Sudanupdated 20m ago2 min read
MapMohammed Osman Al-Mirghani Dies in Cairo Aged 90, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan Orders Transfer
“Al-Mirghani was known for consistently calling on Sudanese to achieve national reconciliation”
“Accounts of where he died differ.”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Mohammed Osman al-Mirghani, Khatmiyya leader and DUP head, died in Cairo aged 90. His death drew tributes from political forces, civil society, traditional leaders, and Sufi followers.
Save coverage image
Mirghani dies at 90
Mohammed Osman al-Mirghani died in Cairo at the age of 90, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, ordered the transport of his body to Sudan on a private plane. Al-Mirghani passed away on Friday evening in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and his family decided to hold a mourning ceremony to receive officials, diplomatic missions, and the Sudanese community on Sunday evening in Heliopolis, Cairo.
The Khatmiyya order and the Democratic Unionist Party mourned al-Mirghani as a spiritual and political leader, and the Khatmiyya authority said he died “after a career full of great works in the service of religion and the nation”. The sources also tied al-Mirghani to Khartoum Bahri, where his body was expected to be laid to rest in the family graves in Hilla Hamad after the funeral prayer at his father Sayyid Ali’s mosque, according to the BBC.
Funeral plans and mourning
The BBC said al-Burhan ordered the transport of al-Mirghani’s body to Sudan on a private plane after he died in Cairo, and it described a mourning ceremony in Heliopolis, Cairo on Sunday evening. Sudan’s Council of Ministers described al-Mirghani as a prominent national and religious figure and extended condolences to his family, members and supporters of the DUP, followers of the Khatmiyya order and the Sudanese people.
Al-Mirghani will be buried on Monday at the Sayed Ali Al-Mirghani Mosque in Khartoum North, and the timing will allow followers of the order and party members to attend. The BBC said the funeral prayer would be performed at his father Sayyid Ali’s mosque before his body returned to his homeland to be laid to rest in the family graves in Hilla Hamad in Khartoum Bahri.
Legacy, unity, and politics
Al-Mirghani was described as a bridge between the religious household and the political arena, and he called for “The unity of Sudan, land and people.” Al-Mirghani was known for consistently calling on Sudanese to achieve national reconciliation, unite their ranks, and end the country’s wars, and he assumed leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party in 1982.
The BBC said al-Mirghani signed the Mirghani–Garang agreement with John Garang in 1988 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as an attempt to end the civil war in South Sudan through a comprehensive political settlement and to reaffirm unity of Sudan between the Christian-majority south and the Muslim-majority north. The sources also said the 30 June 1989 coup led by Omar al-Bashir aborted the peace initiative, and Radio Tamazuj said the agreement was overtaken by the military coup of June 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power and ended the civilian government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.