History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day

detailed book , the author being lived in the Sudan , gave his views , vision and analysis that reflected thr real life and facts .

Noted scholar, P.M. Holt has written a fine history of this region touching on all of the salient points in the development of Islam and its' metamorphosis throughout the 19th century. In particular, he shows how the force of Islam directly affected the Western Powers in Egypt and Sudan from the mid 19th century to the end of that millennium. In my new book, JIHAD: The Mahdi Rebellion in the Sudan (2003) I break down these historical forces and try to show how Islamic Radicalism is not a new force but a historical and cyclical one. We are, in my opinion, in the radical phase of Islamic history. Fundamentalism has reared its' head in many other Moslem nations today in answer to perceived Western intrusion into the sovereign affairs of these countries. Then too, there is the matter of economics- that is- oil! Whereas, the 19th century witnessed the building and opening of the Suez Canal for the purpose of commerce, the 21st has become the "Age of Energy." The Old Imperialism of the 19th century has given rise to a New Imperialism based on the economics of fossil fuels- most of it lying in Moslem lands. Sudan became a threat to Britain's ambitions in the region in the late 19th century when Fundamentalism among its' people fueled a vast uprising in the 1880's. Professor Holt writes of the entire picture while I try to encapsulate only those factors that impact on the United States today in the War on Terror. I found the book, A HISTORY OF THE SUDAN: FROM THE COMING OF ISLAM TO THE PRESENT DAY a good read but felt that he could have focused more on the factors within Islam that impact the West and the U.S. today in term of stopping terrorism.