REPORTS

IS THE NIF JIHAD AN ISLAMIC ISSUE?

The Sudanese Human Rights Quarterly, Issue No. 3, April 1996

The NIF military rule has been seriously accused of seeking to eradicate the whole Sudanese nationalities under the guise of Jihad. Ustaz Abdon Agaw, Ustaza Nur Kafi, and Dr. Al-Tigani Sissi stated before the SHRO Workshop on Human Rights in The Sudan (Cairo: 1992) that, " The NIF militias have expropriated lands from indigenous inhabitants, burnt their crops, stolen their livestock, and enslaved children and women. In the Nub Mountains, tens of thousands of the Nuer people have been displaced to the desert of Northern Kordofan. 5,000 children have been transferred across the border to Libya. Many children have been destroyed and many people in the South and in the Mountains have been converted to Islam by force. The cultural identity of the Nuba is being drastically changed through the abduction of children, forced relocation and the separation of families, the Islamization of the educational system, and the denigration of local traditions and cultures. Disease has spread throughout the area."

The Legitimate Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAFs) affirmed that, the security forces of the NIF regime have been responsible for the following activities: (1) receiving, accommodating, and training extremists from Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Gulf States, etc., who are violently opposed to the systems of rule of their own countries. (2) Coordinating terrorist activities in the international arena to stabilize regional security. (3) Cooperation with Iran to strengthen terrorist policies and practices through interference in the internal affairs of the Arab and African states, and (4) Provision of arms, traveling documents, money, explosives, etc., to terrorist elements in Egypt and the other neighboring countries.

The conscription process of Sudanese youth and children to SAFs had been originally planned by the SAFs High Command during the 3rd democratic rule. A proposed act designated the terms and general objectives of conscription as a national obligatory service. Another act was prepared to provide for the formation of a popular defense force that would be mobilized within certain limits to assist SAFs in security affairs. Both conscription and PDFs projects were meant to reduce the high cost of financing military operations, consolidate the internal security of the State, educate the youth in the interest of peace for the benefit of Sudanese people, and attract them to participate in the development of their country.

Contrary to all these national goals, that have been adopted in many cases y other countries, the Legitimate Command commented that PDFs had been created by the June military coup of the NIF militant group to replace SAFs. Equally important, PDFs were used to recruit all citizens to fight the SPLA in the southern and western regions of the country.

Training centers were opened in the central, eastern, and western parts of Sudan. In the first phase, all supporters of the NIF regime were gathered from every age, militarily trained and prepared for war. During November/December 1989 alon3, about 7,000 persons were trained for only 2 months. A substantial number was reserved for only 2 months. A number of Arab Muslim tribal militias were mobilized to combat the Nuba and Dinka people. The NIF military administration continued to recruit about 30,000 persons into the PDFs in camps financed by Sudan Government. In fact, the first public address of Al-Bashir, leader of the June coup who later made of himself a president of the state, called for the elimination of all citizens suspected of being fifth-columnists with the SPLA, as well as the opposition in general. In many other succeeding occasions, Al-Bashir announced that, "A million fighter would be recruited to carry out the Jihad war."

Because the PDFs failed to gain momentum in the face of growing resistance by the opposition, added to heavy casualties of military action in the war zone, the military government resorted to an application of forced conscription on university students, including women, without adequate military training. With the occurrence of an increasing rate of deaths in the war zone among these untrained people and the mounted democratization of government troops through the policies and practices of the NIF rule, the regime launched a campaign of abducting children to conscript them into PDFs. This unlawful process led to greater casualties than ever before. The Legitimate Command concluded in the fact that the NIF rule "is determined to escalate civil war, regardless of any casualties."

In September 1995, the government imposed harsh measures in the face of students' demonstrations. After the demonstrations, Al-Bashir reiterated his commitment to stay in power with the use of force and support of militant fundamentalist organizations. These have been composed of regular, armed groups of the Afghans, Hamas Palestinians, and some other Arab and African terrorists that live as ordinary citizens in cities and the countryside to fight against the Sudanese opposition movement. Despite the fact that Sudanese masses identified some of these terrorist groups during the demonstrations, most of these terrorists have been accommodated in hidden places that only NIF leaders know. "It is well-known among Sudanese people that such militant groups have been most likely abused by the NIF in the assassination attempt of President Mubarak of Egypt in Ethiopia June 1995," General Ali told the Quarterly.

