was at the time unconscious". In 1919 Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi was among a delegation of Sudanese notables who went to London to congratulate King George V of the United Kingdom on the British victory in the war. In a dramatic gesture of loyalty, Abd al-Rahman presented the Mahdi's sword to the King. The delegation was led by Sayyid Ali al-Mirghani, the leader of the Khatmiyya movement, who

5412-554: The Kalifa attacked Egypt at Tushki , but was defeated. However, the state suffered from economic problems and internal opposition to the Khalifa, particularly from the Mahdi's family, and the Khalifa was forced to concentrate on consolidation. The British detected his weakness, and prepared an invasion motivated in part by a desire to avenge Gordon's death, and in part by a desire for raw cotton for their textile industry. A methodical invasion

5535-480: The Khatmiyya had chosen not to participate. The resolution was passed by one vote. Abd al-Rahman and al-Azhari both claimed victory: Abd al-Rahman since the vote had been passed, and the al-Azhari since the British had said the assembly was not representative. Sayyid Abd al-Rahman said that from then on the British did everything they could to break up the Umma party and to thwart him personally. They tried without success to get tribal chiefs and village leaders to leave

5658-586: The Khatmiyya. Another factor may have been fear that the Umma party would try to re-establish a Mahdist state with Abd al-Rahman as king. In August 1954, Sayyid Abd al-Rahman sponsored a tour of the south by Buth Diu of the Southern Liberal Party . In his speeches, Buth Diu quoted NUP campaign promises supporting a Federal system in which the southern provinces would have considerable autonomy. Prime Minister Azhari described this as seditious talk and threatened to use force to prevent secession from Sudan by

5781-586: The Khatmiyyah sect as a counterpoise to Sayyid Abd al-Rahman. Sayyid Abd al-Rahman responded by telling the British that Sayyid Ali al-Mirghani was pro-Italian due to his family commitments in Eritrea , but this was not accepted by the British. The government had promulgated the Powers of Nomad Shiekhs Ordinance in 1922, and had recognized and reinforced the judicial powers of over 300 tribal leaders by 1923. They had ignored

5904-617: The Mahdi as such, but rather to discredit Muhammad Ahmad's claim to it. They pointed out that Muhammad Ahmad's manifestation did not conform to the prophecies laid out in the Hadith literature. In particular, they argued for the political interests of the Turco-Egyptian government and its British rulers, that his manifestation did not conform with the "time of troubles" "when the land is filled with oppression, tyranny, and enmity". When Governor General Muhammad Rauf Pasha in Khartoum learned of

6027-503: The Mahdi forbade the use of the word darwish (commonly known as "dervish" in English) to describe his followers, replacing it with the title Ansār , the term which Muhammad used for the people of Medina who welcomed him and his followers after their flight from Mecca . Despite his popularity among the clerics of the Samaniyya and other sects, and among the tribes of western Sudan, some of

6150-550: The Mahdi in 1883 by Osman Digna , an Ansār captain in eastern Sudan. The Mahdist revolution was backed by the northern and western regions of Sudan. It also found great support from the Nuer , Shilluk and Anuak tribes of southern Sudan, in addition to the tribes of Bahr Alghazal . This widespread support affirmed that the Mahdist Revolution was a national rather than regional revolution. In addition to unifying different tribes,

6273-533: The Mahdi's prophetic standing". Sir Stewart Symes , Governor-General of Sudan from 1934 to 1940, sternly warned him to remove the signs or face consequences. A British view of Abd al-Rahman at this time was given by Sir Stewart Symes , writing in April 1935, "He has the defects of a Sudanese of his type, the liking of intrigue, vanity, irrelevance and opportunism. On the other hand, he has quick perceptions, panache and subtle tenacity of purpose... He has used [or misused]

