Everyone Is Too Afraid to Say the Real Reason for the War in Sudan
A bloody civil war has broken out in Sudan. Whether the world wants to call it a civil war or not will not stop the deadly impact that is likely to spill over and have a disastrous effect on the rest of the world.
The situation can be confusing for most people outside of Sudan, but that is because reporters will not say the obvious. Technically, the current civil war is the result of two opposing Islamic generals who both want power and are willing to fight and kill to gain the power they seek, but the truth is that Sudan has experienced nothing but war, pain, suffering, and slavery since it was conquered by Islam during their many conquests in Northern Africa.
Perhaps the impact of Islam on Sudan is worth discussing. Compare current Islamic Sudan with ancient Christian Sudan.
Few people know anything about the flourishing Christian Kingdoms of Sudan and how they converted to Christianity from the first century missionaries who went about preaching the Good News. In fact, most people believe that Sudan has always been Muslim. This is simply not true.
Unlike the bloody civil war front of today, the ancient Christian kingdoms of Sudan were centres for trade, art, and wealth. They developed culture instead of adopting the colonial practices of the Middle East. They had a unique Coptic-style alphabet instead of being forced to speak Arabic. They developed libraries of advanced theology instead of being force-fed the teachings of the Koran.
In her book SHACKLED, Mariam Ibraheem shares the shocking details about life under Sharia Law in Sudan and the many atrocities that she suffered. She bravely tells her story of watching her mothers suffering, enduring female genital mutilation (FGM) as a young girl, having her property stripped from her, being thrown in prison with her children for marrying without her family’s permission, and being sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to deny her faith.
Mariam is not alone. Women suffer in Sudan every day because of the rule of Islam and adoption of Sharia Law. It is hard to believe that in ancient Sudan, women enjoyed high social status, access to education, and could own, buy, and sell land.
Because of the way that news is reported about the current suffering in Sudan, it is easy to conclude that Sudan’s current civil war, misery index level, and poverty are all the direct result of politics, but unfortunately the data is clear. Sudan shares a border with nations that experience the same human rights depravities in the Islamic nations of Egypt, Libya, Chad, Eritrea, and Saudi Arabia which sits across the Red Sea from Sudan.
Since the civil war began, foreign nationals have fled the country en masse and more than 15,000 refugees have already crossed west into neighboring Chad. According to the WHO, hundreds of people have been killed and over 4,000 people injured, but that number is likely to climb in the next few days.
Sudan is a nation that is closed to the Gospel message and BTJ missionaries believe that the best way to make a change in the nation is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ.
2 Comments
I’d like to thank you for all the news you publish on this site, especially as it offers perspectives not easily found elsewhere. I’ve learned quite a bit since reading your articles. However, I have questions about this article. Although it’s true that there are many human rights issues in Sudan that can be linked back to its practice of Islam, war of one kind or other has also been a problem in many majority Christian countries. Think of the Peasant’s War in 1500’s Germany, the 30 Years War in the 1600’s in Europe, and the English Civil War of the 1650’s, all at least partially motivated by religious tensions. The United States had its bloody Civil War, and even in World War I, religious leaders on all sides invoked the blessing of the Christian God for their side. More recently, there has been the Rwandan genocide of 1991 and the ongoing strife in South Sudan. All these took place/are taking place in countries where the majority of the population professes some variety of Christianity. I’d appreciate any feedback if you think my observations are in any way off base. In the meantime, thanks for all your good work,
Wil
Thank you so much Will for this question. IT IS A GREAT QUESTION and one every logical Christian should ask. We often add questions like this to our podcasts, and I have added this to our list. I will answer it on our BTJ podcast in the next coming two weeks. Our thoughts might not be a perfect answer, but in our common search for truth, this is a great discussion to have. -“As iron sharpens iron….”