Checkmate...

Welcome is the thought of having the West declaring an all out war... with the Europe banning veils, head scarves and minarets, the US occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and (arguably) Pakistan, the silence of the so-called international community on Israeli atrocities against innocent Palestinians, the caricatures, the sick 'Draw Muhammad Day', the detention of Pakistani students on fabricated terrorism cases, the economic strangulation... Welcome is the thought that the liberal fascists of the world would themselves make their final move, to put themselves in a position where checkmate becomes their fate!

The double face of Facebook

The controversy over the Facebook ban continues. One Facebook user, Saad Warriach is particularly upset: his account has permanently been disabled by Facebook and the decision is final.

Warriach, a student at IBA, saw the ‘Draw Mohammed Day’ group on May 18, 2010. Angered and insulted, he decided to prove his point by creating a page called ‘H | T L E R.’ The page was taken down and his account disabled sometime between May 19 and early morning May 21. “I was aware of the terms and conditions and knew they [Facebook] would take some sort of action. I didn’t think they would delete my account,” said Warriach. He received an email from Facebook explaining why:

“After reviewing your situation, we have determined that you violated our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. One of Facebook’s main priorities is the comfort and safety of our users.

“We do not tolerate hate speech. Targeting people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or disease is a serious violation of our standards and has resulted in the permanent loss of your account.

"We will not be able to reactivate your account for any reason. This decision is final.”

According to Warriach he posted one picture of Adolf Hitler and three pictures of Paolo di Canio – an Italian football player who was banned and fined by Fifa for his right-hand salute during football matches. In the information section of the page he wrote: “To all those who think they can ridicule Islam in the name of freedom of expression and yet punish those who speak of the genius of Hitler” Over 30 people joined the group within an hour and Warriach is unable to confirm the numbers of the group before his account was disabled.

Admittedly, the group was offensive and insensitive, and was rightly taken down. However, a statement from Facebook on May 20 states:

“While some kinds of comments and content may be upsetting for someone – criticism of a certain culture, country, religion, lifestyle, or political ideology, for example – that alone is not a reason to remove the discussion.

“We strongly believe that Facebook users have the freedom to express their opinions, and we don't typically take down content, groups or pages that speak out against countries, religions, political entities, or ideas.”

The statement also noted that “Nazi content is illegal in some countries” but at the same time said “that does not mean it should be removed entirely from Facebook.”

If that were true, how is it that Warriach’s (given that his side of the story is accurate) account was disabled when his page could have been censored and blocked in certain countries, or just taken down completely? Why is Facebook disabling accounts at its discretion when it refused to take action when the ‘Draw Mohammed Day’ group was reported as offensive by thousands of Muslims across the world? Both the groups are equally distasteful and affect thousands of people across the world, which is why free speech and hate speech should not be confused – the grey area differentiating the two is murky and must be treaded carefully. Facebook should have treated the two groups in the same context, that it is highly offensive to those concerned, and their decision to take action or inaction should have been the same.

Don’t get me wrong, the debate is not over whether people of Jewish descent are given a preferential treatment while the same isn’t meted out to the Muslim community. Far from it, the debate is about policy and its implementation across the board.

Maybe the team at Facebook needs to re-evaluate their terms and conditions in order for it to be known more for its popularity among networking sites rather than being known as the controversial website that doesn’t play fair.

From
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/35-Playing-Fair-AK-03

Lenin in front of God - by Allama Muhammad Iqbal

(لينن (خدا کے حضور ميں

اے انفس و آفاق ميں پيدا ترے آيات

حق يہ ہے کہ ہے زندہ و پائندہ تري ذات

ميں کيسے سمجھتا کہ تو ہے يا کہ نہيں ہے

ہر دم متغير تھے خرد کے نظريات

محرم نہيں فطرت کے سرود ازلي سے

بينائے کواکب ہو کہ دانائے نباتات

آج آنکھ نے ديکھا تو وہ عالم ہوا ثابت

ميں جس کو سمجھتا تھا کليسا کے خرافات

ہم بند شب و روز ميں جکڑے ہوئے بندے

تو خالق اعصار و نگارندہ آنات!

