NEWS
Iranian Radio Interview with Hasan al-Turabi, leader of Sudan’s National Islamic Front
Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran
September 2, 1995
Q. Is what the Ethiopian government said about the presence in Sudan of three of those who carried out the assassination attempt against Egyptian President Husni Mubarak true?
A. Ethiopia protested to the Sudanese government a few weeks ago that three of those who planned the operation have found shelter in Sudan or are currently present in Sudan. However, the Sudanese government could verify only one of the names by checking a list of arrivals at the airport. The Sudanese government promised Ethiopia that it would look for this person and that according to the agreement on the extradition of criminals and murderers, it could take measures against him and the others.
However, the Ethiopian government hastened to take its declared measures. But people here know that these measures have been taken only as a result of continuing pressure—a fact they have frankly admitted. A senior official from Ethiopia told me this frankly over two years ago. He told me that people arriving in Ethiopia from our neighbour Egypt and from those supporting them in the West are warning them against Sudan and the Islamic surge here. They said that this would pose a danger to Ethiopia, despite the fact that these rulers of the two countries lying to the east of us were refugees in Sudan who know very well how Sudan received them and how the people of Sudan treated them. They are not even Muslims to start with. But pressures became too much for them to bear. Any aid or support extended to them became dependent on the siege of Sudan pressure on Sudan’s neighbours.
The strange fact is that they never accused a Sudanese person of personally being involved in what happened to Husni Mubarak. Despite that, they expelled all the Sudanese people working in Islamic organizations. They are now the only ones working in a number of Islamic organizations, be they Sudanese or not. I fear that this has something to do with the fact that the Muslims in Ethiopia have started to demonstrate for their rights by the hundreds of thousands.
The Westerners might sometimes frighten the Ethiopians by telling them that Islam is around them and in their own land it is a danger to them and that they should exploit any dispute or find any pretext to stop air transport links with Sudan, reinstate visa requirements for the Sudanese and pin the blame on the people of Sudan in support of previous allegations. But earlier allegations claimed that the Sudanese themselves were the ones who committed the crime.
Now, the story has changed and they are Egyptians who have entered Sudan. Our brothers in Ethiopia know very well that over 100,000 Ethiopians are still refugees in Sudan. They prefer to stay in Sudan, even after their country became safe from some internal conflicts.
The background to this is the Eritrea issue. The Eritrean ruler comes from the same tribe and is a relative of the ruler of Ethiopia. Therefore, it was not a shock to the people of Sudan nor an unexpected event between one country and another which share long borders. Many of them come to Sudan to work in houses, farms and other places. The West does not want African people to communicate with each other. Just as they divided Africa by artificial borders in the past, they want to divide it today by creating tension among various countries. The Islamic factor terrifies them. They want to surround it by driving a wedge between it and Iran, between Arabs and Africans.
Q. As you said, America and the enemies of Sudan are gambling on destroying relations between the Sudanese government and Ethiopia to achieve wicked gains. Do you think that obstructing relations between you and Addis Ababa can have a negative impact on Sudan?
A. No, there will be no negative impact on Sudan in particular. Thank God, Sudan is self-sufficient in terms of food as well as oil, agricultural and animal wealth. We had a regional group embracing us, Ethiopia and the Horn America. But they do not want that to happen in an African region, particularly in a country like Sudan with its African surrounding, its Arab language and its Islamic character. I am not talking about Islam as a history, but as a line to be pursued both in public and private lives.
Q. You must agree with us that America’s attempts to spoil Sudan’s relations with neighbours seek to stop the flow of Islam to African states. Do these attempts really block the flow of Islam from Sudan to African states?
A. If we look at Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, we will find that the majority of the Horn of Africa is Muslim and most Ethiopians are Muslims. They were oppressed in the past; they were never given a public position, no matter how minor. They were only given lowly jobs . But the road is open to them now. They are advancing in life now. The same thing applies to Islam in the other African states words indistinct advances first words indistinct.
Even the wedge they are driving now, hoping it will block the flow of Islam, angers Muslims and reminds them that Islam is being targeted. It reminds them of their Islamic identity. Even the negative anti-Islamic propaganda spreads Islam in spite of them. Negative propaganda that targeted Prophet Muhammad, God’s prayers and peace be on him, and accused him of being a magician, a poet or a liar spread the news of the Prophet and eventually propagated his message of Islam. This is what is happening now. The attacks against Sudan and Iran spread Islamic consciousness, drew the attention of the cultured groups to the campaigns that target Islam and sensitized Muslims about their forgotten identity. Islam in Africa is progressing. It will forge ahead. God will triumph even if the atheists hate it.
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