The Afro - Arab conflict in the 21st century

The racial and religious dimensions of the Sudanese conflict and its possible ramifications in East, Central and Southern Africa in the next millennium

Abstract

Background: Islam, as a religion as well as culture, is a major factor in the Sudanese conflict This is related to its self-transmutation into a vehicle for the Arabization of the African people in the Sudan since the eleventh century. The current trends of Islamic revivalism (tajdid) and reformation (is/ah) spearheaded by the present National Islamic Front (NIF) government, and encapsulated in its political ideology and a cultural package dubbed as 'el tawajat el hadharia' (literally meaning an orientation towards Islamic civilization) is found in the promulgation of the Sudan's 1998 Islamic constitution. The introduction of this constitution has effectively made the country a de jure Islamic republic, with the strict and harsh application of the Islamic Sharia codes even against non-Muslims. These developments are all manifestations of the modem day attempts by the Arabs to reconquer Africa.