Egyptian satirist Sanü`a framed the Mahdï’s victory as a divine miracle from humble origins

Evidence

Who would have thought that al-Sayyid Ahmad Muhammad [sic], a poor man from Dongola, would achieve the rescue of the Sudan from the clutches [bi thamamihi min aydï al-zhulma] of oppression, in spite of the British tyrants defeating armies and scattering populations. Who would have imagined him resisting, with his little dagger, the powerful cannon; cutting down with his knife British stallions with all their excellent weapons and their military training? Yes, this is the work of God, who supports His will with victory. God saw a violation of his will; the result is the miracle of worship. Isn’t God He who created the rifts between Russia and England while the British prepared their troops, and made them come here to oppose the black leader of the blacks [qa´id aliswid al-sud], who claimed he was not of this humble world, and who then defeated someone like Gordon, in Khartoum? — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 476

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on how colonized peoples mythologized and sacralized anti-colonial resistance leaders.