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6396-521: The Mahdi's tomb , and from praying or making offerings at the tomb. From 1906 Abd al-Rahman lived in Gezirat al-Fil, near Omdurman. He was subject to constant and obtrusive supervision by the intelligence department. However, after 1908 Abd al-Rahman was allowed to live in Omdurman and study under a distinguished Azharite named Muhammad al-Badawi, where he gained some understanding of Islamic jurisprudence and

6519-466: The National Umma Party and the opposition. In 2010, the National Umma Party nominated Sadiq al-Mahdi as its presidential candidate in protest of 'electoral irregularities'. Mahdi placed fourth, and the party gained one assembly seat. The most prominent Umma faction was UPRR. Another faction of UPRR is led by Information Minister Alzahawi Ibrahim Maalik. Another faction is Umma Party (Collective Leadership) (UPCL), led by Dr. al Sadiq al Hadi al Mahdi, who

6642-424: The Order of the British Empire (KBE). Sir Geoffrey Archer was appointed Governor-General of Sudan in 1925 in place of Sir Lee Stack. One of his early decisions was to initiate the formation of the Sudan Defence Force , with a command completely separate from the Egyptian army. He dropped the Egyptian title "Sirdar" for the supreme commander, and did not wear the Egyptian tarboush . He made it very clear that he

6765-536: The Sudan in order to provide a counter to the Ansār. London rejected both proposals, and so Gordon prepared for a fight. In March 1884, Gordon tried to stage an offensive to clear the road northward to Egypt, but a number of the officers in the Egyptian force went over to the enemy and their forces fled the field after firing a single salvo. This convinced him that he could carry out only defensive operations, and he returned to Khartoum to construct defensive works. By April 1884, Gordon had managed to evacuate some 2,500 of

6888-409: The Sudanese people that the Ottoman Empire was no longer a truly Muslim state. Wingate was helped by Sudanese memories of the harsh former Turkish rule. Wingate described Britain as the true defender of Islam, and called the Turkish rulers a "Syndicate of Jews, financiers and low-born intriguers". The British and most of the northern Sudanese saw the Sayyids , the leaders of the main Islamic groups, as

7011-501: The Sudanese people while at the same time profoundly distrusting his motives. Throughout most of the colonial era of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the British saw al-Mahdi as important as a moderate leader of the Mahdists. He was the posthumous son of Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah , who had proclaimed himself the Mahdi or redeemer of the Islamic faith in 1881, and died in 1885 a few months after his forces had captured Khartoum . A joint British and Egyptian force recaptured Sudan in 1898. At first,

7134-399: The Sudanese the right of self-determination. During a transition period of no longer than three years, it was intended that parliamentary elections would be held and a Sudanese government formed. British and Egyptian troops and officials would leave the country and would be replaced by Sudanese. In 1953, Abd al-Rahman made a major proclamation in which he supported a republican system, "since

7257-409: The Sufi tradition, is a gathering of all the prophets from the time of Adam to Muhammad , as well as many Sufi holy men who are believed to have reached the highest level of affinity with the divine during their lifetime. The hadra is chaired by Muhammad, known as Sayyid al-Wujud, and at his side are the seven Qutb , the most senior of whom is known as Ghawth az-Zaman. The hadra was also the source of

7380-421: The Umma. He claimed that it was the Umma that forced the British to establish a committee to start drafting a constitution for an independent Sudan in 1951, a constitution that was endorsed in April 1952. However, broader considerations were leading the British towards support for an independent Sudan despite attempts by the United States to persuade them to give Egypt a role. Egypt gained full independence with

7503-454: The White Nile region, speaking in opposition to the Ottoman sultan's calls for Jihad . When he toured Aba Island in 1915, he was greeted by thousands of sword-carrying Mahdists who prayed that "the day had arrived". Alarmed at the possibility of a Mahdist revival, the British ordered him to return to Omdurman in 1916. However, Abd al-Rahman appointed agents in the Blue Nile and Funj provinces and later in Kordofan and Darfur. Their ostensible role

