Conclusion
At the outset of this work, we stated that the proposal for the complete Islamic constitution had failed. Let us be clear: the Islamic constitution did not fail because it was not presented; rather, what failed was an incomplete and ignorant constitution that falsely claimed the name of a "complete Islamic constitution." Fortunately, it was rejected. This proposal, presented by the Technical Committee, reflected the views of the Islamic Charter Front on the Islamic constitution.
What did the Islamic Charter Front say after its failure? In a special issue of their newspaper Al-Mithaq, dated December 31, 1967, under the title "The Future Vision for Sudan as Shaped by the Islamic Constitution," they stated: "The resolutions of the National Commission for the Constitution have now been finalized, and the draft of the permanent constitution has been approved. It can be said that the permanent constitution has a reasonable degree of commitment to Islam, as evident in Article One: 'The Constitution of Sudan shall be derived from the principles and spirit of Islam.'”
They called it the Islamic constitution and claimed it had a reasonable degree of commitment to Islam. But anyone with even a basic understanding knows that Islam is indivisible. If your constitution is 95% Islamic and 5% non-Islamic, it is not an Islamic constitution. Who knows? Perhaps the 5% you neglected is more critical in God’s eyes than the 95% you achieved. Nothing illustrates the Islamic Charter Front's ignorance of Islam more than this statement.
Their newspaper continues to mislead the public with statements like: "The approval of the permanent constitution will provide Sudan and its people with a positive idea that will serve as a lens through which we can view our circumstances and work to change them in accordance with the Islamic vision."
It goes on to say: "The comprehensive solution to the complex and intertwined issues the country faces must stem from a vision of life that is first acceptable to the people and second consistent with all subsidiary solutions. Such a system will enable the executive apparatus to be effective and coherent, avoiding the successive pressures that lead to contradictory or inconsistent decisions. This vision will also strengthen the general public’s ideological awareness, enhancing their ability to discern political, strategic, and practical applications of policy that conflict with Islam’s view of life. Furthermore, planning will align with the direction set by the people as a measure of its validity, while political thought will strive to align itself ever closer with Islam."
These words filled me with profound distress as I read and transcribed them for you. They are steeped in darkness. The message behind them is a plea to the public: "Give us another chance in the next elections so we can continue striving to achieve complete Islam for you."
The Islamic Charter Front has been the worst at exploiting Islam for political purposes in this country. On November 21, 1965, the Republican Party issued a pamphlet titled "The Exploitation of Religion for Political Purposes Has Harmed Religion and the Nation's Morality More Than Open Calls for Atheism."
In that pamphlet, we stated: "We were met with the news of a tragic incident involving the student Shawqi Muhammad Ali. Reports indicated that he would be released after written statements were taken from Ms. Suad Al-Fatih, and after he was sent to the psychiatric hospital at the request of his lawyer, Mr. Fathi Hassan Kashif. The lawyer argued that the accused suffered from a neurological condition and had previously received treatment at the psychiatric hospital. This means that all actions and statements by officials in this country were based on the words of a student who is not legally accountable.
We are not writing now to confirm this painful reality. The accountability of irresponsible officials will come on a day when the weight of its reckoning will silence tongues, and for that day, we wait. But we are writing to clarify the following to the public:
1. The Republican Party calls for the development of some aspects of Islamic Sharia, which bear the mark of temporality (muwāqāt), so they may better address the challenges of today’s world, thereby becoming more aligned with the purposes of Islam. Islam’s objectives include legislating for society at the level of its problems and potential. Our present society is vastly different from that of our ancestors.
2. All Islamic organizations, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, oppose the Republican Party’s call for development. They believe all aspects of Sharia derived from definitive texts need only to be re-applied to perfectly address today’s issues.
3. Despite this, the Muslim Brotherhood, in alignment with the first October Government, granted Muslim women the right to vote and run for office on equal footing with men.
4. The Muslim Brotherhood also appointed a young woman, Ms. Suad Al-Fatih, to lecture students at the Teachers’ Training Institute on matters concerning Muslim women. The tragic incident occurred during one of these lectures.
5. It is the right of this Muslim nation to ask this group: From where did you derive this action, which you attribute to Islam under its current legislation?"
