Popular Arab and Islamic Congress

Called together in the Sudan by Hassan al-Turabi, the 1991 Popular Arab and Islamic Congress Conference sought to unify Mujahideen and other Islamic elements in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Iraqi defeat in the Gulf War.[1] It sought to provide an alternative to the Saudi-dominated Organization of the Islamic Conference, although it did not have its financial means.[2]

Held from April 25–28, it brought together disparate sections of the Muslim world in an attempt at Pan-Arabism and Pan-Islamic union. It was estimated to have brought together 500 people, from 45 nations.[1] The congress met again in December 1993 and had a third meeting in March–April 1995.[2]

It has been suggested that al-Turabi hoped to "crystallize discontent in the Arab world by bringing together under a single banner, hardline Islamic militants and nationalists".[3] Critics suggested the congress also had domestic purposes for al-Turabi and his regime, particularly the "strengthening" of "his hold" on Sudan by posing as a leader of "the progressive Muslim masses", and the regime's "masking" its "narrow origins" and "lack of mass support".[2]