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7626-419: The administration of Sudan. In the aftermath of the upheaval the British saw educated Sudanese as potential propagators of "dangerous" nationalist ideas imported from Egypt. Although Abd al-Rahman had backed the government and condemned local supporters of the Egyptians, he was viewed with suspicion as a potential enemy of the colonial power. However, at the start of 1926, Abd al-Rahman made a Knight Commander of

7749-437: The aspirations of educated Sudanese in government employment to take a greater role in administration. The principle of indirect rule had also given the Sayyids, including Abd al-Rahman, more power to prevent changes demanded by the secular opposition. In a shift of policy, the Graduates' General Congress was launched in 1938 as a forum for the intelligentsia of Sudan to express their opinions and as an alternative voice to that of

7872-424: The attendees signed two documents that laid out the Mahdist objectives. These were for Sudan to be ruled by Britain rather than Egypt, and for Sudan to eventually achieve self-government. In the early 1920s, between 5,000 and 15,000 pilgrims were coming to Aba Island each year to celebrate Ramadan . Many of them identified Abd al-Rahman with Isa , the Islamic interpretation of Jesus, and assumed that he would drive

7995-427: The backbone of the original Mahdist movement. The riverine tribes were more inclined to side with the rival Khatmiyya movement. The government supported Abd al-Rahman in these commercial enterprises. Abd al-Rahman's economic activity, and the resulting wide range of contacts with merchants and owners of pump-schemes for irrigating cotton fields, gave him influence among Sudanese engaged in commerce. From 1 January 1922,

8118-406: The belief of the Samaniyya prior to Muhammad Ahmad's pronouncement. The previous Samaniyya leader, Sheikh al-Qurashi Wad al-Zayn, had asserted that the long-awaited-for redeemer would come from the Samaniyya line. According to Sheikh al-Qurashi, the Mahdi would make himself known through a number of signs, some established in the early period of Islam and recorded in the Hadith literature. Others had

8241-499: The book in either 1925 or 1926, but the British confiscated the manuscript, which they considered to be highly seditious. To avoid publicity, they did not prosecute al-Jabri but quietly deported him. Abd al-Rahman made overtures to the "effendiyya", the growing elite of educated people in Sudan, patronising their social and educational institutions. He became the acknowledged leader of a group of intelligentsia who were opposed to indirect rule or unification with Egypt, and were building

8364-486: The council. Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Sir Sayyid Abdul Rahman al-Mahdi , KBE ( Arabic : عبد الرحمن المهدي ; June 1885 – 24 March 1959 ) was a Sudanese politician and prominent religious leader. He was one of the leading religious and political figures during the colonial era in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898–1955), and continued to exert great authority as leader of the Neo-Mahdists after Sudan became independent. The British tried to exploit his influence over

8487-489: The death of his father, his brothers Mohammed and Hamed, who continued to trade and built boats. Then the family moved to live in Khartoum for a short time, where their mother, Zainab bint Nasr, died and was buried. While his siblings joined his father's trade, Muhammad Ahmad showed a proclivity for religious study. He studied first under Sheikh al-Amin al-Suwaylih in the Gezira region south of Khartoum , and subsequently under Sheikh Muhammad al-Dikayr 'Abdallah Khujali near

8610-429: The democratic republican system is a system deeply rooted in Islam, our pure, tolerant, and democratic religion". The first parliamentary elections were held that year. The National Unionist Party (NUP), the successor to the al-Ashiqqa party, gained a solid majority in parliament and Ismail al-Azhari became prime minister. The NUP victory, greatest in northern and central Sudan, may have partly been due to support from

8733-409: The different factions. He said that Ismail al-Azhari opposed the assembly purely because it would bring Sudan away from Egypt and nearer to full independence. In December 1950 a member of the Umma tabled a resolution asking the Governor-General to demand that Egypt and Britain grant Sudan independence at once. The British strongly opposed the measure, saying the assembly was not truly representative since

