Exiled Islamic scholar ignites row over Sudan leader’s military achievements

Head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council and Commander-In-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Khartoum, Sudan on December 05, 2022 [Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency]

by Khalil Charles

In a volatile mix of Sudanese patriotism, religious orthodoxy and politics, the exiled former Head of Islamic Affairs at Khartoum University, Abdul Hai Yusuf, has caused widespread controversy after he attacked Sudan’s President, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. In a short clip circulating on social media, Yusuf appeared to criticise the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) by attributing the recent military victories to a new breed of young recruits. Yusuf said many of the young fighters were not born in the previous conflicts and that the “supporters of Islam” do not trust him. He said the credit for the victories against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) went to the ‘mujahideen’ and not the army.

Yusuf described the leader of the RSF, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, and Al-Burhan as traitors to the Islamic cause. He said both are ranked with Zionists and accused Dagalo of being linked to the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad. Likewise, he was critical of Al-Burhan’s decision to meet the Zionist leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda in March 2020. The commander of the Sudanese army was “a disrespectful person who has no religion, and that the Islamic movement does not trust him because he is a traitor to God and His Messenger,” Yusuf said.

Abdel Hai Yusuf is no stranger to controversy. He has been residing in Turkiye since clashing with the former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok’s interim government. In particular, he labelled a newly appointed Minister of Youth and Sports, Walaa Al Boushi, “an apostate and heretic” for sponsoring a competition for women’s football in Sudan. She is believed to have been a follower of Mahmoud Mohammed Taha who was executed in January 1985 on charges of religious heresy after allegedly refusing to pray. With a pending court case raised against Abdel Hai Yusuf by Al Boushi, he went into exile.

The controversy also extends to the claim that Yusuf is alleged to have approved a religious edict making it lawful to kill at least one third of the population in times of war in order to protect the religion of Islam. It appears that the statement was first voiced by the Deputy leader of Sudan, Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo, who claimed that former President Omar Al-Bashir had been given a religious edict quoting the Maliki’s school of jurisprudence as having ruled it permissible to kill opponents. Yusuf has always denied making a ‘fatwa’ in those terms. However, the ruling provoked much anger against Yusuf, particularly from supporters of the 2019 revolution that deposed Al-Bashir.

Throughout his time in Sudan, Yusuf remained an adamant supporter of Al-Bashir and the National Congress until the president was removed by the army. With the installation of Abdallah Hamdok as prime minister of the transitional government, Yusuf opposed calling for a civilian and secular government. Tensions further escalated when Yusuf labelled the United Nations as a “Jewish, crusader, atheist” organisation. He referred to Hamdok as an “agent” of the United Nations. In a Friday sermon aired on Dorar TV in 2021 he said: “Hamdok is responsible for laws in Sudan that permit homosexuality, alcohol and usury.”

In 2020, he accused Sudan’s Transitional Government of being bereft of religion after Al-Burhan approved the Human Rights and Justice System Reform law which contradicts the tenets of Islamic ‘Sharia’ law. “The removal of this corrupt government is compulsory upon all who are able,” Yusuf insisted.

In a statement published in local news outlets, Al-Burhan criticised Yusuf’s comments about the army’s military victories as inaccurate labelling him a “takfiri’ – one who accuses other Muslims unfairly of apostasy. Meanwhile, Hasan Ahmed Amad, of Sudan’s Independent Council of Scholars, expressed support for Al-Burhan’s army leadership. He said Yusuf had made personal comments and urged him to retract his derogatory statements against Al-Burhan. He claimed that it was not permissible to criticise a leader at times of war.

In an attempt to quell the escalating conflict, another Sudanese cleric, Mahran Mahir Osman, said Yusuf was not prone to call others apostates nor misguided, but like all humans is capable of making errors in judgement. He called for civility and said that Yusuf has no partisan affiliations; people can agree or disagree with him, but it must be done without slander.

In many ways the row over Yusuf’s comments is indicative of the tensions within Sudan and in the Sudanese diaspora. While divisions continue about the political and religious direction and future of the country, the majority of Sudanese remain united behind the army’s leadership, led by Al-Burhan. However, it is clear that there continues to be stark differences about the policies the Sudanese should follow. In the past few days, Yusuf has made conciliatory comments about his remarks, some of which he claimed were misunderstood.