“In June 1989, at the same time that the jihad was ending in Afghanistan, Islamists staged a coup d’etat against the civilian, democratic government of Sudan. The leader of the coup was Brigadier General Omar Hasan al-Bashir, but the prime mover was Hasan al-Turabi, one of Africa’s most complex, original, charismatic, and devious characters. Like bin Laden and [militant Islamist Ayman] al-Zawahiri, Turabi attributed the failures of the Arab world to the fact that its governments were insufficiently Islamic and too dependent on the West. But unlike those other men, Turabi was a Quranic scholar who was well-acquainted with Europe and the United States.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, Page 186