SUDAN'S REPUBLICAN BROTHERS AND ISLAMIC REFORM

The cancellation of an invitation extended to Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed El Naiem, head of the Department of Public Law of the University of Khartoum, to participate in the December 1980 Conference on Human Rights and Islam, reflects the apparent desire of some Islamic and political authorities to deny a public forum to the Republican Brothers, a small but respected reform group in Sudan. The advance circulation of Dr. El Naiem's presentation alerted participants to his position and ended the prospect that an articulate spokesman of the Republican Brothers could, for the first time, formally present their position in an open Arab-Islamic conference outside Sudan.
At a time of heightened Islamic awareness, an awareness more generally expressed in conservative, if not reactionary, doctrinal and social positions, the Republican Brothers offer a sharp contrast not only in relating Islam to the modern world, but also in defining the very nature of Islam itself. It is perhaps in character that this Islamic phenomenon should arise in Sudan. On the periphery of the Islamic Arab, it is a country where toleration and respect for religious and cultural diversity are minimal conditions for the survival of the community. At the same time, Sudan remains subject to strong demands for further Islamization as a condition for continued financial support. Additionally, Sudan also faces growing and insistent demands by the Muslim Brothers that it be declared an official Islamic state. In response, the government has moved slowly over the past few years towards integrating the Sharia and civil code, a move vehemently rejected by many Sudanese, among whom the Republican Brothers must be counted as a most influential segment.