اک بات اگر مجھ کو اجازت ہو تو پوچھوں

حل کر نہ سکے جس کو حکيموں کے مقالات

جب تک ميں جيا خيمہ افلاک کے نيچے

کانٹے کي طرح دل ميں کھٹکتي رہي يہ بات

گفتار کے اسلوب پہ قابو نہيں رہتا

جب روح کے اندر متلاطم ہوں خيالات

وہ کون سا آدم ہے کہ تو جس کا ہے معبود

وہ آدم خاکي کہ جو ہے زير سماوات؟

مشرق کے خداوند سفيدان فرنگي

مغرب کے خداوند درخشندہ فلزات

يورپ ميں بہت روشني علم و ہنر ہے

حق يہ ہے کہ بے چشمہ حيواں ہے يہ ظلمات

رعنائي تعمير ميں ، رونق ميں ، صفا ميں

گرجوں سے کہيں بڑھ کے ہيں بنکوں کي عمارات

ظاہر ميں تجارت ہے ، حقيقت ميں جوا ہے

سود ايک کا لاکھوں کے ليے مرگ مفاجات

يہ علم ، يہ حکمت ، يہ تدبر ، يہ حکومت

پيتے ہيں لہو ، ديتے ہيں تعليم مساوات

بے کاري و عرياني و مے خواري و افلاس

کيا کم ہيں فرنگي مدنيت کے فتوحات

وہ قوم کہ فيضان سماوي سے ہو محروم

حد اس کے کمالات کي ہے برق و بخارات

ہے دل کے ليے موت مشينوں کي حکومت

احساس مروت کو کچل ديتے ہيں آلات

آثار تو کچھ کچھ نظر آتے ہيں کہ آخر

تدبير کو تقدير کے شاطر نے کيا مات

ميخانے کي بنياد ميں آيا ہے تزلزل

بيٹھے ہيں اسي فکر ميں پيران خرابات

چہروں پہ جو سرخي نظر آتي ہے سر شام

يا غازہ ہے يا ساغر و مينا کي کرامات

تو قادر و عادل ہے مگر تيرے جہاں ميں

ہيں تلخ بہت بندہ مزدور کے اوقات

کب ڈوبے گا سرمايہ پرستي کا سفينہ؟

دنيا ہے تري منتظر روز مکافات

Islam and the Earth Day

In the Quran, Islam's revealed text, men and women are viewed as God's vicegerents on Earth. (2:30) God created nature in a balance ("al-mizan") and mankind's responsibility is to maintain this fragile equilibrium through wise governance and sound personal conduct.

The Quran also describes the believing men and women as those who "walk on the Earth in humility." (25:63) Scholars have interpreted this verse, and others like it, to mean that Muslims are to protect nature's many bounties given to them by the Almighty. Preservation is therefore more than a good policy recommendation - it is a commandment from God.

There are more than 700 verses in the Quran that exhort believers to reflect on nature.

For example, the Quran states: "And it is He who spread out the earth, and set thereon mountains standing firm and (flowing) rivers; and fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two; He draweth the night as a veil over the Day. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who consider." (13:3)

According to Islamic beliefs, the Earth is a sanctuary in which mankind was made to dwell in comfort. The vast oceans, forests and mountains that make up this bountiful planet have been subdued by God for our enjoyment and productive use.

Further, God compels Muslims in the Quran to respect and revere the environment when He says, "Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth." (40:57)

The Prophet Muhammad told his followers they would be rewarded by God for taking care of the Earth. He said: "If any Muslim plants any plant and a human being or an animal eats of it, he will be rewarded as if he had given that much in charity." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 8:41) He also compared Muslims to a "fresh tender plant" that bends, but does not break, when afflicted with life's inevitable calamities. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 7:547)

Another tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, or hadith, quotes him as saying: "If the Hour (Judgment Day) is about to be established and one of you is holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it."

An example of Muslims taking ownership of their divine obligation to protect the environment was seen recently when the people of Tanzania reversed a growing trend toward ecological destruction through a policy of sustainable fishing and environmental preservation based on the principles of the Quran.

Prior to implementation of the educational program, over-harvesting by fishermen on the Muslim-majority island of Misali had threatened the area's aquatic ecosystem. But thanks to an indigenous campaign to remind local inhabitants of Islam's respect for nature, those who earn their living from the sea learned the benefits of protecting the region's biodiversity.

In Islamic history, Ottoman civilization provides us with another example of the seriousness with which Muslims have traditionally taken their environmental obligations. Ottoman viziers, or ministers, advising the sultan on matters of administration and policy regularly encouraged moratoria on matters deemed potentially damaging to future generations.