8856-501: The draft Anglo-Egyptian agreement on Sudan. In November 1946, Abd al-Rahman left with a delegation for London via Cairo. Completely ignored by the Egyptian government in Cairo, he talked with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee for two hours in London. When Attlee asked why the Sudanese had not spoken up while Egypt pressed its claims over Sudan for the last seventy years, Abd al-Rahman said that

8979-473: The east . With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 it gained huge strategic importance. In 1882 the British took effective control of Egypt in the Anglo-Egyptian War . Northern and central Sudan had been nominally under Egyptian suzerainty since an Ottoman force had conquered and occupied the region in 1821. The primary motive was not territorial conquest but to secure a source of slaves to serve in

9102-505: The end of 1885, the Ansār had begun to move into the southern regions of Sudan. In all of Sudan, only Suakin , reinforced by Indian troops, and Wadi Halfa on the northern frontier remained in Anglo-Egyptian hands. Five months after the capture of Khartoum, Muhammad Ahmad died of typhus . He was buried in Omdurman near the ruins of Khartoum. The Mahdi had planned for this eventuality and had chosen three deputies to replace him. After

9225-436: The final defeat of the Khalifa by the British under General Kitchener in 1898, Muhammad Ahmad's tomb was destroyed to prevent it from becoming a rallying point for his supporters. His bones were thrown into the Nile. Kitchener was said to have retained his skull and, in the words of Winston Churchill , "carried off the Mahdi's head in a kerosene can as a trophy". Allegedly the skull was later buried at Wadi Halfa . The tomb

9348-412: The first relieving troops. They gave Wolseley a dispatch from Gordon claiming that the city was about to fall. Moments later a runner brought in another message, claiming the city could hold out for a year. Deciding to believe the latter, the force stopped while they refit the steamers to hold more troops. They finally reached Khartoum on 28 January 1885, to find the town had fallen two days earlier during

9471-415: The foreign population who had been able to make the trek northwards. His mobile force under Colonel Stewart returned to Khartoum after repeated incidents when the 200 or so Egyptian forces under his command would turn and run at the slightest provocation. That month the Ansār besieged Khartoum, and Gordon was completely cut off. But his defensive works, consisting mainly of mines , proved so frightening to

9594-487: The fundamentals of his religion, including the Hadith (traditional stories about Muhammad). However, he was never able to become a well-educated and knowledgeable Islamic scholar as his father had been. The government lent him money to build the family mosque in Omdurman in 1908, and let him farm part of his father's land on Aba Island . He emphasised his peaceful intentions, convincing the colonialist government that his movement

9717-419: The government suspended payment of allowances to Mahdist notables other than the old and those whose movements were restricted. The allowance paid to Abd al-Rahman was increased somewhat, but only so that he could support old women and other vulnerable people whose allowances had been stopped. By the 1920s, Abd al-Rahman was a respected religious and political leader. In 1921, he held a meeting at his home where

9840-446: The government. Archer said he had come to cement the ties of friendship and understanding. Archer's visit precipitated a crisis in the colonial administration. It was felt he had been far too friendly to Abd al-Rahman, who was viewed with suspicion by many administrators. Archer was forced to resign, and was replaced by Sir John Maffey . Abd al-Rahman was placed under restriction on his ability to travel outside Omdurman and Khartoum and

9963-483: The insurrection in southern Sudan began to grow. Rauf Pasha downplayed the "affray" in his report to Cairo , and sent the governor of Kordofan to Aba Island with 1,000 soldiers to crush the Mahdi. When they arrived, they found the Mahdi had fled to the southwest. The soldiers marched after him, but gave up the pursuit when the September rains flooded the roads and riverbeds; they returned to El-Obeid . The Mahdi established

10086-527: The military and the civil administration under the 19 January 1899 Condominium Agreement was a British-nominated Governor-General, who acted independently of the Cairo government. After the British took control, Abd al-Rahman lived at first with a relative in the Gezira . On the advice of the Inspector General Slatin Pasha , Abd al-Rahman was constantly watched in the early years of British rule,

