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Paper short abstract:

Based on an empirical study carried out in Sudan, this paper explores the rise of jihadi militancy in Sudan and the strategies adopted by the government of Sudan to respond to jihadi activism.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, Sudan has witnessed the growth of various Pan-Islamist and Salafi-jihadi movements that aim at establishing an Islamic state in Sudan. Furthermore, the country witnessed growing rates of recruitment among youth into jihadi militant groups. To achieve their political and religious objectives within Sudan and beyond, jihadi militancy movements legitimate the use of violence. Based on an empirical study carried out in Sudan, this paper explores the rise of jihadi militancy in Sudan and the strategies adopted by the government of Sudan to respond to jihadi activism. The official narrative about jihadi militancy in Sudan tends to minimize its impact and portrays it as a foreign, imported, and recent phenomenon. However, empirical findings reveal that jihadi militancy is not only rooted in the society but also embedded in the Islamist regime’s radical Islamist ideology that ruled Sudan between 1989 and 2019. During three decades in power, the Islamist regime has created conditions for jihadi militancy to thrive, which resulted in Sudan being listed in the US government’s list of states sponsoring terrorism. In this contribution, I will present case studies of jihadi militancy movements in Sudan, their narratives, and discources. After, I will delve into the Sudanese government‘s response to the jihadi militancy in Sudan, namely the top-down deradicalization program that aims at doctrine ‘revisions‘ and religious counseling with jihadi militants. This presentation not only offers a critical reflection of the program‘s components and outcomes, but it also considers the wider political processes it operates in.