Jihad Against Oppression? A conceptual history of the Mahdiyya in Sudan through official letters andproclamations

Sammanfattning

This thesis is a conceptual history analysis of a selection of official letters and proclamations from the Mahdiyya in Sudan, an Islamic revolutionary state of the late nineteenth century with a leader claiming to be the prophesied mahdī. Before the revolt, Sudan was ruled by Egypt, which, in turn, was falling under British occupation. The emergence of the Mahdiyya coincided with a period of great ideological and cultural reform in the Arabic-speaking world known as the Nahḍa. The key concept examined is jihād, along with related and antithetical concepts. The aim is to contribute to the historiography of political Islam by understanding the ideology of the Mahdiyya and its establishment of group identities of allies and foes through its jihād against the Anglo-Egyptians, and to conclude what broader trends the Mahdiyya's definition of jihād relates to. Conceptual history is the main theory, but also functions as a method, together with qualitative textual and classical rhetorical analysis. The thesis concludes that jihād, in the letters, denotes a religious armed struggle. It is directed against the Anglo-Egyptian authorities, who are referred to as “Turks” and proclaimed to be disbelievers, since they do not acknowledge the Mahdī as the sole authority over all Muslims. Great emphasis is put on the superior virtue of martyrdom and the letters appear to encourage self-sacrifice in battle. The latter contradicts mainstream Sunni doctrine, but draws on the writings of a late medieval Egyptian scholar. The Sufi concept of the individual, non-violent, jihād of fighting one's own ego and ties to this world is merged with the concept of military jihād. This anti-materialist element within the ideology of the Mahdiyya relates to a context of expanding Western capitalism and Anglo-Egyptian imperialism in Sudan.