10209-453: The natural spokesmen for the people. Wingate decided to enlist Sayyid Abd al-Rahman to support the British cause. Abd al-Rahman publicly declared his full support for the British and assisted in suppressing a rebellion in the Nuba Mountains in 1915. In 1915 Abd al-Rahman made a series of tours and visits to parts of the country where Mahdism was still strong, particularly among the Baggara of

10332-517: The nomadic Baggara Arabs of the west. He proved to be an able and ruthless ruler of the Mahdiyah , the Mahdist state. At first the state was run on military lines as a Jihadist state. Later, a more conventional form of administration was introduced. The Kalifa consolidated his rule in Sudan, then invaded Ethiopia , killing Emperor Yohannes IV in March 1889 and penetrating as far as Gondar . The same year,

10455-535: The opportunities ... of laying the foundations of his Mahdist organisation in the provinces... His favourite role is that of the loyal supporter of Government who is maliciously misunderstood". Symes refused to take action to suppress neo-Mahdism, preferring to follow a policy of ensuring that Abd al-Rahman conformed to agreed guidelines of behaviour, with the implied threat of punishment if he broke those rules. He allowed some restrictions to be lifted, while retaining others. The British had ceded some power in Egypt with

10578-516: The period before and just after Sudan became independent in 1956. In 1958, the Umma party won the most seats in the first parliamentary elections after independence. In November 1958, the Sudanese Army staged a coup , which al-Mahdi supported. He died on 24 March 1959, aged 73. Since antiquity Egypt has straddled the trade route between the Mediterranean , Arabia , India and countries to

10701-443: The politicians, who were seen as his followers rather than as leaders. Abd al-Rahman could not afford a sudden British withdrawal, since that would open the door for an Egyptian take-over and the loss of his power. The British also were against an Egyptian take-over, but for different reasons. Yet Abd al-Rahman could not be seen as supporting an indefinite colonial status for Sudan, and continued to promote independence. Abd al-Rahman and

10824-470: The prisons. Baker said of Khartoum that "a more miserable and unhealthy place can hardly be imagined". He described the Governor-General Musa Pasha as combining "the worst of Oriental failings with the brutality of a wild animal". In the 1870s, a Muslim cleric named Muhammad Ahmad began to preach renewal of the faith and liberation of Sudan from the Egyptians. In 1881 he proclaimed himself

10947-454: The province of Kordofan , west of Khartoum, where he visited with the notables of the capital, El-Obeid . They were enmeshed in a power struggle between two rival claimants to the governorship of the province. On 25 July 1878, Sheikh al-Qurashi died and his followers recognized Muhammad Ahmad as their new leader. Around this time, Muhammad Ahmad first met Abdallahi bin Muhammad al-Ta'aishi, who

11070-549: The ranks of the National Congress Party Government and stayed in power until Mubarak al-Fadil was dismissed from office. UPRR further split into four factions and later re-joined the National Umma Party. All members of UPRR returned to the Umma National Party except for Mubarak al-Fadil due to allegations of conspiracy with South Sudan and for spreading slander and false information about colleagues in

11193-540: The result is at length achieved and the flags of England and Egypt wave unchallenged over the valley of the Nile". The British sent the Mahdi's family to al-Shakaba on the Blue Nile in September 1898. The group included the Khalifa Muhammad Sharif , the Mahdi's cousin and one of his chosen successors. In 1899 the government heard rumours that the family group was advocating a Mahdist revival and dispatched

11316-442: The return of Egyptian troops. The Sudanese were not consulted. In 1937, Abd al-Rahman visited England and Egypt, where he met with high-ranking officials and with King Farouk . His purpose was to present Sudanese criticism of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty in person. He was openly critical of the Egyptian plans for unity of the Nile valley, which he considered unrealistic. In May 1937, his eldest son al-Siddiq al-Mahdi visited Egypt and

