KHARTOUM -

The "Sudanese People's Call for National Accord" initiative found an explicit blessing from the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, who said, "We support every endeavor whose owner wants to bring the people of Sudan together and will find support and support from us until we leave the country to safety," stressing that the authority The ruler can do nothing on their own.

Al-Burhan spoke yesterday, Saturday, in front of a crowd of worshipers in the Wad Abu Salih area, east of Khartoum, saying, "We accepted the initiative of the well-known cleric, Caliph Sheikh Al-Tayyib Sheikh Grandfather Wad Badr", to get out of the current crisis, as he is one of the trusted and respected personalities.

Who is the good grandfather?

The grandfather’s initiative represents one of the latest moves aimed at ending the complex situation in Sudan, which exacerbated after the actions of the army chief on October 25, when he overthrew the civilian government and decided to freeze the provisions of the constitutional document related to the partnership with the Freedom and Change Coalition that was ruling.

According to the biography of the owner of the initiative, he is Sheikh Al-Tayyib, the grandfather and Dr. Badr.

He studied Sharia at Gordon College in 1955 and graduated in 1959. In the same year, he was appointed to the judicial corps and then graduated until he became a judge in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, he was assigned to work in the State of Qatar for 5 years since 1992, and after his return he continued his work as a judge in the Supreme Court until retirement age.

In 1998, a decision was issued to form the Islamic Fiqh Academy, and he was appointed as a member responsible for the Sharia Fatwa Department.

When Caliph Othman Omar Badr died in August 2002, the caliphate passed to the sons of Sheikh Al-Tayyib Badr, and the Wad Badr family unanimously chose Al-Tayyib, the grandfather, as the successor to Sheikh Muhammad Badr.

Al-Tayeb Al-Jedd demonstrated an anti-normalization stance with Israel after the Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan met with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Kampala in early 2020, and pledged to resist the move.

He was also a strong opponent of changing the curriculum during the first period of the transitional government.

However, criticism has been chasing him for his silence regarding the intense wave of violence against peaceful protesters over the past months.

Al-Tayyib Al-Jedda initiative seeks to gather representatives of all the people of Sudan without excluding any party and away from any foreign interference (Al-Jazeera)

Freedom and change are reserved

The movements of Al-Tayyib, the grandfather marked with moderation and wisdom, began since last March, launching - with a number of Sufi sheikhs - the "Call of the People of Sudan" initiative, which was welcomed by a number of social, political and youth forces, with the exception of the "Freedom and Change - Central Council" parties.

The grandfather’s initiative is based on the call for a round table during next August, at which representatives of all the people of Sudan will meet without isolating any party and away from any foreign interference, in order to agree on a vision to manage the remainder of the transitional period through a government of independent, non-partisan national competencies focused on Living matters, security, the extension of law and justice, leading to elections in which the people choose their leadership.

The initiative also shows its support for the armed forces in its defense of the country, and says that keeping it strong and supported by its people should not be a matter of controversy or outbidding.

According to a reliable source in the Freedom and Change Alliance, the coalition has not yet received an invitation for this meeting, but it is likely not to participate in it if the invitation arrives, with the possibility of sitting with the owners of the initiative and communicating the organization’s vision that rejects civil-civil dialogue, given that the crisis is primarily between the military and civilians, This requires working to resolve it with the main parties, away from the bifurcation of issues.

The source told Al Jazeera Net, that the initiative of Al-Tayyib Al-Jedda included all the parties that participated in the Bashir regime, "and its owners - that is, the initiative - did not appreciate that large sectors of the Sudanese expelled and overthrew this group and do not want to see their leaders waving the keys to a solution that they have nothing from."

As he put it.

Some criticize El-Tayeb, Grandfather Badr, for not interfering to stop the violence against the demonstrations demanding civilian rule in Sudan (Anatolia)

Determine the goal of the dialogue

On July 4, Al-Burhan announced the withdrawal of the armed forces from the political negotiations to allow the civilian components to agree on a new government and complete the formation of the structures of the transitional period.

However, this step found opposition from other forces, who say that it is necessary to sit down with the military component to discuss how to end the "coup" and agree on the tasks of the military institutions during the remaining time of the transitional period.

The leader of Freedom and Change, Noureddine Salah El-Din, says that their coalition does not reject initiatives, but that a goal should be set for dialogue.

He added, "Our goal is to end the coup, which will not be achieved in light of dialogue with political parties that support the military."

Salah El-Din added to Al-Jazeera Net, "If we want to search for a political solution, we must address the actors and put pressure on the coup authority to leave, then all the differences between the political forces about governance and the tasks of the transitional period and other issues can be addressed."


Create the largest supportive mass for dialogue

A member of the "Ahl al-Sudan's Call" initiative, Hisham al-Shawani, explains that the new initiative brings together various Sudanese sects, including Sufi orders, political parties, civil administrations, and modern sectors, including professionals and intellectuals, after everyone senses the dangers and threats facing the country.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Shawani believes that it is impossible to achieve 100% consensus on the initiative, which means - according to him - that the reservations of the Freedom and Change Coalition remain understandable in this context.

However, he clarifies that the initiative aims to create the largest supportive bloc for dialogue and national accord so that its opinion will prevail and represent the incubator or the social base that supports a form of politics based on consensus and dialogue, and aims to translate this consensus into practice by achieving a “minimum agreement” on managing the transitional phase, and forming An independent, non-partisan government that represents the Sudanese and does not take sides, and prepares the atmosphere for the elections.

Al-Shawani believes that the value of the initiative stems from the fact that it “presents the right idea at the right time,” given that national reconciliation has been required and calls for it have increased since the change that occurred in April 2019 when the Bashir regime was overthrown.

But extremist and exclusionary trends - he says - felt that they were the only ones capable of getting Sudan out of its predicament, so that the result would be more tension in the country.

The initiative operates through 14 departments that have been divided to communicate with all sectors of society, and it is currently conducting contacts with the widest base to be part of the expected dialogue table, after which the participants will be identified.

According to Al-Shawani, no definitive date has been set for holding the round table, but he expected it to start during the first half of next August.