Word: mahdy
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Believers revived the term in modern times as Muslim areas fell under Western control or influence. One of the first to do so was Muhammad Ahmad, the 19th century Mahdi who raised an Islamic insurgency against British colonialism in the Sudan in the 1880s. The Ottoman Turks declared jihad against Britain during World War I. Calls to holy war took on new urgency, and new meaning, with the creation of Israel in 1948. Since then the term has been used -- and abused -- to justify at least three regional wars plus terrorism and murder, not only against infidels but also toward...
Prospects for the new government in Mogadishu seemed bleak. The coalition of rebels, which represents three Somali clans that have feuded for centuries, named hotel owner Ali Mahdi Mohammed, 52, interim President until elections could be held. But Mahdi's party, the United Somali Congress, grew angry at his appointment by a clique of elders and attacked the action as "hasty" and "unnatural." The tenuous troika could swiftly come unglued...
...asked the government of Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi to arrest Rashid. "The Sudanese position was that they were providing hospitality," says a knowledgeable former official. "As long as Rashid didn't do anything against them, they didn't want to get involved." That led to a debate in Washington: Should the FBI kidnap Rashid on Sudanese soil? Officials decided instead to keep a close eye on the Palestinian bomber and hope he traveled to a country where he could be arrested. In early May 1988, the CIA learned that he was planning to go to Greece...
...restlessness of the military became public last February when the army issued an ultimatum to el Mahdi: Seek peace with the rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, or resign. In response, the Prime Minister formed a new coalition government and made overtures to the SPLA. A cease-fire followed, but the two sides failed to reach agreement...
...reason for the impasse was el Mahdi's refusal to lift the state of emergency imposed after the ouster of President Gaafar Nimeiri in 1985. El Mahdi also ignored demands by the predominantly Christian rebels for nullification of the Shari'a, the Islamic law that imposes harsh penalties like amputation and stoning for even minor crimes. Army officers were further angered by el Mahdi's mismanagement of Sudan's economic crisis, which has saddled Sudan with a $13 billion foreign debt...