Mahmoud Mohammed Taha
| Mahmoud Mohammed Taha | |
|---|---|
| محمود محمد طه | |
| Leader of the Republican Brotherhood | |
|
In office 26 October 1945 – 18 January 1985 |
|
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1909 Ruffaa, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
| Died | 18 January 1985 (aged 76) Khartoum, Democratic Republic of Sudan |
| Political party | Republican Brotherhood |
| Occupation | Politician, Religious thinker, Civil Engineer |
| Religion | Sufi Islam |
Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, (1909 – 18 January 1985; Arabic: محمود محمد طه) also known as Ustaz Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, was a Sudanese religious thinker, leader, and trained engineer. He developed what he called the "Second Message of Islam", which postulated that the verses of the Qur'an revealed in Medina were appropriate in their time as the basis of Islamic law, (Sharia), but that the verses revealed in Mecca represented the ideal religion, would be revived when humanity had reached a stage of development capable of accepting them, ushering in a renewed Islam based on freedom and equality. He was executed for apostasy for his religious preaching at the age of 76 by the regime of Gaafar Nimeiry.
Taha was born in Ruffaa, a town on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile, 150 km south of Khartoum. He was educated as a civil engineer in a British-run university in the years before Sudan's independence. After working briefly for Sudan Railways he started his own engineering business. In 1945, he founded an anti-monarchical political group, the Republican Party, and was twice imprisoned by the British authorities.
Taha developed what he called "Second Message of Islam" after a period of prolonged "religious seclusion". His theory was that the Qur'an contains two general messages that are apparently in contradiction. The message of verses of the Qur'an revealed while Muhammad was living in Mecca ("Mecca Qur'an"), take a different approach to religious freedom and equality between the sexes than do the verses of the Qur'an revealed after Muhammad had left Mecca and was living in Medina (the "Medina Qur'an").
Traditionally Islamic scholars have solved this contradiction by the principle of abrogation (naskh) – which is based on the verse (Sura) 2:106 of the Quran, "None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar..."[Quran 2:106] The early scholars abrogated the Meccan verses and used the verses revealed in Medina in creating traditional Islamic law – Sharia.
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