Sudan, 1995: Hassan al-Turabi brags about Islamist-ruled Sudan

Hassan al-Turabi was the leader of the National Islamic Front (Sudan's Islamist party that lost the 1986 parliamentary elections by coming third against the traditionally top parties) and the mastermind of the June 30, 1989 coup that finally brought him to power. He was effectively the president of Sudan, as Omar al-Bashir was the president in name only - he did not fulfill any presidential obligations besides meeting with a few foreign delegations. Hassan al-Turabi would go abroad and deliver lectures, meet with foreign presidents and represent Sudan - and he was not elected or appointed to any office!

Omar al-Bashir's sin was silence: he let the officers in the coup's Command Council do what they want, and he let the beardos rob people of their land and wealth, and mastermind the Public Order Law and Penal Code in 1991, that made this country go through hell. Omar al-Bashir did not say anything to any of the monsters under his rule, in fact, any decision he tried to enforce was shot down by security forces or subordinate officers!

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Here he is, 1995, bragging about the Republic of Sudan, on a conference in Qatar. This is a man overcome with hubris and megalomania, and yes, he was demented back then as he is now.

TRANSLATION:

[...] "Now, everything in Sudan goes back to religion. The military has begun to get back to jihad. All of its dhikr (remembrances) are religious, the (Military) College is all...prayers! It doesn't appear to be (that of) the first row [laughing] but the row is not the row of the dawn prayer, of course not! [laughing]...and not...not with the whistle-call to the first row, but with compliance to the first row, then after that you can leave. 

Also, the police force has entered what is called the People's Defence (Force)...this is the gateway to religion actually. And all of the professions! It is now that a judge and a diplomat and like that...he goes to the People's Defense (Force) and prayers and militarizes [inaudible] in Allah...and now it has become that jihad and martyrdom is a part of your life. 

And a minister among us today...I mean...could be charged with and burdened with a very big task that he must dispose himself to, but instead he prefers to go and enters jihad and goes...just a soldier....just a soldier!...and dies a martyr." [...] END.

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Here's a BBC interview done in the same year (English):

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Hassan al-Turabi achieved his own personal goals, but what about the pressing issues that needed to be done? Surely he failed there. There was runaway inflation, starvation, civil war and dire poverty. Was it all worth it? 

He was, nonetheless, a genius who spent 3 decades trying to reach power, and wrote dozens of books and pamphlets that testify to his intellectual capacity; and there is a fine line between genius and insanity.