Re-establishing Empowerment: The MB in Sudan exploits chaos to consolidate its presence
The Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to re-infiltrate State institutions and build networks of influence both domestically and internationally are -naturally- invoking increasing concerns in Sudan. As the group is exploiting the ongoing war and divisions to consolidate its position within State institutions and in the public sphere.
The Brotherhood, in general, is focused on leveraging external funding and support by activating transnational economic and organizational networks that operate under various names. Which, in turn, allows the organization to reassert its identity in the post-war era, taking advantage of the lack of oversight.
According to political officials, the organization is developing its structures through diverse funding sources, utilizing its domestic arms -including terrorist groups- and employing a mobilization strategy that targets the youth, particularly given the fragile security and economic situation, in an effort to secure a prominent position in any future arrangements.
Transnational Sources
Urwa Al-Sadiq, Assistant to the Chairperson of the Sudanese National Umma Party (NUP), stated that the Sudanese Islamic Movement, its fronts, as well as its dissolved Party are operating at this critical juncture according to a multi-layered strategy. For they’re exploiting the ongoing war to rebuild their networks of influence between Khartoum and the international community through three main channels: A Financial network, a network of regional connections, and a network of ideologically driven military groups that have reasserted their presence on the scene.
In a statement to (Eram News), Al-Sadiq added that everything observed today indicates that the organization is treating this historical moment as an opportunity to revive its project, redefine its political identity, and regain its position in the public sphere through financial and organizational channels that extend far beyond Sudan’s borders.
Furthermore, Al-Sadiq explained that the network of influence between Khartoum and abroad has grown, as the Movement works to revitalize its external extensions in several capitals through businessmen historically linked to the empowerment project. As the previously looted capital is being recycled through investment companies outside Sudan, in addition to networks of relationships with religious or charitable institutions that provide cover for the Movement’s funding. They have become involved in what are known as Digital wallets, cryptocurrencies, and the trade of gold and precious metals, the movement of which is difficult to trace. Hence, the aforementioned support is being channeled through carefully planned avenues to rebuild the dilapidated organizational structure that was shattered after the fall of Al-Bashir’s regime.
A Hardline Ideology
According to Urwa Al-Sadiq, the war was exploited to restructure internal networks because it gave the organization an opportunity to reproduce itself within Khartoum through ideologically driven military formations operating under various umbrellas, including “Al-Bara’ Ibn Malik,” “Al-Barq Al-Khatif,” “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous,” and “Al-Qa’qa’,” as well as additional units operating in accordance with a hardline ideology that fails to recognize the hierarchy or discipline of the Armed Forces.
Al-Sadiq went on to stress that such formations have become the executive arm for political redeployment, because they grant the organization the ability to impose a security reality, which, in turn, allows it to secure an advanced position in the future power map. Furthermore, it utilizes the call for “Mobilization” as a means to attract young people through a mobilization discourse that equates the war to an existential project, whilst rebuilding organizational cells within universities, outlying neighborhoods, workplaces, and government offices through networks of relationships that extend abroad.
Securing Influence
In regards to external funding and the reshaping of political identity, Al-Sadiq explained that the organization relies on multiple sources of funding. Some of which comes through businessmen who have been associated with the organization since the era of its empowerment, whilst other sources are in the form of external institutions with a charitable or educational character. The aforementioned resources are used to polish the Movement’s image through biased media outlets and lavishly funded channels, and by adopting a political discourse that presents the Brotherhood as “Protectors of the State,” in an attempt to overcome the heavy legacy of the Salvation (Inqaz) regime.
Moreover, the financial resources are used to support digital campaigns and to cultivate relationships with research centers and political figures abroad, with the aim of creating a counter-narrative that attempts to undermine international and regional efforts to curb the Movement’s influence, according to Al-Sadiq.