Innovations in technology, for example, were hotly debated among scholars, all of whom recognized the importance of considering the long-term impact on both society and the environment.

In Islam, even the Earth has inalienable rights endowed by its Creator.

Sound ecological principles are not limited to Islam, and should be acted upon by practitioners of other faiths. Together we can tackle the environmental problems that besiege our planet.

On this year's Earth Day, people of all faiths should take time to examine their own faith tradition's advice for taking care of the Earth that we share.

Where are we heading for? – An excruciating pain to share!

My online friend Hesham Syed sahib has shared this article with me today that he wrote last Ramadan. I am posting it here on Proto for my friends who feel the same pain and want to do something to stop the moral and societal decay we are experiencing today.

W'salam

NS

--

Where are we heading for? – An excruciating pain to share!

07 Ramadan – Friday – KSA: 28 Aug 2009.

I have just now returned from an Iftar cum donation party, invitation extended by a NGO operating in former East Pakistan called Bangladesh now for stranded Pakistanis who have been forgotten and ignored by Pakistan since 1971 and they have continued living in a most miserable and subhuman conditions which one cant even imagine.

I recited one of my poems there on behalf of the unfortunate ones, which is attached herewith for perusal, but it is almost impossible to describe in words the perpetual distress, anguish and pain they have been enduring for past 39 years and even before.

I drove back depressed, thinking about this treacherous world where exploitation never ends. Opportunities are scarce and the competition is out growing – The struggle for the survival of the fittest is also ever growing. Race, Tribalism, Language, Culture and Religion all these have been used to spread hatred among the people – Mankind at large has lived on this earth and has established it’s tribal identity by capitalizing on hate, dislike and not really by virtue of love or sacrifice.

Those who have been caught up with the circumstances as cruel that series of their generations are destroyed and lived an useless worrisome life, full of anxiety, hopelessness, in pursuit of a future they have been dreaming all this time but it has turned out to be an illusion and hallucination for them despite of their straight forward thinking, love and support for the country themselves or their predecessors gave blood for – where as the other set of people living in West Pakistan most of whom never experienced one hundredth of what these people have gone through , took control of the country by mischief , looted and destroyed it further , and as of today the flame of intolerance , dishonesty and resentment have lit every house to burn it down , and smoke of distrust one can see has filled up the horizon. Some one rightly said in Urdu verse:

Nairangiye siaasatey doaraaN tto deikhiey

Manzil unhey mili jo shareekey safar na tthey

The above scenario is not the only example but this world is filled up with exploiters and exploited, atrocities and is full of pathos. This is not the end that I go through unbearable, excruciating pain and feel at a loss but more so really when I compare the unfortunate ones in this world , their struggle and achievements compared to those who are still fortunate in our society at micro and macro level but still :

1.@I see that young generations who have all the opportunities in this world thanklessly do not realize how fortunate they are and care for their time loss and make their headway towards their education and further achievements. It is also not realized that self respect, security and prosperity in life is greatly dependant on higher education and making an useful contribution in life. Observation is that under the most difficult circumstances also people achieve and only those succeed in life who set their targets, remain focused, do not give up, follow the right advice and direction and have burning desire to accomplish their objective and for them there is no looking back.

2. @ I see that people i.e. men and women at large do not have any ambition and lead a life without any objective.

3.@ I see that life is just taken to be a fun and it is filled up with the fallacious dream of Holly wood + Bolly wood or of it’s illusory and misleading custom and traditions which are imitated to bring happiness in life.

4.@ I see that instead of Prophets and their family members or his close associates or followers or scientists or philosophers or educationist the immoral set of people have become heroes and heroine for men or women and they have perverted and possessed the minds , hence they have become center of discussion or topic for any conversation made in the party.

5. @ I see that people of both gender and of any age at large do not realize that any time spent without learning or earning is a waste and this portion of life will never be returned for any compensation – This Waste is A REAL Waste.

6. @ I see that Wise people has been subdued by Fools.

7. @ I see that Moral and Ethical standards are changing each time to suit one’s convenience.

8. @ I see that show business and mannerism is taken to be the sign of success and to achieve acknowledgement in the society by fools.

9.@ I see that the extravagancies and wasteful expenses all around on dresses , make up , festive , every day newly created ceremonies , food , recreational living , decoration of over capacious buildings and houses or mansions , flashy cars and vehicles where as on the contrary at arms length only one sees the destitute , unfortunate and deprived group of people who cant even meet their both ends , cant have proper meal , care for sickness , enough to educate their children but the insensitivity keeps a blind eye to the man made paradoxical conditions of the society and continues to create different classes widening the gap between haves and have not.

