The True Guardians Of Sudanese Memory

The True Guardians of Sudanese Memory

PortSudan: (Sudanow )_ Today, Sudanow magazine is pleased to meet with one of Sudan's towering figures, as lofty as the Taka Mountains, as authentic as the Meroe civilization, whose academic output flows like the waters of the Nile across Sudan, and whose scientific perspective is as firmly rooted as Jebel Marra.
He is the historian, short story writer, and author, Dr. Al-Bashir Ahmed Muhyi El-Din, son of a city that carried the burden of education and knowledge throughout Sudan: Al-Duweim city in White Nile State.
Our guest today is a member of the Union of Arab Historians in Baghdad and the Secretariat of Sudanese Genealogists. He has also served as a member of the Sudanese Writers' Union, the Writers and Literary Association, and the Story and Narrative Club. He is currently a member of the "Arabica Arabic Encyclopedia" in Qatar, in addition to his membership in several cultural associations and unions.
Dr. Bashir is distinguished by a different approach to writing history; he focuses on popular narratives and relies on social and environmental transformations and their effects on conflicts and integration.
Our guest was born in 1975. He completed his three educational stages (primary, intermediate, and secondary school) at Bakht Al-Rida Institute of Education schools in Al-Duweim. He then joined Al-Neelain University – Faculty of Commerce – Political Science Department. He earned his Master's degree from the College of Postgraduate Studies at the same university. He then worked as a journalist for several newspapers, joined the maritime lines, and also served as a referee for scientific journals. He earned his Doctorate degree from the Higher Academy for Strategic and Security Studies with a thesis titled: "The Conflict of Grand Strategies in the Middle East and its Impact on Sudan."
After this brief introduction, we began our dialogue with him with the question:
It is often said that Sudanese people constitute an oral society whose memory is preserved in the minds of elders. How do you evaluate this classification?
First, I do not agree with this claim, and it is not wise to generalize it. Saying that Sudanese society is only oral is an unfair statement. There is good documentation, but the main crisis lies in publication; it has conditions, and its acceptance and costs are high, especially in this era.
In the past, the first attempts at printing and documentation were through the "Stone Press" which the Mahdist State seized from the Khedivial rule (1820-1885). Several books were immediately printed with it, including: Majalis Al-Mahdi, Sa'adat Al-Mustahdi bi Sirat Al-Imam Al-Mahdi, Al-Tiraz Al-Manqoush bi Bushra Qatl Youhanna Malak Al-Haboush by Ismail Abdul Qadir Al-Kordofani, Nasihat Al-Awwam, Ratib Al-Mahdi, and others. While other works dating from the Funj period to the Mahdist period were burned or withheld due to the Mahdist exclusionary tendency.
As for the period of direct British rule (1898-1956), the publication process was restricted, and printing was limited to religious publications and newspapers. Despite the emergence of printing presses, publishing did not develop until after 1945, following World War II, when a greater margin of freedom was allowed, and printing presses began to print intellectual and cultural books.
After independence, the cultural and intellectual movement began to recover, and the reading rate increased, but many works remained preserved in manuscripts, such as most of Muhammad Abd al-Rahim's books, the book Taj al-Zaman in History and Genealogies, the Geography of Sudan, and the works of Abdal-Qadir Dawra, Siddiq Hadra, and others.
Unfortunately, the state does not pay attention to the publishing movement, so few works appear, mostly by well-known names, because publishing houses are concerned with financial viability, and thus the Sudanese reader relies on imported books.
-Are there challenges that hinder the documentation and writing of Sudan's history?
Historical documentation and verification depend on three pillars: the author, the publisher, and the reader.
From the author's side, there are many challenges, the most important are: lack of dedication, low financial returns, difficulty in obtaining and classifying information, and then formulating it in an understandable and engaging language.
As for publishing houses, most of them are commercial, printing costs are high, and they usually only publish for well-known names, which forces new writers to pay large sums, negatively affecting intellectual production.
As for readers, there is a great interest from them despite the economic conditions, and even clear appreciation for writers, especially through social media, which in turn has contributed to expanding publication, exchanging opinions, and measuring reactions.

Some say that our history is falsified because most of those who wrote about Sudan were foreigners with vested interests. What is your opinion?
-This is a false generalization. It is true that some historical schools – British and Egyptian – presented erroneous interpretations of some events, and a proficient reader can observe this, but it confuses the average reader.
For example: The Battle of Shaykan,
English historians believe that the failure of the campaign was due to poor Khedivial management and Sudanese treachery, while Egyptians believe that the British wanted to arm the Mahdi to secede from Egypt and then return to occupy Sudan alone.
Undoubtedly, the writings of foreigners – travelers, missionaries, traders, and administrators – carried interests and contradicted the values, customs, and religion in Sudan, and therefore they described our country as backward, strange, and reactionary, and this characterizes most of their works.

What is the role of historians in addressing this distortion?
-There are valuable contributions from Sudanese historians, but they have not covered all periods of our history, hence the emergence of the terms "the unspoken" and "the knowledge gap. "There are still unknown periods that need research. Daily concerns, lack of funding, and weak official attention are all challenges that hinder the work of historians.

What are your most prominent contributions to addressing historical distortions?
- I have succeeded in correcting a number of misconceptions, such as: changing the description of "Turkish-Egyptian rule" to "Khedivial rule," which is the more accurate description because Egypt was under British occupation since 1882, and therefore the Turks had no real authority over Sudan at that time. Likewise, I corrected the term "Condominium rule" to "Direct British Rule," as British influence was absolute, and Egyptians had only symbolic representation.
I also published a large number of scientific papers inside and outside Sudan, especially those dealing with geopolitical transformations, cultural influences on history, and the social role of popular narratives. I made sure to rely on local documents and manuscripts, and narratives preserved in traditional communities, and link them to the environmental, social, and political changes that Sudan witnessed during different periods.

How do you evaluate the interest of new generations in Sudanese history? Do you have recommendations to enhance this interest?
-There is increasing interest among young people in their country's history, but it is a non-institutional interest, meaning it often comes from individual initiatives and does not receive support from curricula or the state.
Educational programs do not give national history enough attention, and they are mostly characterized by a boring memorization approach, without linking it to reality or presenting it in an engaging spirit. Also, inspiring historical figures are absent from media and cultural platforms.
I recommend that history should be taught with a narrative approach and integrated with literature, theater, and drama. We need documentary works, interactive museums, and digital libraries that re-present our past in a way that suits contemporary tools.

Are there any projects you are currently working on?
-Yes, I am currently working on publishing a mini-encyclopedia of influential Sudanese figures in the 19th and 20th centuries, which includes biographies of scholars, thinkers, freedom fighters, and administrators whose contributions were crucial in building Sudanese identity. I am also working on a documentary book that deals with the evolution of popular narratives in the White Nile region and links them to major political transformations, in addition to my regular contributions to the "Arabica" Arabic Encyclopedia.

A final word you would like to address to readers, especially young people?
- I advise young people not to be content with official or popular narratives only, but to seek the truth through comparison and scrutiny.
History is not just old events; it is the key to the future, and a nation cannot be built without a living memory.
I tell them: Read your history to know who you are, and participate in writing it so that others do not write it for you.

In conclusion thus, throughout this rich dialogue, Dr. Al-Bashir Ahmed Muhyi El-Din appeared to us not merely as a historian, but as the owner of an intellectual project that seeks to re-read Sudanese history and present it in a scientific language and a national spirit.
In a time when forgetfulness threatens the memory of people, it seems that individuals like Dr. Al-Bashir are the true guardians of Sudanese memory.

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