OBLIGATORY ISLAMIST REFERENCE:

Sudan's legendary Islamist takes a moderate view: Hassan al-Turabi invited Osama bin Laden to stay in Sudan in the 1990s. Now he pushes for reform. (Scott Baldauf, 6/13/07, The Christian Science Monitor)

[I]magine the shock many Sudanese felt when the nation's top Islamic scholar, Hassan al-Turabi, publicly stated in 2006 that Muslim women didn't need to cover their hair with a veil. Or when he advocated the use of traditional music and dance for Islamic worship. Or when he encouraged the people of Darfur to oppose the government of President Omar al-Bashir. [...]

"[Turabi's] one of the most influential men in Sudan today," says Khalid al-Tijani, editor of the independent Khartoum weekly newspaper, Elaff. "He is also a religious leader, with so many ideas about the role of women, about democracy, and so he has influence outside Sudan as well. He's one of the great thinkers of Islam today."

Mr. Baldauf regains his footing after opening by inanely comparing al-Turabi to Jerry Falwell.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 12, 2007 5:38 PM