This is what our pamphlet stated at the time. Today, we add that the Islamic Charter Front neither understands Islam nor cares to understand it. Instead, it exploits Islam in the most egregious manner, misleading the public with talk of the Islamic constitution in the style we have shown you.
The constitution currently under discussion by the Constituent Assembly, referred to by Al-Mithaq newspaper as an "Islamic constitution," does not deserve to be called a constitution at all. It encroaches upon fundamental rights under the guise of combating communism, undermines the independence of the judiciary, and is riddled with contradictions.
For instance, Article 1 declares: "Sudan is a democratic, socialist republic founded on the guidance of Islam."
However, Article 113 states: "Islamic Sharia shall be the primary source of state laws."
And Article 114 adds: "Any provision in a law enacted after the adoption of this constitution that conflicts with any ruling of the Quran and Sunnah shall be considered void, except where such conflict existed inherently before the adoption of the constitution."
We assert here that Islamic Sharia - specifically zakat with fixed proportions - does not embody socialism, nor does it embody democracy. Therefore, these articles are contradictory, rendering the constitution nothing more than ink on paper.
Another contradiction can be found between Article 18, which states:
"The state guarantees parents the right to choose the education they want for their children," and Article 22, which declares: "The state works to achieve social justice in the economy, to free society from injustice, monopoly, and usury, and to guide economic development through precise scientific planning. This ensures a continuous increase in production, achieving self-sufficiency and guaranteeing a decent standard of living for citizens while preventing economic exploitation and ensuring the fair distribution of national income among citizens."
This is mere flowery language with no practical intention behind it. Anyone with even basic knowledge knows that precise economic planning requires training specific professionals in predetermined quantities and qualities. For instance, you need to train architects, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, agricultural engineers, doctors, and specialists in all necessary fields, and in numbers dictated by the economic plan. If you claim, as in Article 18, that parents can choose their children’s education freely, then you are either a person who does not mean what they say when talking about economic planning, or a person who does not understand what they are saying.
Beautiful rhetoric is the overarching theme of the proposed constitution. The absence of a clear implementation framework makes one suspect there is no actual intent behind the lofty language. This is not due to ill intentions among those who prepared the draft but rather due to egregious ignorance.
Take, for example, Article 14: "The state strives to spread religious awareness among citizens and works to purify society of atheism and all forms of corruption and moral decay."
This rhetoric may initially appeal to readers and gain their support for the draft constitution. But pause and ask: How exactly does the state plan to "purify society of atheism and all forms of corruption"? Do we not all know that the state’s apparatus is itself corrupt? Do we not lament this corruption in ministers, the civil service, and the party system? Or are we expecting to harvest grapes from thorns?
Or consider Article 15, which is even more peculiar: "The state oversees curricula and pedagogy in all educational institutions and directs them to instill faith in God, love of country, virtue, moral values, and a sense of responsibility."
Reflect on the phrase "faith in God" being instilled through curricula overseen by institutions whose lack of faith allows them to exploit religion for worldly gain.
The Republican Party has consistently called for an intellectual revolution. In one of its most recent books, The Middle East Problem, it states:
"An intellectual revolution among Arab peoples is essential. This revolution must restore the simplicity, purity, and sincerity of “No deity but Allah” (La ilaha illa Allah) as it was in the seventh century AD in the valleys of Mecca and the hills of Hijaz."
This call has resonated, forming the foundation of a small Republican community within Sudanese society. This community continues to grow, and God willing, it is the subject of the noble prophetic reference to the "strangers."
For this Republican community, the constitution currently being debated by the Constituent Assembly is not merely a fake constitution, but, in fact, the greatest official document of deception - or one that attempts to be official - that the Sudanese people have ever encountered since they gained independence, or, more precisely, since the foreign ruler departed from their land.
If this draft becomes the constitution, the Republican Party will be the first to declare its lack of respect for it.
Currently under preparation is a draft for Sudan's permanent constitution - one based on the Quran. This constitution will serve all people, regardless of language, creed, or color, because the Quran, in its essence, addresses all humanity. A book detailing this constitution will be published soon, God willing. May Allah guide and support us.
