BILAL SUNNI-ALI is the co-producer and host of What Good is A Song ? a radio news and talk format on WRFG  FM in Atlanta.
Bilal and his wife Fulani Sunni-Ali have a seventeen year track record as radio program producers on WRFG in Atlanta. For the past five years they have produced  THE FRIDAY NIGHT DRUM  a weekly summary of NEWS  from the continent of Afrika, the Caribean
the subjugated territory of New Afrika as well as a Global Report from any where on the globe where people struggle to have their human rights respected.In January 2005 Bilal travelled to the troubled region of the Sudan as part of a fact finding delegation organized by the Washington, DC based think tank, THE GIVE PEACE A CHANCE COALITION. Bilal served GPAC as both a journalist and as a human rights activist/consulant with his roots in the "Addenyu Allahu" Universal  Arabic Association the oldest ongoing Islamic community in north america and his current active participation in the community lead by Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin( the former H. Rap Brown). The following is an interview conducted by Fulani Sunni-Ali which first aired on What Good is A Song, WRFG FM -Atlanta, Ga. on Friday January 28, 2005 at its usually scheduled time 5:30 to 7:00 PM
  A GRASS ROOTS NEW AFRIKAN MUSLIM VIEW OF THE SUDAN

THE FRIDAY NIGHT DRUM  ON "WHAT GOOD IS A SONG" - WRFGfm in Atlanta, GA

FND:  What is the meaning of the word Sudan?

BILAL K. SUNNI-ALI : i seek refuge in Allah against misleading and being mislead into ignorance by others. i ask Allah to guide my heart and to guide my tongue as to everything i am about to say.

The word "Sudan" literally means Land(dan) of the Black people(Suad). just as Dafur means Land(Da) of the Fur people.

FND :  Where is the Sudan?

BKS : What is known today as the country of Sudan is a political creation of the British colonialists. We were given some history of Sudan which reminded us that  As-Sudan or the Sudan once was an entity that stretched across our motherland...from Sea(atlantic) to shining sea(the Indian Ocean). It included Mali and Songhai. Songhai by itself was an area greater than the size of the United States, Mexico and Central America put together. The area that the colonialists called Sudan which the British granted independence to in January 1956 is a very large country...the largest on the continent. It sits in the heart of East Afrika and is bordered by  nine countries  let's see Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central Afrikan Republic, Republic of the Congo, Uganda
and Kenya. Besides being central to Afrikan geo-political reality it also plays a big part in the geo-political reality of the Middle East. It's in a sense a double cross-roads. Egypt, which is separated from Asia by the Suez Canal and only in the last half of the twentieth century is not separated from the Sudan at all. Ancient Upper Egypt was south of Lower Egypt ... Upper Egypt was Nubia which is central Sudan of today. There is a black belt of Southern Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Qattar, and even into India (the Hindu Kush). There is a natural kinship to the indigenous people of the  region known today as the middle East, regardless of who are the bleached skinned occupiers and rulers of those lands today. And that's just part of the answer to the question  - where is the Sudan?

FND :  What is the time difference?

BKS : the  time difference is ..when it is 12:01am  in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan it is just 4:00pm the previous day here in Atlanta (EST).
 
FND :  What is the terrain of Sudan like? Is it both desert and jungle?

BKS : Very much like the Washitaw or like the u.s.a. in that it has ancient urban areas... places that have been cities long before cities were developed in the west. Sudan has desert, plains, mountainous regions like the Dafur Mountains, the Nubia mountains, semi tropical and tropical areas where you have rhinocerus, hippopotamus and elephant etc. Also there is that long river known as the NILE which flows through it.

FND :  What is the climate? Are there seasons ?

BKS :  There is basically a very hot summer and a season that feels like summer to us that is the Sudanese  winter.

FND:  Departing on January 12, 2005, Brothers Ademah Muhammad and Bilal Sunni-Ali of Atlanta traveled to join other members of their delegation  for the long trip to The Sudan in Afrika.  How did you feel about going to the Sudan

BKS : Since i was going to a place i had never travelled to before and it is a hot spot  ...where war is going on, I was very glad to start off the trip by reuniting with my old friend, brother, comrade and colleague Ademah Muhammad. Ademah is a television producer and contributor to the Final Call newspaper. We travelled as part of a twelve member delegtion organized by the GIVE PEACE A CHANCE COALITION based in Washington, D.C.. GPAC serves  as a think tank on peace and education. In organizing this trip, the GPAC was keenly interested in a closer look into the distorted media images of Afrika and Sudan in particular at this point in history. We met with top government officials such as Governors of states, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (who were our hosts and guides), Inter regional councils, associations of women, students, inter-faith councils, members of Parlaiment, members of the opposition and of course we dialogued with every day people working in the hotels, market places, gas stations, walking the streets. etc..

