On the Occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi: The Absent Imams Ninetieth
Al-Zain Osman
For the fourth consecutive year, the tents will not be pitched at the house located in the Malaazmeen neighborhood in Omdurman. The phones will not receive invitations from the office of Mr. Imam Al-Sadiq to participate in the annual celebration of the birth anniversary of Imam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the late Sudanese symbol and leader of the National Umma Party, who was elected as the Prime Minister of Sudan twice.
Three years ago, in November, Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the head of the National Umma Party, and the man who served as the Prime Minister of Sudan twice through elections, passed away in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. Some expressed that his death marked the loss of a pillar of wisdom in Sudan and that his death at that time confirmed the misfortune of the country. The man was a rhythm officer for political action between conflicting groups in a transitional phase that started with a coup and is now in a war phase.
The office of Imam Al-Sadiq sent invitations to celebrate his ninetieth birthday at his residence in Cairo, Egypt, due to the impossibility of celebrating at his closed house in Omdurman because of the war. Tents will not be set up in Omdurman, where the house is no longer safe, and there might not even be tents anymore, perhaps stolen during the chaos of war. Omdurman itself is devoid of its inhabitants.
In commemorating the ninetieth birthday of the absent Imam amid the reality of Sudan, some echo the need for the people of the Nile to reclaim the philosophy of the Imam to celebrate the anniversary of his birth, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Christ, under the title "Reflection on the Past Year and the Year to Come." The Sudanese year was filled to the brim with death, war, and bloodshed. It was a year full of war and mobilization. It was a year filled with the Rapid Support Forces and the army, with civilians caught in their spilled blood.
In Cairo, people will recall the memory of the late Sadiq Al-Mahdi and review his political stances. Some will read him as a writer and thinker, while many will focus on his role as an advocate for "moderation." In the face of tolerance, a value that the Sudanese need now to navigate the maze they find themselves in. Some will recall his saying, "The donkey destroyed his city," embodying a Sudanese proverb warning against the dominance of hatred and injustice among the components of the people.
On the ninetieth anniversary of the late Imam Sadiq Al-Mahdi, everyone will remember his arrest in 2017 after his statements criticizing the Rapid Support Forces leading the ongoing war against the armed forces, statements that foresaw what might happen in the future.
In the ninetieth year of the former Prime Minister, the Imam has departed, and Omdurman is no longer Omdurman. Sudan is at a crossroads, with a war still raging. Political division is at its peak, and fears of societal division are rising. People wander the streets aimlessly. The war they are fleeing from relentlessly pursues them. Those who will light the candle for Imam will light it away from Omdurman, which hosts his body but they will light it like "Sidi Al-Sadiq" according to his lovers, an everlasting flame. He will remain a preacher for democracy, love, and tolerance to reunite the fragments of Sudanese components. His last message while on his deathbed was a message of "love," echoing the message of the absent but present man. If given a chance to address the crowd, he would repeat, "Bridge the gap" and close the way to death, stop the war.
