Paper short abstract:

To what extent can the recent popularity of Sufi Brotherhoods among youths in Khartoum, North Sudan, be considered a counter-discourse to the Islamist religious dominance of Sudanese rule since the 1980’s?

Paper long abstract:

When in 1989 the Islamist party of the NIF became the backbone of the military government of Omar el-Bashir, the new Islamist project was propagated by the government and as introducing a modern, more proper version of Islam to Sudanese public life. It thereby relegated the former influence of Sufi Brotherhoods on the socio-economic, political and cultural aspects of life of many Northern Sudanese to the realm of 'tradition' and 'secterianism'. Recently, there is a revival of particular Sufi Brotherhoods with an increase in attendance of zikrs (dhikr, communal meditative prayer meetings) at their zawiyas (litt. corner), the space where sufi followers and their sheikhs assemble. Some of these brotherhoods, such as the Mukashfiyya and the Burhaniyya, are popular especially among the urban youth of the new upcoming middle class. Interestingly, both followers and Sufi Sheikhs claim that the orders do not have a political project, like sufi orders had in the past. The sheikhs claim they only cater for the spiritual needs of a growing group of Sudanese especially in cities. In this paper I will look closer at the reasons why participants of the zikr opted for this particular Sufi Order, in what way they enact their membership and how the new media is used as part of constructing a zawiya. Finally, I will debate to what extent these sheikhs and their followers can be taken to construct a counter-discourse to the Islamist discourse in contemporary politics in Northern Sudan.