Sudan is blessed with a wealth of gold, oil, and other natural resources. It also enjoys one of the most strategic locations in the world. All this has long attracted the attention of many regional and international powers, vying for dominance and control over Sudan’s abundant riches.
Despite its huge wealth and potential, the people of Sudan are suffering from widescale poverty and facing extreme afflictions due to the ongoing conflict.
This video highlights the immense geopolitical importance of Sudan and how this has been squandered under current and past regimes and systems, and why an independent Islamic leadership is needed to utilise Sudan’s potential to create prosperity in the land of benefit to all its people.
It is part of a global campaign launched by the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir entitled, "Sudan's War: A Story of Colonialism, Betrayal & Deception" that aims to bring an international spotlight on the deteriorating humanitarian catastrophe afflicting the Muslims of Sudan as a result of the current conflict plaguing the country which has been labelled the "Forgotten War".
Follow the Campaign at: Facebook: Ht-cmo-ws Instagram: WomenShariah5 X: @WSCMOHT1924
00:00Sudan's important geographical position along the Red Sea,
00:25its access to the Nile River and its rich gold reserves and natural resources have long attracted the attention of foreign powers.
00:35Following the toppling of the brutal dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir in 2019,
00:42various regional and international powers have been trying to capitalize on the transition of power and view for control over Sudan's strategic importance and mineral wealth.
00:54Sudan is located in the northeast of the African continent, which is the strategic heart of Africa and the Middle East, a critical geographical position.
01:07Before the referendum that separated Sudan into two parts in 2011, Sudan was the third largest country in Africa and the 16th largest in the world.
01:19The country is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea to the east, Ethiopia to the southeast,
01:32Central Africa to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest.
01:39Sudan, including South Sudan, is also a country through which the legendary Nile flows, which is the longest river in the world.
01:49It is a site where the white and the blue Nile River merge to form the main Nile and is home to more than 60% of the Nile River basin.
02:00The country is therefore blessed with an abundance of fertile agricultural land.
02:06The country is also filled with abundant natural resources such as gold, petroleum, natural gas, uranium, chromite and iron ore as well as cobalt, copper, tin, silver, uranium, zinc and many other minerals.
02:28Before the secession of South Sudan in 2011, Sudan was a significant producer of oil with the petroleum industry accounting for nearly 60% of the government's revenue.
02:42Sudan and South Sudan collectively held an estimated 5 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves at the beginning of 2024
02:53and South Sudan has the fifth largest proven oil reserve in Africa.
02:59Sudan is also a significant producer of gold in the world.
03:06The World Gold Council reported that in 2023, Sudan ranked as the 16th largest gold producer worldwide.
03:15It comes fourth in gold production in Africa after Ghana, Mali and South Africa.
03:21Even after the loss of oil-rich South Sudan, Sudan retained substantial gold deposits which have become a central component of its extractive economy
03:34and an important prize for regional and international players supporting various sides of the current conflict.
03:44Asides its rich resources, Sudan is also of great geopolitical importance.
03:51The Red Sea, for example, which Sudan borders, is a major international trade route connecting Asia and Europe.
03:58An estimated 12-15% of global maritime trade worth over 1 trillion passes through the Red Sea each year.
04:09It is therefore a vital maritime trade pathway for the US and Europe.
04:14It is not surprising, therefore, that the Economist has described Sudan as a chaos machine with regional shockwaves.
04:24Simply put, if Sudan is in chaos, the shockwaves will ripple across the region and internationally,
04:31given Sudan's strategic position at the heart of Africa and the Middle East.
04:37In April 2023, fighting erupted between the Sudan Armed Forces, SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces, RSF,
04:53headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hametti,
04:58Displacing millions, plunging the country into acute food insecurity, and destroying vital health and education services.
05:08In the aftermath of dictator Omar al-Bashir's overthrow in 2019,
05:15these two generals at war have strategically used the valuable assets in Sudan to build alliances.
05:21They have forged connections with regional and global powers who have vested interest in the outcome of their struggle for military and political dominance in Sudan.
05:33These foreign powers have backed various military and political groups within the state over another
05:41through providing funds, arms, or even fighters to gain control over the wealth and influence over the country.
05:51Sudan, therefore, has a complex and important geopolitical dynamics
05:58at local, regional, and global levels due to its strategic position and natural resources.
06:05However, in the Islamic paradigm, geopolitical power does not rely on natural wealth and geostrategic location
06:14but also relies on the strengths of authentic leadership as well as a system for life based on guidance from divine revelation
06:23and an Islamic ideological vision of how to govern the land, solve the problems of the people,
06:31and form relationships with other states based upon the interest of the deen and the ummah to establish Islam in authority in the world.
06:41What has happened in Sudan is an important lesson that demonstrates how shallow, yet tyrannical, greedy leadership,
06:50alongside the absence of a genuine Islamic system,
06:54is a source of disaster that makes the Sudanese people like fodder to be fought over by the enemies of Islam.
07:01It is a reminder of the Prophet ﷺ.
07:06Soon the nations will call one another to attack you, as diners call one another to a dish.
07:14Someone asked,
07:16Will it be because we are few in numbers on that day?
07:20He ﷺ said,
07:23No, rather you will be many on that day,
07:26but you will be like the scum, the dirt, and refuse on the surface of flood water.
07:33Allah will take away your fear from the hearts of your enemies,
07:38and Allah will fill your hearts with wahan, weakness.
07:41One of the companions asked,
07:45What is this wahan, O Messenger of Allah?
07:49He ﷺ replied,
07:52Love of this world and dislike for death.
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