The winding year saw the rise of figures and phenomena that promise to be of crucial importance this year. Al-Ahram Weekly keeps track of a changing vista Sheikh is undoubtedly one of the most consequential Sudanese thinkers of our times. Through 2005 Al-Turabi's views attracted much attention and they are likely to do so even more in 2006. He had already issued controversial statements by the beginning of the year. On the 50th anniversary celebrations of Sudan's independence from Britain, he said that as long as there are foreign troops on Sudanese soil, the country, to all intents and purposes, remains a colony. He also said that the Islamist experiment in Sudan was a failure. Al-Turabi, having fallen out with Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, says that the main weakness of the National Islamic Front (NIF) was that it did not highlight democracy as an essential element of Islam and Islamic governance. Yes, serious mistakes were made in the past, Al-Turabi now concedes. But to assume, as Turabi-bashers implicitly do, that he and the party he leads are purposeless would amount to self-delusion. Al-Turabi, who was the chief ideologue of the NIF that ruled the country with an iron fist from 1989 until the party split in two, is a fast proponent of democracy. He says Islam and democracy are perfectly compatible and invokes success of the early Muslim community during the days of the Prophet Mohamed in instituting social justice and freedom of expression when talking about his vision for the future of Sudan. Today, as leader of Sudan's opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP), Al-Turabi appears to be totally on the button. He speaks out against the Sudanese government and he is coordinating activities with other opposition parties. Sudan, and not just southern Sudan, is feeling real heartache after the death of Garang. Are things really about to turn for Al-Turabi after six years in the political wilderness? Maybe. He seems determined to change the course of his country's future. At 73, he is as healthy and outspoken as ever. The sprightly septuagenarian was set free on Thursday 30 June 2005 and his largely militant PCP received authorisation to resume its activities and re-open its Khartoum headquarters. Soon after his release, Al-Turabi held a rally in Midan Al-Mouled in the Sudanese capital. He stressed that no political group, including his own, should be left out of the political equation. He claimed that his party is the most popular in Sudan today. And his boast pins him down precisely as someone without qualms at all, just a gut sense for a good political move. Whatever else you may say about him, Al-Turabi looks set to make political waves in 2006. By Gamal Nkrumah