10.@ I see that politicians or people of any walk of life of capitalist and materialistic society looting the public treasury , fooling around people with words , cheating & filling in their private accounts , expanding their businesses and assets within the country and overseas through fraudulent acts , settling their families over seas with no commitment to their own country.

11.@ I see that educational institutions being made an industry to earn money only.

12.@ I see that secretarial religious platforms are set up to cause fractions among the people. Rituals and Cosmetics are emphasized but the real message is lost.

With all above , I always wonder where are we heading for eventually ?

How ever , there are still a set of small group of people every where who do understand that Mankind is only a TRUSTEE of God’s providence or bounty on this earth and every one has been made individually accountable for his & her act. There is nothing what he or she posses or owns and his or her role is to use the resources to the direction as guided for the welfare of human beings and for all what have been created by God – The bounty of God includes his or her own self , time, energy , wealth or what ever is available in nature which can be used for purposeful reason. These are the people who have purified themselves of all greed and satanic temptations and carry out every thing out of the love of God and of HIS creation. These are the people who are the beacon of light for the human society. These are the people who are struggling to make this world a better place to live for all and are self less & knowing or unknowingly investing for themselves in hereafter without any measure or scale , and will have salvation in the next world.

These are the people who are putting their best to establish SOCIO ECONOMIC JUSTICE in the society which is the KEY message and responsibility assigned to the Mankind through the divine revelation again for their own benefit.

Hat off to such volunteers and God bless them.

--

(Hesham A Syed is a senior engineering and project management professional. He is a freelance writer, blogger and a poet as well.)

