A theology of modernity: Hasan al-Turabi and Islamic renewal in Sudan

Biographers of Hasan al-Turabi, the leader of the Islamic revival in Sudan, are inclined to see his "fundamentalism" as an expression of the religious traditions of the al-Turabis, a lineage of sufis, Mahdis, jurists, and cle rics that came into existence in the seventeenth century This View obscures the politics of a shrewd thinker with a great ability to respond to and ef fect change. This article examines al-Turabis religious ideas as a "theolog y of modernity" which includes a lucid interrogation of tradition and moder nity. Al-Turabi focuses on the concept of ibtila, the challenges posed by G od to test Muslims' faith, in constructing a mode of worship worthy of a ti me of dramatic technological innovations, human mobility, and interconnecte dness. In fashioning a theology which applies long-standing religious tradi tions to the challenges of the modern world, al-Turabi disputes claims of t he incompatibility of these two realms.