11439-418: The revolution cut across religious divides, despite its religious origins. The Mahdi was supported by non-Muslims and Muslims alike. This had important implications for the slave trade. Going against traditional Islamic injunctions, the Mahdi allowed the enslavement of free Muslims, if they did not support him, and forbade the enslavement of traditional victims, non-Muslims, if they supported him. Late in 1883,

11562-547: The scope of an irrigation scheme in Gezira and laws to protect foreign investors in Egypt. Egyptian army units in Sudan, bound by their oath to the Egyptian king, refused to obey the orders of their British officers and mutinied. The British violently suppressed the mutiny, removed the Egyptian army from Sudan and purged the administration of Egyptian officials. The "condominium" remained legally in force, as it would until Sudan gained independence, but in practice Egypt now had no say in

11685-470: The south. In May 1955, Ismail al-Azhari announced that Sudan would seek complete independence, a reversal of the earlier NUP position in favour of union with Egypt. Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal ( Arabic : محمد أحمد بن عبد الله بن فحل ; 12 August 1843 – 21 June 1885) was a Sudanese religious and political leader. In 1881, he claimed to be

11808-520: The surveillance, he built considerable influence in the White Nile region. He often visited the many mosques in Omdurman to meet his followers with his face covered so he would not be recognized by government agents. He received many visitors who sought his blessing. When World War I broke out in 1914, the Ottoman Empire sided with Germany against Britain. Governor-General Wingate had to persuade

11931-524: The title of Sheikh, and began to travel around the country on religious missions. He was permitted to give tariqa and Uhūd to new followers. In 1870, his family moved again in search for timber, returning to Aba Island . There, Muhammad Ahmad built a mosque and started to teach the Quran . He soon gained a notable reputation among the local population as an excellent speaker and mystic. The broad thrust of his teaching followed that of other reformers: his Islam

12054-413: The toleration and even support of Mahdism during World War I was not based on official policy. A British official who was critical of the support given to Abd al-Rahman at this time later wrote that some changes were "a modification of policy deliberately proposed; others ... the unforeseen consequence of action taken; others, perhaps the majority, appear superficially to represent a gradual drift, of which

12177-465: The town of Berber in northern Sudan. Determined to live a life of asceticism, mysticism and worship, in 1861 he sought out Sheikh Muhammad Sharif Nur al-Dai'm, the grandson of the founder of the Samaniyya Sufi sect in Sudan. Muhammad Ahmad stayed with Sheikh Muhammad Sharif for seven years, during which time he was recognized for his piety and asceticism. Near the end of this period, he was awarded

12300-424: The tribal leaders, who had become discredited. In August and September 1940, the Congress became split between Ansar and Khatmiyya supporters. At first the Ansar were dominant, but they lost this position by the end of 1942. Many of Abd al-Rahman's supporters saw him as a source of financial backing and admired his advocacy of an independent Sudan, but did not follow him as a religious leader and were not members of

12423-450: The uprising of the Beja soon after his arrival changed things considerably, reducing communications to runners. Gordon considered the routes northward to be too dangerous to extricate the garrisons and so pressed for reinforcements to be sent from Cairo to help with the withdrawal. He also suggested that his old enemy Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur , a fine military commander, be given tacit control of

12546-508: Was a crisis in Egypt when a government hostile to the British was elected. On 19 November 1924, the Governor of Sudan Sir Lee Stack was assassinated while driving through Cairo. The British responded with anger, demanding from the Egyptian government a public apology, an inquiry, suppression of demonstrations and the payment of a large fine. Further, they demanded withdrawal of all Egyptian officers and Egyptian army units from Sudan, an increase to

12669-471: Was assigned to General Charles George Gordon , who had been reappointed governor general with orders to return to Khartoum and organize a withdrawal of the Egyptian garrisons there. Gordon reached Khartoum in February 1884. At first he was greeted with jubilation, as many of the tribes in the immediate area were at odds with the Mahdists. Transportation northward was still open and the telegraph lines intact. But