Struggle between Islam and secularism in Pakistan

Zafar Bangash

Since its creation more than 50 years ago, Pakistan has been trapped in a crisis of identity. For the ruling elite, it has meant the continuation of raj by other means with all the attendant pomp, ceremony and priveleges. For the Muslim masses, it has been an unending series of disappointments, each day bringing more misery and suffering. Pakistan's plight is not unique. It is repeated almost everywhere in the Muslim world. The post-colonial ruling elites have one thing in common: their record has been a roaring failure. Even the much-touted Asian tigers have turned out to be toothless. Most of them have been forced to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help. One could argue that their economies were undermined by foreign money speculators. That may well be true but the regimes themselves provided opportunities for such speculation and exploitation. Crony capitalism is a peculiarly Southeast Asian phenomenon. From the Marcoses to the Suhartos and the Mahathirs, all have allowed their relatives to dip their grubby hands in the national exchequer as if it were a family fortune. Unlike Pakistan, however, these countries have not sought refuge behind a facade of 'Islamicity'. Pakistan's dilemma is its inability to reconcile two irreconcilable trends: the secularism of the ruling elite and Islam of the masses. Since the elite have monopolised all power, resources and decision-making, the failure in Pakistan must be placed squarely in their corner. Islam's case has been lost by default. The secular elites have made sure that Islam is projected in the most negative light. Here, the local maulvi, who is identified as the flag-bearer of Islam, has been a handy tool. He is the butt of every sort of joke. Since he lacks proper education and confidence, he is no match for the machinations of the wily secularists. This is not to deny the maulvi his nuisance value. This, too, however, is often exploited by the secularists for their own ends. The masses' attachment to Islam has been exploited by all and sundry. Even someone as thoroughly secular as Benazir Bhutto successfully exploited this by donning the dupata (head scarf) to project an image of modesty. In Pakistan, substance has always been subordinated to image. The secularists' failure is so glaringly obvious that one does not have to prove it. Pakistan is reeling under massive foreign and domestic debt. Servicing this debt alone consumes nearly 80 percent of the country's earnings. Its future has been mortgaged to international lending institutions. Corruption has reached dizzying heights. Even the elites admit it. The country's infrastructure is creaking and on the verge of collapse; its banks are insolvent and there is a general breakdown of law and order. There is little trust left between the rulers and the ruled. All this is well-known and documented. This is compounded by the subservience of the elites to US interests. Virtually every major policy is dictated by the Americans. Despite this, no coherent case has been made for Islam's liberating and egalitarian principles. Instead, it is presented as being narrowminded and oppressive. Since liberation is defined in peculiarly western terms, all debate is subordinated to a vulgar concept of freedom equated with nakedness and decadence. The existing socio-economic and political system in Pakistan has run its course. Having got Pakistan into this mess, it cannot now rescue the country. The oppressive system of feudalism can be successfully challenged by Islam's egalitarian principles. Here again, unfortunately, the maulvi has been co-opted by the feudal lord to do his bidding. Even the political parties that operate under the Islamic label have failed to grasp this fundamental point. They have not challenged feudalism to seek liberation of the oppressed masses. Nor has a case been made to liberate the country from the clutches of US imperialism. If the secularists have failed in the socio-economic and political fields, Muslim armies have had no success against the enemy on the battlefield. This is true from Palestine to Kashmir and all places in-between. Only the mujahideen have scored victories against enemies many times their numbers. This has been witnessed in Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon and in Chechenya. Such victories far exceed all logical expectations or explanations. In Iran, a serious effort is being made to establish the first truely Islamic state and society in modern circumstances and conditions, with considerable success. In Pakistan, secularism has demonstrably failed. Not only has Islam has never been implemented but it has been exploited by scoundrels of all hue, using it to seek sentimental legitimacy for their illegitimate rule. It is not without reason that Islam in Pakistan is frequently talked about in the context of oppression and inflicting suffering on ordinary people. It is deliberately equated with lashing poor people, locking women up or denying them their legitimate rights. Such oppressive tactics have nothing to do with Islam. This is dhulm of the highest order and condemned by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the noble Qur'an. The liberating force of Islam is not brought to bear against feudalism or the injustices against people. The elite live in opulence while ordinary people are locked in a daily grind for mere survival. When has Islam justified such inequalities? The disparities in Pakistan are immense: its rich enjoy a standard of living comparable to those in industrialised countries of the west but its poor cannot even get clean drinking water or a square meal each day. Unfortunately, the Islamic parties and members of the Islamic movement have been silent about such oppression and tyranny. The debate in Pakistan should not be about whether it needs a parliamentary or presidential form of government. First, the system of exploitation in which a small coterie of people enjoy all the privileges of life and power while the vast majority are forced to suffer deprivation and humiliation must be ended. Similarly, Pakistan's subservience to the US must be exposed and condemned. America is not and has never been a friend of Pakistan or the Muslims. People can be mobilised on the basis of social and economic justice by exposing those who are responsible for exploiting them. A great opportunity for mobilisation is being missed while the secularists are allowed to project a negative image of Islam. Pakistan's true potential will only be realised once the masses have confidence in the system. The present post-colonial system has run its course and failed. It is time for an Islamic order - including social, economic and political systems - to be implemented to save the country from a certain doom. Muslimedia: April 1-15, 1998

The New York Times: Sudan's Growth Buoys a Leader Reviled Elsewhere

Sudan’s Growth Buoys a Leader Reviled Elsewhere

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

Published: April 14, 2010

TABGA, Sudan — From the highway, this farming village looks like yet another poor, mud-walled settlement baking in the stupefying heat.

Enlarge This Image

Jehad Nga for The New York Times

A Sudanese voter in Tabga waited to be registered on Monday before casting her ballot. People in Tabga enjoy the fruits of Sudan's economic growth.

Related

• Times Topics: Omar Hassan al-Bashir | Sudan

The houses are low-slung and built from dun-colored bricks, and during the hot hours of the day, the only earthly creatures brave enough to step outside are fly-covered donkeys.

But inside the homes, children watch satellite TV. They also have electricity, water, ceiling fans, DVD players and even air-conditioners — a small miracle here — wedged into the mud walls.

In the span of a generation, which neatly coincides with the 21 years President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has been in charge, the people of Tabga, like millions of other Sudanese in certain areas, have become living proof of an economic transformation.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Sudan’s gross domestic product has nearly tripled since Mr. Bashir took power. Much of that growth has happened in the past decade or so since Sudan began exporting oil, propelling the nation’s “longest and strongest growth episode since independence” in 1956, a recent World Bank report said.

As Sudan continues voting this week in the first multiparty election in decades, it is precisely the fruits of this expansion — more schools, more roads, more hospitals, more opportunity — that explain why so many voters are eager to re-elect Mr. Bashir, who is suspected of war crimes and is often perceived as a villain in the West.

“Why would we vote for change?” asked Kamal Yusuf, one of Tabga’s elders, sitting on a couch in his brother’s spacious mud house, sipping a cool Pepsi (with ice). “Our lives are so much better than they used to be.”

