Racism in Sudan

Racism in Sudan is a complex matter due to the racial mixture of various populations. Sudanese Arabs are among the 600 ethnic groups who live there, and there are elements within Sudanese society that view black people and blackness with disfavor.[1][2] Sudan is dominated by an Arab elite, while black Africans often face oppression and marginalization.[3] Sudan has been in the Arab League since 1956. Skin whitening is relatively common among some Sudanese.[4]

Skin color is not the sole determining factor in distinction between Sudanese Arabs and Sudanese Africans. The extent that a person has Arab ancestry, speaking the Arabic language, and practicing Islam can be associated with being "Arab" and "non-black" and can determine social status. Sudanese conceptions of race differ from conceptions of race in the Western world. Many dark-skinned Sudanese, such as former president Omar al-Bashir, would be considered "black" in a country such as the United States but are considered "non-black" within Sudan.[5]

According to a CBS news article published in 1999, slaves have been sold for US$50 apiece.[6] In September, 2000, the U.S. State Department alleged that "the Sudanese government's support of slavery and its continued military action which has resulted in numerous deaths are due in part to the victims' religious beliefs."[7] Jok Madut Jok, professor of History at Loyola Marymount University, states that the abduction of women and children of the south by north is slavery by any definition. The government of Sudan insists that the whole matter is no more than the traditional tribal feuding over resources.[8]

During the Second Sudanese Civil War people were taken into slavery; estimates of abductions range from 14,000 to 200,000. Abduction of Dinka women and children was common.[9]

The Darfur conflict has been described by some as a racial matter. Unlike the Southern Sudanese the Fur people are primarily Muslims so the conflict has been argued to be more ethnic rather than religious, although debates about water and land usage were also a factor.[10]

Beginning in 1991 elders of the Zaghawa people of Sudan complained that they were victims of an intensifying Arab apartheid campaign.[11] Vukoni Lupa Lasaga has accused the Sudanese government of "deftly manipulat(ing) Arab solidarity" to carry out policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs in Darfur.[12] Alan Dershowitz has pointed to the extremely prevalent elite-sponsored colorism in Sudan as an example of a government that deserves the appellation "apartheid,"[13] and former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler has also criticized Sudan in similar terms.[14]

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ War of Visions by Francis M. Deng
2. ^ Providence Journal Op-ed
3. ^ Salih, Zeinab Mohammed (25 July 2020). "Viewpoint from Sudan - where black people are called slaves". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
4. ^ SudanTribune (2006-06-26). "Detention; Torture; Targeting of Civilians and Harassment in Darfur". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
5. ^ "The Role of Race and Arabness in Sudan 1899-Present". ArcGIS StoryMaps. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
6. ^ Curse Of Slavery Haunts Sudan CBS News. January 25, 1998
7. ^ U.S. State Department report says 'religious intolerance remains far too common' around world. September 6, 2000 Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine CNN US News
8. ^ Jok Madut Jok (2001), p.3
9. ^ "Slavery, Abduction and Forced Servitude in Sudan". US Department of State. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
10. ^ "Racism at root of Sudan's Darfur crisis". The Christian Science Monitor. 2004-07-14. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.
11. ^ Hilde F. Johnson, Waging Peace in Sudan: The Inside Story of the Negotiations That Ended, Trans Pacific Press, 2011, p. 38.
12. ^ Vukoni Lupa Lasaga [1] Archived 2014-09-01 at the Wayback Machine "The slow, violent death of apartheid in Sudan," 19 September 2006, Norwegian Council for Africa.
13. ^ Alan Dershowitz, The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace, John Wiley and Sons, 2009, p. 24.
14. ^ Hubert Bauch [2] "Ex-minister speaks out against Sudan's al-Bashir" Montreal Gazette, march 6, 2009.

## See also

[edit]

* Arab slave trade
* Slavery in Sudan
* The Black Book: Imbalance of Power and Wealth in the Sudan

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