FND: WHAT IS THE OVERALL OUTCOME OF THE GIVE PEACE A CHANCE DELEGATION VISIT TO THE SUDAN? 
        Was there a Peace Agreement signed? Has the fighting ceased? 

BKS: We met with top officials of the Sudan government and members of the opposition.  In ten days we visited Khartoum, Al-Fashir in Dhafur region, and the ancient royal city of Meroe in northern Sudan.  Along with government officials we also met with powerful women's groups. One thing that i must say here is that on various occasions i have gone abroad for international political conferences, fact-finding missions, or to witness war and the making of peace agreements. This January 2005 GIVE PEACE A CHANCE COALITION's DELEGATION to the Sudan has been the most peaceful on the part of the Afrikans from the western hemisphere  ... there were no arguments between each other, no trying to out "black" each other etc.... 
pause
BKS : We were very happy to be there on the occasion of the  Peace agreement. On the thirty first of December 2004 an agreement was reached between the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Sudan government. They met and came to agreement in Nairobi, Kenya and therefore, it's called the "Nairobi Agreement."  This Peace Agreement has ended the oldest Civil War on the continent. This war between the North and the South actually started in August of 1955. Sudan became officially independent in January 1956. I had been given some historical back ground on Sudan by Elombe Brath and Professor James Small. There was an agreement between the north and south to accept independence from the British and following a period of  five years, to peacefully separate as two independent countries. When the agreed upon time arrived, their political conflicts didn't allow for a smooth separation. Many say that the Khartoum based goverment  reneiged on the agreement. So of course there is more than just one oppostion party. There are splinter groups from the primary oppostion SPLM like the SPDF Southern peoples Democratic Front all of whom have there points of differences with John Garanga and the SPLM as well as with the government. They all expect to  sign a peace agreement with the government or be included percentage wise in the power sharing deal between the government and the SPLM. The mood in Khartoum these days is one full of hope as everyone celebrates the new Peace Accords.The situation in Dafur right now is that there is a cease fire being affected and enforced by military troops of the Afrikan Union. Peace talks are going on RIGHT NOW about the conflict in Dafur and i was told that we should expect a peace agreement any day now. PEACE ...PLEASE ...!
 
FND : What is the traditional religion of the country?

BKS : There was no one in our delegation representing tradional Afrikan reiligious beliefs and practices and we didn't meet any one professing belief in any system outside of Islam and Christianity.. and although i posed questions to the interfaith council regarding Tradional practices, etc...  such as how many ? points of unity? points of departure ? we weren't able to get meaningful answers.

FND : Are there many Christians in Sudan? Where in Sudan do Christians live?

BKS : Christians in Sudan are a small minority, mainly living in communities in the south. Many of the indigenous people in the rural areas are converting to Christianity. In the northern urban areas Christians live side by side with Muslims and others.

FND :  Is there a war between Muslims and Christians?

BKS : There is no war between Christians and Muslims. What I understand is that there have been some policy decisions carried out by the government, which is predominantly Muslim, that have been insensitive to the Christians. For example, to build a highway and a church or some property belonging to Christians or is meaningful to them may be destroyed...whereas a Mosque or something of Islamic signifigance would not be. The constituion as i understand it is directed at the rights of citizens regardless of religion or what section of the country you come from. Gender representation is also big in the Khartoum government. An issue of grave importance must be understood in regard to Sudan social order or at least it must me seriously studied and considered. That is the issue of race. Everywhere colonialism has been it has left this ugly stamp and the Sudan is stamped in a very peculiar way. First there is this false worldwide notion that all Arabs are Muslims and conversely all Muslims are Arabs. Sudanese (Afrikan) muslims who speak Arabic and do not speak another mother-tongue or dialect from their region are considered to be Arabs. Some of these Sudanese (Afrikan) muslims regard themselves to be Arabs. Along with this linguistic differences is a cultural identity crisis. Some of these Arab speaking Sudanese(Afrikan) muslims have an inferiority complex about being Afrikan. So since they can't be British they choose to be Arab. Khartoum the seat of the government which is in the north is a big metropolitan international city, a crossroads of that region. Khartoum therefore has an overwhelmingly predominatly Muslim population. Afrikan Muslims in government and  living in Khartoum identify with the region having blood ties to the people. There have even been attempts to join the Arab League to be a part of that political block. This along with marginilization and neglect in overall development, and insensitivity in carrying out policy is interpreted as Arab vs Afrikan discrimination. A very interesting thing about this phenomenon is that in Afghanistan the Afghanis regard black people as Sudanese Arabs and the whites refer to the Afghanis as sand niggers.