12792-465: Was because the British had excluded them from any talks. He went on to say the Sudanese would fight with all their power for independence. Abd al-Rahman supported the work of the Legislative Assembly which began in December 1948. He saw it as the first time that Sudan's political and religious groups had been able to meet each other in a venue where the British could not stir up disputes between

12915-464: Was besieged, falling on 25 January 1885 after a siege of 313 days. A relief column arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Despite a short-lived public outcry in Britain over Gordon's death, Britain took no further action in Sudan for several years. Muhammad Ahmad died of typhus a few months after his victory, leaving power to his three deputies, or Kalifas . Abd al-Rahman

13038-469: Was born into a notable religious Arabized Nubian family tracing their lineage from the Prophet of Islam Muhammad through the lineage of his grandson Hassan . When Mohammed Ahmed was still a child, his family moved to the town of Karari, north of Omdurman . There his father, Ahmad bin Abdullah, managed to find enough supplies of wood for his work in boat-building, but died shortly after they arrived. After

13161-604: Was born on 15 July 1885 in Omdurman , three weeks after his father's death. His mother was granddaughter of a former Sultan of Darfur , Mohammed al-Fadl. As a child, Abd al-Rahman's only formal education was that of a religious school where the pupils memorised the Quran . By the age of eleven he could recite the Quran. By 1891, after a prolonged struggle, the Kalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad emerged as sole leader due to support from

13284-588: Was commander in chief of a purely Sudanese army, while reassuring Sudanese officers who had served in the Egyptian army that they would be retained if they had not taken part in the mutiny. The British authorities, who had again became hostile to Mahdism, banned the enlistment of Ansar into the Sudanese Defence Force. The Sudan Political Service advised Archer to keep Abd al-Rahman at arm's length. In March 1926 Archer ignored this advice and made an official visit to Abd al-Rahman on Aba Island accompanied by

13407-503: Was eventually rebuilt. Muhammed Ahmad's son, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , born after his father's death, whom the British considered important as a popular leader of the Mahdists, became a leader of the neo-Mahdist movement in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan . Some Sudanese considered Abd al-Rahman to qualify as future King of Sudan, as the country gained independence, but he declined the title for spiritual reasons. 'Abd al-Rahman sponsored

13530-488: Was given a royal reception. These moves concerned the British, who saw them as potentially the start of a Mahdist alliance with Egypt, despite Abd al-Rahman's avowed Sudanese nationalism. In the period before World War II (1939–1945) the British wanted to reduce growth of Egyptian influence in Sudan, which had become more likely as a result of the 1936 treaty, while also suppressing the ultra-nationalist neo-Mahdist movement. They gave their support to Sayyid Ali al-Mirghani of

13653-515: Was given a very small allowance and was not allowed to call himself Imam or the Mahdi . Both Slatin and the Governor-General Reginald Wingate were determined to stamp out Mahdism. Slatin had been held a prisoner of the Mahdists for eleven years. He placed many restrictions on the Mahdist leaders such as prohibiting them from reading the Mahdi's prayer book, from visiting "sacred" places associated with their movement other than

13776-641: Was later to clash with Abd al-Rahman over several issues. After the war, the Ottoman Empire was broken up, leading to a revival of Egyptian nationalism. Some Egyptians claimed that Sudan was a natural extension of Egypt. The Sudanese view was mixed, with some wanting ties with Egypt to offset British influence and others wanting complete independence of Sudan. In the post-war period, the Mahdi's family became wealthy from cotton production based on irrigation and migrant labourers, mainly their Baggara followers from Darfur and Kordofan. These western tribes had been

13899-470: Was launched in 1896 slowly moving south supported by a railway that the army built along its route. The force reached Berber in September 1897 and Atbara in April 1898. The British and Egyptian force led by General Kitchener defeated the Kalifa at the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. The battle is known as the Battle of Karari to Mahdists. In his book The River War , Sir Winston Churchill , who

