By Mwandikaji K. Mwanafunzi
NDG Special Contributor
A referendum process is underway that could split Africa’s geographically largest nation state into two separate nation states.
Voter registration for the Republic of Sudan’s referendum began Nov. 15 and ended Wednesday. Actual voting on whether southern Sudan should become a separate country is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2011.
The Sudan occupies 2,505,810 square kilometers (966,710 square miles), which makes it slightly more than one-quarter the size of the United States, according to nationsencyclopedia.com.
Northern and southern Sudan warred for two decades, culminating in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that established limited autonomy for the South and called for a referendum on southern independence in 2011.
Sudan’s population is 70% Sunni Muslim (mostly in the north), 5% Christian (mostly in the south), and 25% African traditional religion, according to PrayForSudan.org. The north, which is most densely populated, is 62% Muslim. The south, with a smaller population, is 50% Christian.
Yet, characterizations of the Sudan conflict as Muslim vs. Christian are misleading. Sudan’s rulers, centered in the North, are more united in viewing themselves as Arabs than as Muslims. For example, Darfur, located in the North, is predominantly Muslim but not Arab, and has been famously oppressed by Sudan’s Arab leadership.
“Arab” in Sudan is more about how peoples identify than how they look. Nearly all Sudanese are black by American standards. If they dressed American and kept silent (to hide foreign languages and accents), they would likely blend into South Dallas or Harlem to all but trained eyes. Although many Sudanese “Arabs” are more brown-skinned than black-skinned, with complexions closer to Aretha Franklin’s than to Cicely Tyson’s, some are considerably darker. But very few are light enough to pass for a prince in Saudi Arabia or a good ole’ boy in Mississippi. Thus, Sudan’s North/South, conflict, like the oppression of Darfur, is essentially black-on-black and more about ethnicity than race.
In ancient times, much of present-day Sudan was part of the Cush empire, located immediately south of Egypt. At its height, Cush included Egypt and extended from the Mediterranean Sea the Great Lakes of modern Kenya. Tirhakah, emperor of Cush/Egypt at its height, is mentioned in 2Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9. Although ancient Assyria defeated Tirhakah and dynastic Egypt, Cush maintained its independence for many centuries afterward.
After Cush finally fell during the 4th Century A.D., three Christian kingdoms – Nobatia, Makuria, and Alwa – eventually comprised most of what we now call the Sudan. During the 14h to 16th centuries, Muslims conquered these Christian kingdoms. The region has remained predominantly Muslim ever since.
During the late 19th century European “Scramble for Africa”, the British met considerable resistance to its attempt to effectively colonize the Sudan as “The Mahdi” − Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah − led a militaristic Muslim revival.
But ultimately the colonizers prevailed. Sudan was administered by Great Britain and Egypt as “Anglo-Egyptian Sudan” from 1899 until 1956, when Sudan became independent.
Like many African countries, modern day Sudan is more of a place than a nation, containing several ethnic groups lumped together during the colonial era to facilitate European territorial claims. Historical national groups existing within present day Sudan include the Dinka, Nuba, and Nuer peoples, among others.
While the Organization of African Unity opposed the break-up of African countries during the early days of independence, I suspect that some break-ups, done rationally, could actually facilitate African Unity by ending conflict that results from forcing one ethnic group to live under the dominance of another. “Good fences make good neighbors.” A well-planned disintegration of the current artificial Sudan state, eventually followed by economic affiliation patterned after the East African Community (comprised of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi) or The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS, comprised of 15 West African countries), might generate more working unity than exists presently.
A stickler, however, would be who controls oil reserves. The CPA stipulates that North and South equally split proceeds from oil produced in the South, but the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) − the South’s leading liberation organization − has persistently accused the North of paying less than 50%, according to the Sudan Tribune.
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has expressed the U.S. government’s belief that full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement provides the best chance to prevent a return to conflict in Sudan.
Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God”. (Matthew 5:9)
Let’s pray for peace in Sudan.