FND :  What was the fighting about in Southern Sudan?

BKS : The fighting in Sudan 's south was going on before independence so it is clear to us that it wasn't  a matter of their agreement being broken.John Garang leader of the main oppostion group, the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement is said to have gone from a pro-black nationalist  platform to a marxist-leninist one, and then to a pro Christian and today in the wake of the Peace Agreement and national unification there are rumors that he has taken Shahada( declaration of Islamic Faith) Now we in the New Afrikan Liberation movement might see that as a standard course of political development. But in the Sudan every point of  tension and every tribal and political difference was exacerbated. Then you had infighting amongst the so-called oppostion. For instance just as here you develop political platforms and frameworks first amongst the people that are closest to you. In Sudan that most often means your tribe. So political differences are expressed as tribal differences and political conflicts are often incorrectly misinterpreted as tribal conflicts. As far as slavery we heard from one of the  Generals ...General Ruaik of the Coordinating Council  of consolidated  Southern States on this issue. He said that war is ugly and has some ugly consequences that go with it, such as what to do with the survivors of battles that they didn't particiapate in. The winnig army has the responsiblity to take care of PRISONERS OF WAR and (non-combatant) CAPTIVES OF WAR. Ransoms (financial) are arranged for the release of noncombatant captives of war. This is distorted to make it appear that humans are bought and sold on the open market. A humane aspect of their society is portrayed as barbarism. Taking prisoners and captives is very humane. The saying "take no prisoners" means kill everyone combatants and non combatants...and that's barbarism. Concerning rape I asked questions of both women and men. Both agreed that if rape was as prevelant as the Western media portrays it to be the war would be raging. It is an aspect of their culture to avenge the crime of rape. Because of the war and the anarchy that accompanies war, rape is more prevelant during war times but that's compared to rape being practically non-existent in peace times.

FND :  And the fighting in the northern areas of Sudan?

BKS : Fighting in the northern areas is a mirror image of the fighting going on elsewhere. But let me talk about the fighting in Dafur
which will take us into the fighting in the region. Dafur is a very large region, made up of a three state combined area which is bigger than Texas. There is a region in Sudan as well as a region in Chad also larger than the state of Texas and this is where the colonialists hidden hand comes into play. Dafur was carved up by the Berlin Conference of 1885. Part become colonial Sudan the other colonial Chad. In Sudan, Dafur region has desert, plains and mountains.The fighting there has tradionally been between farmers and herdsmen over water. Now in the Dafur region herdsmen are usually the ones regarded as Arabs. The drought has further exacerbated the conflict. It's gone from arguing to killing each others animals to killing each other.

FND:  What is the meaning of the word Janjaweed and who are they? 

BKS: The term janjaweed means devil or evil spirit on horseback. Generally and historically it refers to bandits.One of the mistakes the government admits to making in arming people to defend themselves against rebel attacks was in leaving it up to local tribal leaders to distribute the weapons.This has lead to bands of janjaweed being  heavily armed, which made some people say that the janjaweed is an arm of the government. On another occasion when the janjaweed were responsible for killing the people of a village the goverment which had been tradionally responsible for paying the reparations to the village refused. This led to rebel groups avenging their dead by attacking the government, which led to government retaliation against the villages. The situation is now that there are the Janjaweed, the rebels and the government fighting each other. This isssue is again exacerbated by the Dafurians in Chad (being at war with Libyans/Arabs) offering arms to the Dafurians in Sudan.The SPLM were also offering suppport to the Dafurians who are against the government in Khartoum creating another front for the government to fight on. Remember the question  "Where is Sudan?"  Well almost every country bordering with Sudan... Chad, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda and Congo  has been fighting against rebel groups over borders created by former colonial and corporate powers...resulting in an over-abundance of arms being proliferated in the region.The cold war between the United States and the USSR was always a hot war in this region.

FND:  Is the Afrikan Union present in the Sudan and if so, what is their role? 

BKS:  The Afrikan Union is present in the Sudan and are involved in the peace negotiations. They are in Dafur with military troops.
They are there to affect the cease fire. The Afrikan Union has a political line which i belive is the correct line.  That is that the Afrikan countries need to form political and economic federations that disregard the colonialists borders.  For instance ECOWAS the Economic and Social Council of West Afrikan States would be a model for East, Central and Southern Afrika. Then the Afrikan nations would be on surer ground based on the pre-colonial relationships. 