14022-462: Was not dangerous. A British official described him in 1909, when he was aged about twenty-four, as "an obsequious, sorry-looking youth in soiled clothes". In 1910 he made a public speech in which he supported the condominium administration of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Abd al-Rahman quietly began to regroup the Ansar as a religious sect. Until 1914, he lived in seclusion in Omdurman or on Aba Island, closely watched by Slatin's intelligence agents. Despite

14145-496: Was one devoted to the words of Muhammad and based on a return to the virtues of strict devotion, prayer, and simplicity as laid down in the Quran. In 1872, Muhammad Ahmad invited Sheikh Sharif to move to al-Aradayb, an area on the White Nile neighboring Aba Island. Despite initially amicable relations, in 1878 the two religious leaders had a dispute motivated by Sheikh Sharif's resentment of his former student's growing popularity. As

14268-429: Was present at the Battle, summed up the result: "The River War is over. In its varied course, which extended over fourteen years and involved the untimely destruction of perhaps 300,000 lives, many extremes and contrasts have been displayed. There have been battles which were massacres, and others that were mere parades. There have been occasions of shocking cowardice and surprising heroism... of wisdom and incompetence. But

14391-478: Was reluctant to abandon the population of Khartoum to the forces of the Mahdi, and also felt that by evacuating the city he would open the way for the Mahdi to threaten Egypt. He bombarded the authorities in Cairo with telegrams suggesting alternative courses, and delayed starting the evacuation. On 13 March 1884 the tribes north of Khartoum declared for the Mahdi, cutting the telegraph and blocking river traffic. Khartoum

14514-428: Was the party's reliance on him for funding. However, there were rumours that the Umma party had been created by the colonial government and aimed to place Sayyid Abd al-Rahman on the throne. These rumours persisted until June 1945, when the government publicly said it would not support a Mahdist monarchy. Abd al-Rahman at this time was a flamboyant figure with broad popular support. His stature served to diminish that of

14637-408: Was to become his chief deputy and successor in the years to come. On 29 June 1881, Muhammad Ahmad claimed to be the Mahdi so as to prepare the way for the second coming of Jesus . In part, his claim was based on his status as a prominent Sufi sheikh with a large following in the Samaniyya Order and among the tribes in the area around Aba Island . Yet the idea of the Mahdiyya had been central to

14760-520: Was to report on any illegal activity and to encourage payment of taxes to the British. They took advantage of their visits to collect payments of zakat to Abd al-Rahman and to encourage the Ansar, who now freely used the illegal Mahdist prayer book, ratib al-mahdi . The British encouraged the development of a version of the Ansar movement that was not fanatical, and did much to accommodate Abd al-Rahman's ambitions, although they could not go as far as supporting his goal of becoming King of Sudan. However,

14883-456: Was told to instruct his supporters to halt their political and religious activities. Sayyid Abd al-Rahman invited the Yemenite scholar Abd al-Rahman ibn Hurayn al-Jabri to come to Omdurman and make a study of Mahdism. Al-Jabri wrote a book covering the history of the movement and its justification in the hadith , essentially designed to glorify the Mahdi and his son. Abd al-Rahman tried to publish

15006-453: Was too lenient towards him. In September 1924 Sayyid Ali al-Mirghani, leader of the Khatmiyya movement and Abd al-Rahman's rival, said he would prefer Sudan to be part of the Egyptian kingdom than to be an independent monarchy under Sayyid Abd al-Rahman. At that time the British favoured Sayyid Ali, who they saw as a purely religious leader, while they regarded Abd al-Rahman as having potentially dangerous political ambitions. In 1924, there

15129-509: Was unwrapped at the Mahdi's feet, he ordered the head to be fixed between the branches of a tree "where all who passed it could look in disdain, children could throw stones at it and the hawks of the desert could sweep and circle above." When Wolseley's force arrived in Khartoum, they retreated after attempting to force their way to the center of the town on ships, where they were met by a hail of gunfire. The Mahdi Army continued its sweep of victories. Kassala and Sannar fell soon after and, by

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