Dr. Al-Tayeb Haj Attia is a model of an intellectual who respects diversity and sanctifies peaceful dialogue

It was mentioned that when Duraid bin Al-Samma heard of the death of his brother Abdullah, he mourned him with a long poem whose verses are still used by travelers. He said in some of its verses:
If Abdullah has left his place
He was not a slacker nor a careless hand
Nor a slouch when the winds blew
With the dates of the juicy trees and the strong dry grass
Patient in the face of calamities, he preserved
From today the consequences of the conversations in tomorrow
And I was pleased that I did not tell him you lied
And I did not withhold what I possessed

Here he is referring to the noble morals that characterized his brother’s personality, as he did not stop at the place of the path to generosity, and he determined his goals precisely and aimed towards them, and he committed himself to patience in the misfortunes of time, and preserved himself from shameful actions, and honesty in speech so that it is not said to him you lied. I think that the noble deeds that Duraid mentioned are as if they were said about our deceased Dr. Tayeb Haj Attia. However, for Dr. Tayeb, it is a mixture of kindness and inner peace. If what the Arabs used to say in the past is true (Everyone has a share of his name), and what modern studies have proven is the effect of a name on the personality of its owner, then Dr. Tayeb has taken a large share of his name. Kindness, as the majority of Sudanese know it in its common meaning, is what most distinguishes him. It comes to him in any way, and you will find him with an open chest, a pure heart, and a readiness to provide the required service. You see him in what he writes and says, calling for respect for others, peaceful dialogue, and the rejection of violence.

Upbringing and Diversity :

Dr. Tayeb represents a model of an intellectual who grew up in a diverse, tolerant, and rich environment, and he absorbed its values ​​and his psychological and intellectual formation was linked to it. His ancestors migrated from the far north of Sudan to its center, and settled in the city of Ad Duwaym, where his father worked as a driver on the city’s ferry that connects the city to the eastern bank of the White Nile.
All those who used to visit the city of Ad Duwaym in the middle of the last century knew Uncle Haj Attia.
Ad Duwaim, in turn, was a model for the new cities that began to emerge during the period of stability that the country witnessed following the end of the Mahdist state and the establishment of colonial rule. Different tribes and groups of Sudan came to it in search of job opportunities in a semi-urban society, and they met and created a new fabric, and the desire for a decent life united them. Significant numbers of the Ja’afra tribe, whose origins go back to Upper Egypt, settled there, and most of its people practiced agriculture in an area surrounding the city. Negro tribes came to it from West Africa, most of whom lived in their neighborhood (Roto) on the western edge of the city, but their connection extended to its large market.
Groups and individuals came to it from the various other regions of Sudan, from the north, the west, and the center. In this environment, Dr. Al-Tayeb grew up amidst a blended mixture of races, customs, and traditions, harmonious in its fusion. I know that the neighborhood in which he grew up, the eighth neighborhood of the city, alone represents a model for the entire city, and for greater Sudan with its religions, tribes, and customs.
This environment in which he grew up must have been one of the strongest elements that contributed to his psychological and intellectual formation throughout his life.
Dr. El-Tayeb was born in 1949, and studied his early stages in the city of Ad-Duwaim, moving from Bakht Al-Rida School and Ad-Duwaim Rural School. Then he moved to Khor Taqat Secondary School. These educational institutions were a model for the cross-pollination of cultures and the management of dialogue between different Sudanese groups.
Of course, Dr. El-Tayeb met students from all over Sudan in these schools, and created broad connections and dialogue with them. Khor Taqat School in particular was one of the sides of the triangle of distinguished secondary schools in Sudan, which students flock to from all regions, along with Hantoub School and Wadi Sayedna School. He must have chanted with the rest of his colleagues the anthem and slogan of Khor Taqat and imbibed it:
I am a scholar under whose banner all the items join
I do not know bitter hatred, I drive it above existence
From my present and my youth from the face of the ancient past
My young heart will lead me to build a new hope.
Passion of Dr. Al-Tayeb is passionate about knowledge and academic achievement. Looking at his CV, one notices the large number of academic qualifications and certificates he obtained and spent considerable time on, starting with a Bachelor of Laws and a Higher Diploma in Law from the University of Khartoum, a Master of Media from Syracuse University in the United States US , a PhD in Media from Sorbonne University in France, a Diploma in Political Propaganda from the Institute of Propaganda in Moscow, a Diploma in International Media from the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and a Fellowship from the University of Oklahoma. This diverse and enormous amount of knowledge he obtained in law, media, and politics had an impact on his deep thinking and analysis of the topics he was interested in.
His theses that he presented in various forums were a distinctive blend of these sciences.
Particularly his concepts about social diversity and political reform. Allah granted me the honor of being his student, when the University of Khartoum announced a Master’s program in Diplomatic Studies, and I was among the first batch that studied this program. Its courses included the subject of international media, which was taught by Dr. Al-Tayeb. His teaching method was distinctive. He was not a lecturer in the traditional sense of a lecturer, who prepares a scientific material that he delivers to students and holds them accountable for their comprehension. Rather, he raises multiple concepts and dimensions related to the subject that he wants his students to know about, then creates a general cognitive atmosphere in the hall that pushes students to search for new aspects of knowledge in the subject and explore other horizons in understanding and investigation.
In this, he is similar to a sheikh who comes up with topics for discussion, then discusses them with his students and invites them to complete what they started in the classroom. His combination of the academic side and practical experience was evident in the strength of his theoretical concepts and the power of reasoning for them, and the clarity of his visions when he presents them to his students.
Diversity and dialogue are key words in the life of Dr. Al-TayebIf anyone could find a phrase that Dr. El-Tayeb’s life revolved around, it would be (diversity and dialogue). He occupied himself with reminding people of the diversity that Allah created them with and calling for peaceful dialogue. He continued to embody all the knowledge he acquired and all the science he had acquired to achieve this goal. He did not attend a forum or intellectual gathering without peaceful harmony being the chord he struck. In the context of defining his view of managing diversity in Sudan, Dr. El-Tayeb explained his position on tribalism as a fundamental door in the topics of diversity.
He stated in a forum held by Taiba Press under the titles (Tribalism, Sectarianism and the Civil State) that he is neither for nor against tribalism, and that it is like water that can drown a place or water a crop, and the societal view of it is what determines its context as a supporter of development and progress, or a negative tool that leads to a decline to a bad level.
The basic principle is that there is a system for dividing resources, a system for security and a system for coexistence, and the tribe is one of the structures of this organization. He emphasizes tribalism as a tool that serves its purpose through the hand that moves it and the view it receives in the social and political context.
Its positive or negative influence does not come from within it, but from outside it. In this sense, he does not follow in the footsteps of those who call for the complete eradication of tribalism, but rather recognizes its place in the social context, and calls for positive interaction with it. Dr. Al-Tayeb focused on the fact that diversity is the origin of societies and that there is no completely homogeneous society, due to the differences between individuals. Complete homogeneity in some societies is a big lie that does not exist, and that daily life is a series of concessions made by individuals and groups for the sake of peaceful coexistence.
He summarized his concept for solving the problem of coexistence in a symposium he presented entitled (The Future of Peaceful Coexistence in Sudan), saying that through our concessions and the system we plan, we live in peace, and otherwise, difference becomes a problem when it turns into conflict, and conflict becomes a problem when it turns into a dispute, and conflict becomes a major problem when the factor of violence enters into it. It is necessary to make arrangements that make difference a positive means to preserve the structure of social peace. In this symposium, he summarized the way to manage diversity, saying: (There is no power except for agreement, no power except for peace, no power except for consent, and to serve people and meet their needs so that they live happily in their societies and become true partners).
Dr. Al-Tayeb often protests against the discrimination between cultures on the basis that some are primitive and some are dominant. He believes that no human group is devoid of culture, and that such discrimination is derived from colonial ideology and its vision of societies and the world, and is a consequence of the penetration of our intellectual and cultural system.
To affirm this view, he stated in his paper entitled: Historical Background to the Constitutional Building Process in Sudan, that one of the reasons for the failure of previous constitutional experiments in Sudan is that they did not derive their legitimacy from their nationalism, but rather were expressive of the elites who established them and the political systems that adopted them, and then these experiments went with their owners, whether they were specific parties or military or revolutionary systems.

