Flying Together 5- Sudan

Hassan 'Abd Allah alTurabi
Born in 1932 in Kassala, northern Sudan, to a Sufi Muslim sheikh, Mr Turabi received an Islamic
education before studying in Khartoum, London and finally the Sorbonne in Paris, where he
gained a PhD. He joined Sudan's Muslim Brotherhood and rose to prominence during the
popular uprising of October 1964 against President Ibrahim Abbud. He became the founder of
the Islamic Charter Front (ICF).
Between 1964 and 1969, Mr Turabi was the secretarygeneral of the Islamic Charter Front, a
political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood that advocated an Islamic constitution and opposed
communism.
Following the 1969 coup that brought General Ja'far alNumayri to power, he spent six years in
custody before escaping to exile in Libya for three years.
In 1979, as President Numayri sought rapprochement with Islamist leaders, Mr Turabi was
appointed attorney general.
While he was attorney general, a liberal politician and theologian Mahmoud Mohammed Taha
was put on trial for apostasy abandoning religious belief and executed in January 1985.
Many Sudanese believed Mr Turabi was behind the president's introduction of certain aspects of
Sharia (Islamic Law) and the replacement of the Council of Ministers with a Presidential Council.
The new flag was adopted on 1 January 1956, together with the national emblem.
The flag consisted of three stripes blue, yellow and green.