The National Umma Party (; ) is an

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. It was formerly led by

Sadiq al-Mahdi Sadiq al-Mahdi (; 25 December 1935 – 26 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Um ...

, who served twice as

Prime Minister of Sudan This article lists the heads of government of Sudan, from the establishment of the office of Chief Minister in 1952 until the present day. The office of prime minister was abolished after the 1989 coup d'état, and reestablished in 2017 as ...

, and was removed once by inter party conflict and once by a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. , Mohamed Abdallah Al-Douma was the acting Chair of the party, and al-Mahdi's daughter, Mariam al-Mahdi, was one of the three vice-chairs.

History

Foundation

In August 1944, Sayyid

Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Sir Sayyid Abdul Rahman al-Mahdi, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE (; June 1885 – 24 March 1959) was a Sudanese politician and prominent religious leader. He was one of the leading religious and political figures duri ...

, leader of the Ansar, met with senior Congress members and tribal leaders to discuss the formation of a pro-independence political party that was not associated with

Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...

sm. They launched a daily newspaper, ''al-Umma'' (The Community). In February 1945 the al-Umma party was organized and the party's first secretary, Abdullah Khalil, applied for a government license. The constitution made no mention of Abd al-Rahman or of the Ansar. The only visible link to Abd al-Rahman was the party's reliance on him for funding. However, rumors held that al-Umma had been created by the government and aimed to place Abd al-Rahman in power. These rumors persisted until June 1945, when the government publicly said it would not support a Mahdist monarchy. During his premiership, Abdalla Khalil and several senior Umma officials instigated the 1958 Sudanese coup d'état, led by General

Ibrahim Abboud Ibrahim Abboud (; 26 October 1900 – 8 September 1983) was a Sudanese military officer and political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as President of Sudan in 1964; however, he soon resigned, ending S ...

was the prominent leader of the party through much of its history. Other historic members include Abdallah Bakr Mustafa.

Twenty-first century

In 2002, 37 elected members split from the National Umma Party and formed the Umma Party (Reform and Renewal) (UPRR) led by Mubarak al Fadil al Mahdi, Sadiq al-Mahdi's first cousin. This party joined the ranks of the National Congress Party Government and stayed in power until Mubarak al-Fadil was dismissed from office. UPRR further split into four factions and later re-joined the National Umma Party. All members of UPRR returned to the Umma National Party except for Mubarak al-Fadil due to allegations of conspiracy with

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

and for spreading slander and false information about colleagues in the National Umma Party and the opposition. In 2010, the National Umma Party nominated Sadiq al-Mahdi as its presidential candidate in protest of 'electoral irregularities'. Mahdi placed fourth, and the party gained one assembly seat.

Sudanese Revolution

As a component of the

National Consensus Forces The National Consensus Forces (NCF, ''Ij’maa'') is a coalition of political parties in Sudan that opposed the rule of the National Congress Party, and was initially formed to stand against the NCP in the 2010 Sudanese elections. Farouk Abu Is ...

(NCF) that signed Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) charter on 1 January 2019, the Umma Party was integrated into the FFC alliance that coordinated the

Sudanese Revolution The Sudanese revolution () was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 S ...

and holds a strong constitutional role in the 39-month transitionary period to democracy. On 4 November 2019, according to '' Sudan News Agency'', one of the Umma Party vice-chairs, Mariam al-Mahdi (daughter of party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi), was nominated to the Central Council of the FFC as a representative of Sudan Call, while the NCF of which the Umma Party is a member, had five other representatives on the council.

Sudanese civil war

On 24 February 2025, the party removed Major General Fadlallah Burma Nasir as its acting leader after he affixed his signature on the agreement establishing the Sudan Founding Alliance and a Government of Peace and Unity aligned with the

Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...

on 22 February. He was replaced by Mohamed Abdallah Al-Douma. However, Nasir rejected his dismissal and ordered the dissolution of the party's Presidential Institution.

Factions

The most prominent Umma faction was the UPRR. Another faction of the UPRR is led by Information Minister Alzahawi Ibrahim Maalik. Another faction is Umma Party (Collective Leadership) (UPCL), led by Dr. al Sadiq al Hadi al Mahdi, who is the nephew of Mubarak al Fadil and first cousin of Sadiq al Mahdi. Dr. al Sadiq is the son of Imam al Hadi al Mahdi who led a faction of the Umma Party that al Mahdi's faction in the 1960s. Dr al Sadiq is an adviser to the President of Sudan. UPCL became part of the government and agreed to continue cooperation with Sudan's ruling National Congress Party in the mid-interim period after 2008. The last faction is the Federal Umma Party, led by Ahmad Babiker Nahar, ex-Secretary General of UPRR who formed his party because he was wrongfully fired by al Fadil. He became a member of Environment and Physical Development.

References

External links

Umma Party
(English and Arabic website)
Sudan Electionnaire
{{Authority control 1945 establishments in Sudan Islamic political parties in Sudan Organisations of the Sudanese revolution Political parties established in 1945 Political parties in Sudan Sudanese nationalism