FND :  Why is the Sudan being portrayed by the western powers as terrorist and anti-west just as in the case of Zimbabwe?

BKS :  We have a pledge in the New Afrikan Creed which says "I will follow my chosen leaders and help them". The government of the Sudan in the horn of Afrkia is like that of Zimbabwe in southern Afrika and very much like that of Cuba in the western hemisphere. They are leaders that have been chosen by the people because they promised advancement on behalf  of the people and are not "sanctioned" by the superpowers. Not being "sanctioned" by the one superpower left, (the usa) they have sanctions imposed upon them by that super power.The Sudan has been played by the colonial powers to keep it destabilized. There are no so-called terrorist being harbored by the Khartoum government. There has been no acts of violence not even a shouting match against any american citizens in nearly twenty years. Osama Ben Laden was in Khartoum working in his family's business ... building roads and providing agricultual technology. And in spite of  being bombed under the Clinton (democratic) administration back in 1997, and then having sanctions imposed upon them, Sudan has shown great progress. That is, progress in being able to pay back IMF and WORLD BANK loans and at the same time guarantee rights of its citizens while increasing the standard quality of living of its citizens. Sudan is the leader in Afrika and the Middle East on how to deal with a super power. The Sudan with peace and without inteference has the resources to solve most of the problems of Afrika.

FND:  How actively do women participate in politics and are there national womens groups?
 
BKS:  Included with all the nongovernment and government associations, we met with the Sudanese Women's General Union which seemed to be the most organized in Sudan and the best organized women in the world that i have heard of or met with. The SWGU is organized in every sector of society, in the north, in the south and the Dafur region amongst the grassrooots and in government. As i mentioned earlier the Sudanese constitution is very citizen conscious and women  are represented in every aspect. Again it is the leader... maybe in the world, it is definitely ahead of the United States. but coming from a region and a culture ...Islamic, Afrikan Middle Eastern ... portrayed to have backwards, outdated views and  practices regarding gender Sudan offers the world a shining example in this regard.

FND:  There was no mention heretofore of the youth in the Sudan....What is the level of participation of the Sudan youth?

BKS:  A songwriter wrote that  "War is never easy ...it's bound to bring on hardship"  One of the hardships that war brings with it is the constant death. In war people don't get to get old. I didn't meet any youth organizers but I took note that a lot of the officals we met with and worked with were younger than most of us who were part of the delegation. The younger people with the delegation were in their thirties and they were peers with a lot of the activists and officials we met with.

FND:  Is it true that there are pyramids in the Sudan and perhaps more than there are in Egypt?

BKS:  Oh, yes there are pyramids in the Sudan and many more than there are in Egypt. We visited a cluster of pyramids not far from the ruins of the ancient Royal City of Meroe. There were about fifty in that cluster.Some of our delegation expressed surprise and disappointment that the pyramids weren't giant skyscapers like the famous Pyramids at Giza.  Brother Majdi, our guide told us that although many pyramids were tombs some had other purposes.  I knew from our community's relationship with the Washitaw Dedugdemonya that  pyramids came in all sizes and that some didn't even resemble the classic look of  a pyramid but inside were designed the same. Also that indigenous people had a system of pyramids all over the planet.

FND:  In conclusion, Would you say that the Sudan is a safe place to visit and should Afrikans in the west plan to visit?

BKS:   I have personally experienced that the warnings of the U.S. State department are unfounded.  I lived in Belize, C.A. right after Independence (1981)and there were warnings to American citizens about rebels.  Again in Nicaragua(1987)  we were told travel at our own risk. The same exact thing always with Cuba. Now in Mexico they stuck guns in our faces at every check point but we didn't get any warnings about Mexico. In Palestine they told us to be careful of Palestinian 'militants' but Israeli soldiers were the only ones who pointed weapons at us. In Johannesburg they said don't leave your hotel at night without police escort.  I think it's a matter of who's side your on.  I am saying that the Afrikans in the west who know that they are Afrikans as an act of self-determination need and deserve to visit the Sudan and that the Sudanese need and deserve to have us vist our ancestral homeland.  Visit , work and stay.

Well, i was only in Sudan for one week and i don't pretend to be an expert on the region but i did consult with the experts, the officals in the government the members of the opposition and the every day people just trying to survive through the chaos and confusion. If there are any errors i ask Allah, as well as all the parties involved, to forgive me.

FND:  Shukran, thank you Brother Bilal Sunni-Ali.  We look forward to any updates and new information.