He pointed out that ignoring the Muslim Brotherhood’s free rein within the Sudanese landscape poses a threat that transcends the security dimension, as the organization possesses extensive experience in building parallel institutions and relies on an ideological discourse capable of mobilizing broad segments of society, because the presence of ideologically driven military formations with doctrinal loyalty grants the organization an opportunity to consolidate a reality on the ground that allows it, in turn, to influence the future of the State and transforms the war into a platform for reviving the Brotherhood’s project in a more radical form.
Obstructing the Reconstruction Process
Al-Sadiq stated that allowing the organization free rein will effectively pave the path for the return of its transnational financial networks. The latter networks are based on a long history of laundering money and converting it into tools for rebuilding political and security institutions that serve a hardline ideological project. The aforementioned would -naturally- take Sudan back to a phase characterized by the Movement’s hegemony, which served to destroy State institutions and obstruct any path to building a national State based on a social contract. Moreover, said scenario allows a seasoned organization the opportunity to exploit the chaos to reproduce a new version of its empowerment project, but with more flexible and clandestine means.
The (NUP) senior official added that the Islamic Movement employs these tactics, relying on the ongoing war as a means to reshape its presence in the political arena. Allowing it to operate unchecked would open the door to a project that reproduces the old alignments that led to the collapse of the State, to begin with, and would grant an organization with vast organizational experience the opportunity to regain the reins of power.
Al-Sadiq concluded his remarks by noting that to halt this tide, Sudan needs a unified national framework that curbs this activity through rigorous financial oversight, a decisive legal system, and a political vision that prioritizes the protection of the public over the calculations of opportunistic alliances. He reiterated the importance of a regional and international embargo that aims to deprive this organization of its tools for expansion, as its ideology transcends national borders to embrace internationalism, believing that the ends justify the means, whether peaceful or violent.
Exporting The Civil War
For his part, writer and political analyst Mohamed Al-Mukhtar Mohamed stated that the danger posed by the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, compared to other branches of the global organization recently designated as “Terrorist Organizations,” lies in the fact that they are not limited to being a political party, for they’re a State within a -completely hijacked- State. They rely on external funding from countries strategically allied with the Brotherhood, as well as other countries inconsistent in their stance against extremism and terrorism, playing duplicitous roles in the Sudanese crisis.
Mohamed added, in an interview with (Eram News), that the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood has extensive experience in civil wars, having waged them for over three decades, employing the rhetoric of Jihad and Sharia Law in South Sudan, Darfur, the Blue Nile, and South Kordofan. They have managed to export the current civil war, making it a threat to regional security and peace, by exploiting external conflicts to their advantage and drawing some countries into the Sudanese quagmire.
He pointed out that the external funding of the Muslim Brotherhood constitutes the most dangerous aspect, for its channeled through the Port Sudan forces. This funding serves to prolong the conflict and the humanitarian tragedy, undermine international efforts, and comprise the credibility of some countries regarding their commitments to international allies. Furthermore, this funding transforms the Islamic Movement into a transnational cartel that sees the continuation of the war as a paramount economic interest. Simultaneously, it turns Sudan into a hub for Brotherhood groups in countries where they have been designated as “Terrorist Organizations.”
Dismantling Funding Networks
The writer and political analyst went on to explain that there are frequent reports of training camps for extremist groups in Sudan. Therefore, dismantling the networks of regional funding sources is no less important than confronting them politically.
Mohammed concluded his remarks by noting that external support has transformed Port Sudan from an “Administrative Center” into a “Vital Lifeline” for the Brotherhood. Through it, they have managed to rebuild the organization’s financial strength, which was damaged following the revolution. Furthermore, assuming control of a port as important as the Port of Port Sudan has enabled them to export gold and receive logistical support under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Al-Mukhtar Mohamed reiterated that the danger of external funding for the Islamic Movement undermines international efforts to stop the war, and grants it the ability to impose its agenda without needing to compromise in any negotiations, because they have the resources to continue the war for many years to come, in addition to the ability to attract extremist fighters and mercenaries.
