Abdel Khaliq Mahjub

Abdel Khaliq Mahjub (Arabic: عبد الخالق محجوب‎) (23 September 1927 – 28 July 1971) was a Sudanese politician.

Mahjub was born in Omdurman. He was the Secretary General of the Sudanese Communist Party till his death by execution in Khartum during the Gaafar Nimeiry regime. Following his execution Muhammad Ibrahim Nugud became the leader of the party.

Views

Mahjub's was quite influential in international communist forums. A number of his writings focused on the idea of finding a more Nationalist formula for Marxism in Sudan, rather than the literal application of the experience of Soviet or Chinese. These writings helped exacerbate the Soviet-Sino split. He also rejected subordination to the Soviet Communist Party, and in contrast to a large number of other communist parties supported freedom of religion instead of State atheism. Mahjub opposed the 1969 coup by Jaafar Nimeiri as he saw it as incompatible with the principle of democracy, which was advocated by the party, but he could not get the approval of a majority of secretaries of the CPC Central which was required to condemn the coup. The SCP later went on to participate in the new government.

1971 coup attempt

Mahjub opposed the coup 1971 coup attempt led by Hashem Atta on 19 July 1971. Atta was able to seize power for a period of just three days before Nimeiry regained power. Nimeiry accused the SCP of masterminding the coup due to the involvement of a number of the military officers in the communist party. Nimeiry subsequently ordered the execution of a large number of SCP party leaders.

Mahjub initially refused to flee the country, despite an offer of sanctuary from the East Germany Embassy, stating that his basic duty was to spread awareness among the masses and the establishment of democracy in Sudan, neither of which he'd be able to achieve from exile. After hiding for four days Mahjub turned himself in as an effort to stop the executions of communists. Following a trial Mahjub was sentenced to execution.

Execution

Mahjub was executed on the early hours of the morning of Wednesday 28 July 1971 by hanging at Kober prison. His death was greeted with shock from a large number of Arab poets and Sudanese also formed executed a great shock to the movement of Marxism Arab and Sudanese no longer Sudanese Communist Party of the former influence never after his execution with most leaders Party.

Writings

• New Horizons (1956)
• Defense before Military Courts (1966)
• Rectifying the Wrongs in Working amongst the Masses: Report Presented to the Central Committee of the Sudanese Communist Party (1963)
• Socialist Schools in Africa (1966)
• Marxism and the Quandaries of the Sudanese Revolution (1967)
• Marxism and Linguistics (n.d.)
• Literature in the Age of Science (1967)
• On the Program (1971)

Further reading

• Abusharaf, Rogaia Mustafa. (2009, Summer). Marx in the Vernacular: Abdel Khaliq Mahgoub and the Riddles of Localizing Leftist Politics in Sudanese Philosophies of Liberation. South Atlantic Quarterly, 108:3, 483–500.