Study of Cultural and Religious Movements in Sudan with Emphasis on the Pathology of Cultural Diplomacy of Iran in This Country

One of the most important mechanisms and tools for attaining the goals of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iranian which are based on fostering the Iranian-Islamic culture is to develop and pursue an effective cultural diplomacy. This is of critical importance in Sudan as one of the countries with the most permissive attitudes towards the Sufi movements. Despite the presence of two intellectual-cultural movements, Sufism and Shiasm in Sudan, currently the active presence of Wahhabi currents poses a serious threat to these two movements. It seems that pathology of the cultural diplomacy of Iran in Sudan could pave the way for development of cultural relations and countering the threats to the relationship between Iran and the Sudan.
In order to identify the opportunities and weaknesses of cultural diplomacy of Iran at Sudan, this study seeks to explain the cultural and religious movementsin this country. The main objective of this study is to answer the fundamental question of "what religious and cultural currents exist in Sudan?" The hypothesis of this paper is that three important cultural-religious movements are found in Sudan: Sufism, Shiasm, and Wahhabism. In this paper, descriptive-analytical method and library research were used to answer the main research question.