Lutfï al-Sayyid reframed Egyptian-Sudanese unity on secular history rather than Islam

Evidence

These were new concepts in the development of Egyptian nationalist thought and the issue of the Sudan. Lutfï al-Sayyid’s vision elevated the Sudanese from the stereotypical wild fanatics or sorcerers to cocitizens. He defied the traditional Egyptian belief in the backwardness of Sudanese Islam by not linking Egyptians and Sudanese under the rubric of Islam or the leadership of the Ottoman amir al-Mu´minïn. A more conscious awareness of history and the path of politics united the Egyptians and the Sudan, and Lutfï al-Sayyid asked both to recreate mentally their sense of community and their place in the world. — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 773

Categorization

• XREF: Fits the reader’s comparative Egypt-vs-Sudan colonial framework; also connects to readings on nationalist ideology formation.