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On January 23, 2025, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 479 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue featured an editorial titled: "The Forgotten Sudan," arguing that the warring factions in Sudan are "nonbelievers" backed by "nonbeliever alliances." It calls on Muslims to support their "brethren" in Sudan through jihad, incitement, and financial aid, and urges Sudanese Muslims to take advantage of the ongoing conflict to establish a "nucleus of jihad" and prepare for a "long-lasting jihadi activity."[1]
ISIS Media Focus On The "Forgotten Sudan"
Addressing the global and regional media coverage of events in Muslim lands, showering publicity on one area and not on others, the editorial began by stressing that ISIS media, on the other hand, would continue to shed light on all issues and wounds inflicting the Muslim nation, regardless of races and nationalities, particularly "the bleeding wound of the oppressed brothers in the forgotten Sudan."
According to the piece, Muslims in Sudan have been suffering the most heinous crimes at the hands of the "soldiers of the tyrant [un-Islamic ruler]," in a tragedy that continues to be overlooked: "Muslims in Sudan have been anguished during the past two years by a bitter, Jahili [pre-Islamic] conflict between two domestic, nonbeliever parties vying for power and competing to loot the wealth in a land overflowing with goodness."
It argued that foreign and regional parties that claim to be neutral continue to interfere in Sudan's internal affairs: "Each of the warring parties has foreign associations that support and aid it, and these alliances ultimately conspire to wage war on Muslims, plunder their wealth, and tear apart their countries."
Sudan's Warring Parties Exploited To Secure Foreign Powers "A Slice Of The Sudanese Cake"
The piece went to alert the people of Sudan that the warring parties are "clear enemies of Islam and Muslims," who promote Jahili projects supported by foreign powers. These foreign parties exploit the Sudanese warring parties as "minions" and "proxies" to secure a slice of the Sudanese cake.
The Muslim public should not be deceived by either party, the piece argues, noting that Abdelfattah Al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti are both "enemies of Islam," who must be opposed and distrusted, no matter the outcome of the battle: "The victorious one will still be an enemy of Islam, and no matter how hard he tries to embellish his projects on the ground, these will be a carbon copy of those implemented by their counterparts - the Arab tyrants who fight Islam and Muslims."
Sudan's Warlords Took Measures To Establish A Secular State
Further, the piece argues that militia leader Hemedti, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Al-Burhan, chief of the army that is part of the anti-Muslim "World Order," are tyrants who remain loyal to foreign non-Muslim powers and who would unconditionally combat the rule and provisions of sharia.
"Observers of the series of measures taken by both [men] under the supervision of America and the blessing of the Al-Saud [Saudi rulers], know well that they both strive to establish a secular state that fights sharia and is loyal to the Jews and the Christians."
"The difference between the two parties is like the difference between falsehood and falsehood," the article asserts.
"Supporting Muslims In Sudan Is The Duty Of Every Able Muslim, Just As Is The Case In Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, And Elsewhere"
Additionally, the editorial condemns the negative, indifferent position of most Muslims towards Sudan and the Sudanese people, which, it argues, amounts to timid support at best, such as peaceful demonstrations and media campaigns that quickly fade away with time. The piece notes that failure to support the people of Sudan is a religious imperfection that weakens one's faith.
Citing religious texts on the obligation to relieve Muslims in situations of hardship, the editorial states: "Supporting Muslims in Sudan is the duty of every able Muslim, just as is the case in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, and elsewhere, through jihad and the means to sustain it through incitement and financial contributions."
Call For Muslims To Form Alliances, Reject Man-Made Border
"If the tyrants form alliances among themselves for their own interests and projects, then it is more appropriate for Muslims to form alliances among themselves to support their brothers in this forgotten issue, as it is an issue that concerns all Muslims. Muslims in Sudan are part of the Islamic nation and one of the members of the one body. The rule is that Muslims must not be divided by nationalistic borders or laws of nonbelief."
It praises jihadis for "realizing early on" that the borders between Muslim countries represent the greatest obstacle preventing Muslims from supporting one another: "They [jihadis] sought from the first day to demolish and break them so that the lands of Muslims would return to being one, as they have always been."
Call To Supporters Of Jihad In Sudan: "Work And Strive Assiduously To Exploit Events For The Benefit Of Jihad"
Addressing Muslim youth in general, and the "supporters of jihad" in Sudan, the editorial stresses the need "to work and strive assiduously to exploit events for the benefit of jihad," through recruitment, preparation, and readiness, in order to establish a nucleus of jihad that confronts imminent dangers and establishes a long-lasting jihad.
The Al-Naba,' piece, "O Muslims in Sudan and elsewhere, the solution is to return to Allah the Almighty and follow His command, and to achieve loyalty to all believers and disavowal of all nonbelievers, and to declare jihad on the path of the Prophet's method to establish the rule of sharia and defeat the soldiers of the tyrants."