Plenty of African countries have experienced similar economic growth in recent decades. But without hesitation, many Sudanese attribute the modernity, prosperity and change unfolding around them to the hard work of one man: Mr. Bashir, who has governed with a tight fist since 1989.

The fact that Mr. Bashir, an army general who seized power in a military coup, has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity for what prosecutors say was “an essential role” in the bloodshed in Darfur does not seem to bother many people in areas that have benefited from the economic boom. Nor do Mr. Bashir’s frequent xenophobic diatribes or his history of cozying up to terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, which has resulted in stiff sanctions.

It is not that Sudanese particularly enjoy his combativeness with the West, which may play well in other parts of the Muslim world. They just do not seem to think it is relevant.

“Things here are flourishing,” said Safi Eldin, a sesame exporter.

In other words: it’s the economy, stupid.

Of course, Mr. Bashir remains a highly polarizing figure in some parts of Sudan, like Darfur in the west, and in the semiautonomous south, which fought a long war against him.

But here in the agricultural heartland of central Sudan and in Khartoum, the capital, the vast majority of people interviewed said they would vote for him. Many recalled with a grimace the late 1980s, when Sudan was plagued by triple-digit inflation, bread lines and disastrous economic policies — and governed by some of the same opposition politicians who contested these elections until they recently dropped out.

“Those other guys had their chance,” said Ibrahim al-Mahi, a teacher.

Wednesday was Day 4 in the voting process, and turnout continued to be steady in the north and a bit problematic in the south. Earlier in the week, Sudanese election officials were hit by numerous complaints of missing ballots and incomplete voters lists, so they extended the election to five days of voting from three to give everyone in this sprawling country of nearly one million square miles a chance to vote.

Most analysts expect Mr. Bashir to win handily, though the election will not be the legitimizing moment that Mr. Bashir, clearly agitated by the International Criminal Court indictment, seemed to be seeking when he campaigned so aggressively. The leading opposition figures and many election observers have complained that he manipulated state news media, the election rules and even the printing of ballots to ensure he would not lose.

The truth is, though, Mr. Bashir probably could have won without rigging.

For years, Sudan’s political opposition has been disorganized and poisonously divided, while the party in power, the National Congress Party, has been unified and professional. It was no surprise that Mr. Bashir campaigned relentlessly, flying all around Sudan the past several weeks and spending millions of dollars on slick posters and billboards, ubiquitous on Khartoum’s arrow-straight thoroughfares.

Rare are pictures of him decked out in his military uniform or like an Islamic sheik, images he has projected before. Most posters today show him standing in front of icons of industry: a dam, a factory, a road, a steamroller.

“For the sake of development and prosperity,” one poster said.

In 1999, in the middle of Mr. Bashir’s years in power, Sudan began pumping oil, andmuch of the growth flows from that.

But Sudan has not squandered this opportunity. Corruption is not a crippling problem here, as it is in neighboring Kenya, or in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, two African nations blessed with staggering amounts of resources but suffering from the so-called resource curse. World Bank executives say Sudan has some of the sharpest economic policy makers on the continent, who have invested wisely in infrastructure, education and the country’s agriculture industry.

Of course, wealth here is not evenly shared. Mr. Bashir’s Sudan is a thoroughly militarized place, and the president’s troops are among the biggest beneficiaries of the boom, constantly getting new weapons, trucks, hospitals and other perks.

There are also large sections of the country, especially in southern Sudan and Darfur, that remain desperately poor and where the well-worn images of stick-thin children are still true. Around 40 percent of Sudan’s 40 million people live below the poverty line.

That said, the newfound prosperity is not confined to the office towers rising from the banks of the Nile in downtown Khartoum. The village of Tabga is a three-hour drive from the capital, in a paper-flat rural area dominated by Arab tribes.

Sudan has long been controlled by northern Arabs like Mr. Bashir, but it was not until the past 10 or 15 years, when Mr. Bashir solidified his authority, that people here said they tasted something resembling the good life.

Mr. Yusuf, one of the village’s elders, recalled how 20 years ago he used to drink dirty water from canals, walk miles to the nearest hospital and live off porridge.

But those days are over.

Tabga, population 800, has its own health clinic, water tower and electricity meters.

“And my kids,” Mr. Yusuf said proudly, “are going to college.”