40 Facts About Hassan Al-Turabi

Hassan Al-Turabi has been called "one of the most influential figures in modern Sudanese politics" and a "longtime hard-line ideological leader".

Hassan Al-Turabi was instrumental in institutionalizing sharia in the northern part of the country and was frequently imprisoned in Sudan, but these "periods of detention" were "interspersed with periods of high political office".

Hassan Al-Turabi was leader of the National Islamic Front, a political movement that developed considerable political power in Sudan while never obtaining significant popularity among Sudanese voters.

Hassan Al-Turabi was imprisoned by Omar Al-Bashir 17 January 2011 for nine days, following civil unrest across the Arab world.

Hassan Al-Turabi died in 2016 without facing trial for his role in the 1989 coup.

Hassan Al-Turabi graduated from Khartoum University School of Law in 1955 and studied in London and at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1962, where he gained a PhD.

Hassan Al-Turabi became a leader of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1960s.

Hassan Al-Turabi is a descendant of a famous 17th-century religious sheikh, Hamad al-Turabi.

Hassan Al-Turabi's philosophy drew selectively from Sudanese, Islamic, and Western political thought to fashion an ideology for the pursuit of power.

Hassan Al-Turabi supported sharia and the concept of an Islamic state, but his vision was not Wahhabi or Salafi.

Hassan Al-Turabi appreciated that the majority of Sudanese followed Sufi Islam, which he set out to change with new ideas.

Hassan Al-Turabi did not extend legitimacy to Sufis, Mahdists, and Islamic scholars, whom he saw as incapable of addressing the challenges of modern life.

Hassan Al-Turabi had his greatest success in recruiting supporters from the educated and professional classes in urban areas.

Hassan Al-Turabi attached fundamental importance to the concept of shura and ibtila, his view of modernity, which he believed should lead to a more profound worship of God.

Hassan Al-Turabi originally espoused progressive Islamist ideas, such as the embrace of democracy, healing the breach and expanding the rights of women, where he noted:.

Hassan Al-Turabi told another interviewer, "I want women to work and become part of public life" because "the home doesn't require much work anymore, what with all the appliances".

Hassan Al-Turabi opposed the death penalty for apostasy from Islam and opposed Ayatollah Khomeini's death sentence fatwa against Salman Rushdie.

Hassan Al-Turabi declared Islamist organizations "too focused on narrow historical debates and behavioral issues of what should be forbidden, at the expense of economic and social development".

Hassan Al-Turabi laid out his vision for a Sharia law that would be applied gradually instead of forcefully and would apply only to Muslims, who would share power with the Christians in a federal system.

Hassan Al-Turabi embraced human rights and democracy in "a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn" of his views.

Early in his career, Hassan Al-Turabi took control of Islamic Liberation Movement under the name of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood.

Hassan Al-Turabi established the National Islamic Front in 1985 as a replacement for the ICF.

Hassan Al-Turabi held several ministerial positions in the democratically elected Sadiq al-Mahdi government, which the NIF joined in 1988 as a coalition partner, but he was never comfortable with this arrangement.

On 30 June 1989, a coup d'etat by General Omar Hassan Al-Turabi al-Bashir began a process of severe repression, including purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.

Hassan Al-Turabi attacked al-Turabi in a rage when he saw him.

Hassan Al-Turabi was hospitalized for 4 weeks with constant black outs.

Hassan Al-Turabi suffered from severe injuries, the use of his right arm was lost for a while, he had slurred speech and he required the use of a cane.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden moved his base of operations to Sudan from Saudi Arabia around 1991 reportedly at the personal invitation of Hassan Al-Turabi, and stayed until 1996 when he moved to Afghanistan.

Hassan Al-Turabi granted bin Laden a safe place from which to conduct jihadist activities; in return, bin Laden agreed to help the Sudanese government in roadbuilding and to fight animist and Christian separatists in Southern Sudan.

Hassan Al-Turabi said that he had expected the arrest, which occurred while he was returning to Khartoum from a PCP gathering in Sennar.

Hassan Al-Turabi was questioned and released without charge later in the day, after about 12 hours in detention.

Hassan Al-Turabi said that it was an arrest and that he had been held at Kober.

Hassan Al-Turabi said that the security officers questioning him had "terrified" him and that, although they claimed to have proof against him, they did not show him this proof when he asked to see it.

Hassan Al-Turabi alleged that al-Turabi was being used as a scapegoat.

Hassan Al-Turabi said that the JEM attack could spark more unrest.

Hassan Al-Turabi announced on 2 January 2010 that the PCP had designated his deputy, Abdallah Deng Nhial, as its candidate for the 2010 presidential election.

Hassan Al-Turabi was again arrested in mid May 2010, but was released on 1 July 2010.

Hassan Al-Turabi commented on the recent price rises in Sudan stating it could result at a "popular uprising" if the unrealistic rises were not reversed.

Hassan Al-Turabi added that the governments including that of Sudan should take lessons from the recent events in Tunisia.

Hassan Al-Turabi was believed to have died of a heart attack.