El-Fasher - Travelling to Market Glossary African/Arab A dichotomy between 'Arab' and 'African' identities has recently taken on increasing political relevance and subjective reality, despite being historically and ethnographically spurious in the Sudanese context. The term 'Arab' in Sudan has multiple meanings based loosely on ethnicity, language, perceptions of 'race,' way of life or profession (as Arabs were historically cattle traders the term suggests 'pastoralist,' especially in Darfur usage). 'Black Africans' are sometimes referred to pejoratively as zurqa , from azraq , meaning blue, despite indistinguishable skin colour. Ideological construction of polarized identities has been especially marked in Darfur: an Arab-African dimension was superimposed onto the nomad/sedentary dichotomy that was sharpened by drought, famine and conflict in the 1980s and has been further reinforced by Darfur's continued militarization and the international press coverage of the conflict. Strains of Arab supremicism and the political use of 'Arab' to imply global victimhood have been additional factors in the politicization of Arab identity. The creation of 'Africanism' owes much to the SPLM/A, whose chairman John Garang began to speak of an 'African majority' in Sudan to counter the government's attempts to forge an Islamic state. Ansar Literally 'protectors' or 'followers,' the Ansar are members of a Sudanese Muslim sect loyal to the Mahdist movement of the 1880s, whose current spiritual leader is the Mahdi's great-grandson, Imam as-Sadiq al-Mahdi, also chairman of the Umma Party. Not to be confused with Ansar as-Sunna, 'Followers of the Way,' a Sufi movement with three seats in the National Assembly. Baqqara Literally 'those of the cow.' Describes 'Arabized' African cattle herders, such as the Misseriyya of Southern Kordofan and the Rizeiqat of Southern Darfur. dar 'Country', traditionally denotes only sultanates such as Dar Massaleit and Dar Fur, though more recently used to describe any tribal homeland. janjaweed Literally 'ghostly riders', from jin (spirit) and jawad (horse), the janjaweed are a Darfur-based militia with an Arabist agenda. Since 2003 they have been among the principal actors in the increasingly bloody Darfur conflict. jihad Literally 'struggle,' it includes both the inward spiritual struggle against human desires and the outward struggle against injustice, oppression and the rejection of the truth by non-believers, which leads to 'holy war' only when sanctioned by the legitimate political authority. Khatmiyya A Sudanese Sufi Muslim sect led by Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Chairman Mulana Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani, a descendant of the Prophet Mohamed. The Khatmiyya are traditional rivals of the Ansar, though both groups have seen their membership decline in recent years, in part as a result of splits in their political wings. murahaleen Literally 'people on the move,' from maraheel , the migratory pathways whose obstruction was a cause of the current conflict in Darfur. Originally used to describe Baqqara travelling on horseback to escort herds of cattle, but from 1985 usually refers to a largely Baqqara militia which fought the SPLA in Bahr al-Ghazal. pastoralists People whose main source of livelihood is livestock, with which they move seasonally in search of fresh pasture and water. shari'a Islamic law, which sets out the five pillars of Islam (ritual purification, prayer, fasting, charity and pilgrimage) and the regulation of human interaction. Often refers in Sudan to the restrictive legal code introduced in 1983 by Hassan al-Turabi during the Nimeiri regime. This became an obstacle to peace, with northerners claiming their right to be ruled by shari'a and southerners calling for a secular 'New Sudan.' three areas Three areas (the Nuba Mountains, southern Blue Nile and Abyei) north of the 1956 north-south border but claimed by some as part of the south. The government and SPLM/A dealt them with in negotiations (2003-04) that were initially distinct from the IGAD-mediated talks. tribe Academically controversial but widely used, the term 'tribe' refers to political or administrative ethnically-based units of peoples. It does not have a precise definition; tribal membership is fluid, and 'tribes' can refer to groups numbering a few hundred or millions. The term has been exploited by some to reinforce political allegiances, while others have denounced 'tribalism' as a means to limit cross-tribal political affiliation.
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