Anti-War Campaign :

Dr. Al-Tayeb participated in the campaign launched by the Peace Research Center at the University of Khartoum in September 2015 to combat war in areas of armed conflict and called on all conflicting parties, government and opposition, to immediately stop the war. He presented a paper in which he indicated that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could not stop the violence, and that it opened up new fronts in the country.
He added that the parties’ failure to accept serious dialogue will open the door to what is more difficult.
Anti-War Campaign :

Dr. El-Tayeb participated in the campaign launched by the Peace Research Center at the University of Khartoum in September 2015 to oppose war in areas of armed conflict and called on all conflicting parties, government and opposition, to immediately stop the war. He presented a paper in which he indicated that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could not stop the violence, and it opened up new fronts in the country. He also stated that the parties’ failure to accept serious dialogue will open the door to what is more difficult.
Such contributions that are passionate about the national issue and call for stopping the war and resolving the political problem through a peaceful solution are countless in Dr. El-Tayeb’s life.
He participated in dozens of seminars and presented similar papers that flowed in the same direction. From his position as an academic and national activist, he met with political actors in the national issue in many forums and presented his visions for reaching a peaceful solution to the country’s problems.
National Initiative for Peace and Reform :

The personality of Dr. Al-Tayeb in his latest political contributions, which is his formulation among fifty-two academics, politicians and national figures in March 2016 of an initiative for political reform in Sudan that was submitted to the President of the Republic, entitled (The National Initiative for Peace and Reform). Those who know Dr. Al-Tayeb and have read the initiative realize that the initiative was formulated by Dr. Al-Tayeb as it expresses his always non-violent vision and his approach to peaceful political transformation. It proposed a transitional period to be undertaken by a national task force formed of competent, experienced and honest people to implement a way out for the country from the crises it faces, provided that it has the basic components to enhance the success of the transitional phase by providing basic public freedoms and enhancing mutual acceptance between national parties.
The initiative set a number of conditions to achieve the required transformation.
Although the initiative was not destined to move forward during the life of the late Dr. Al-Tayeb, its principles can be inspired to solve the political problem and transform it into realistic approaches to political transformation, which will spare the country the risks and woes of violent conflict.
Dr. Al-Tayeb on the University of Khartoum website
Despite the greatness of Dr. Al-Tayeb’s name. The heavy academic weight and the great community contribution, and the honor he received from the University of Khartoum in recognition of his active role and his notable achievements, but whoever refers to his biography on the official website of the Peace Research Institute at the University of Khartoum will only find a few lines that are barely satisfying, as there is hardly any documentation of the research he wrote and contributed to in internal or international conferences, nor of the books he authored except for a single research paper entitled (Evidence Generation in Developing Countries:

The Case of Sudan), nor is there a record of the achievements he achieved at the national level as a distinguished academic or community activist. The Peace Research Institute should have documented this distinguished biography, especially since the deceased held the position of dean of the institute between 2004 and 2009, in order to preserve the credit for those who deserve it, and to document the contributions of the university where Dr. Al-Tayeb was a professor for several decades.
May Allah have mercy on Dr. Al-Tayeb Haj Attia for what he gave to this country and grant him a good reception and abode.