The Intellectual Fosters of the Sudanese Nationalism

This article deals with a socio-cultural, historical and political topic. It dwells on the schools of thought that had heralded the main intellectual trends which laid the foundation stone for the birth of advanced awareness about a ‘Sudanese nationalism’. Al-Fajr (i.e. the dawn) school of thought in 1930s, for instance, ushered in a new current of thought which encompassed different intellectual trends interacted with regional and international developments. These intellectual currents – through the ‘Graduate Clubs’ and the press – had exerted vital efforts to liberate the people from the domination of the traditional power, to lead religious revivalism and herald renaissance. One outcome of those efforts was the emergence of the first Sudanese Political parties in mid 1940s – notably the Umma Party and the National Unionist Party. These political parties had mobilized political participation, triggered intensive enlightenment and ignited the nationalist movement that culminated into independence in mid 1950s. Through historical and descriptive method this article explains the Egyptian impact as well as the British influence throughout the course of forming the Sudanese nationalism. If the Egyptian educational and cultural impact on the Arab countries is great, it is greater on Sudan through different tools and means. It tries to answer the question: what are the political and intellectual currents which inspired nationalism in the Sudan? It believes that the Egyptian impact on the formation of the Sudanese nationalism is so discernible.