Brigadier-General Saeed had earlier affirmed that the NIF used Islamic symbols and Jihad concepts to "color the PDFs with a religious paint." The PDFs have been decorated with names of historic Islamic leaders and battles. For us in the Quarterly, all these step s added serious ethnic and regional aspects to the political, economic, and administrative nature of the internal war of Sudan. These important statements by the SAFs Legitimate Command motivated us to inquire about the real position of Islamic religion with respect to war. As earlier emphasized by the Commander-in-Chief, the late General Fathi Ahmed Alia, Islamic teachings and rules of war "are harmonious with those of International Humanitarian Law; they all prohibit transgression an encourage peace."

According to Islamic principles, "War is only permissible in self-defense, and under well-defined limits. When undertaken, it must be pushed with vigor, but not relentlessly, but only to restore peace and freedom for the worship of God, old and infirm men should not be molested, nor trees or crops cut down, nor peace withheld when the enemy comes to terms" (The Holy Qur'an, English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, 1410 H, 1983, 1992).

The Cairo Declaration on the guiding principles of human rights in Islam, approved by the ministers of foreign affairs in the 19th session of the Islamic Conference convened in Cairo, August 1990, states in Article 3 that, "(a) No killing is allowed in the use of force or armed conflicts for those not taking a part in the fight, such as old people, women and children. Wounded persons or infirm persons shall be given medical attention. Captives shall be fed, lodged and clothed. Molestation is forbidden. Exchange of captives and reunion of families is permissible. (b) There shall be no cut of trees, pillage of crops, or destruction of the civilian institutions of the enemy."

These directives and many other prohibitions in the situation of internal armed conflicts have been continuously elaborated in the International Humanitarian law through the contributions of customary international law into the four Geneva Conventions. However, the NIF-led troops were never taught to honor these norms.

Article 3 common to the four Conventions states in Section 1 that, "In the case of armed conflict not of an international character [such as the case of Sudan civil war] each part [including insurgents although they do not have the legal capacity to sign the Geneva Conventions] shall be bound to apply the following provisions:

(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who had laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth of wealth or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (1) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, and cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in humiliating and degrading treatment; and (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples" (Human Rights Watch/Africa, 1994). The parties to the internal conflict of the Sudan are defined as "the government and the two SPLA factions and possibly a third SPLA faction, that of William Nyoun."

As noted in SHRO-Cairo Cultural Forums, the relationship between religion and politics indicates a long-standing problem in the modern history of Sudan. The NDA succeeded in reaching a national agreement between all political and military parties, except the NIF. The agreement states, "All human rights norms and principles enshrined in regional and international human rights instruments and covenants shall be an integral part of the constitution of the Sudan and any law, decree, executive order or policy measure contrary thereof shall be considered null and void and unconstitutional. No political party shall be established on religious basis. The State shall acknowledge and respect pluralism in Sudan and shall undertake to promote and bring about peaceful interaction and co-existence, equality and tolerance among religious and noble spiritual beliefs, and shall permit peaceful religious prosletisation and prohibit coercion in religion, or the perpetuation in any place, forum or location in the Sudan of any act or measure intended to arouse religious sedition or racial hatred."

Interestingly, the Christian Solidarity International (CSI) interviewed in a special report (cordially delivered to the Quarterly) a Qura'nic school teacher and member of the former Sudanese Parliament who said in an interview with CSI that, "The NOIF regime does not represent the real Islam - they are just media people and propagandists. In all religions, it is wrong to use force and to oppress the people. This is what the NIF does. I personally know Turabi [i.e,. Dr. Hassan Al-Turabi, Patron of the NIF party and regime, at the time of this report]. I do not believe he is really a holy man because his people are doing such bad things. The NIF elite wants to rule the whole country. They are afraid that if the [people] become educated and advanced they will start speaking about their human rights and assert their rights. If the outside world wants to have dialogue with the Sudanese Muslims, they must have dialogue with the Sufi and Ulema (Islamic jurists). These are the true representatives of Islam. The leaders of the NIF group are liars and do not have the interest of Islam or of our people at heart. During the past 6 years of the NIF rule, the violations of the tenets of Islam have multiplied rapidly in Sudan."