Hasan At-Turabi...the Progressive? Even when he is good, I don't trust him. So At-Turabi gave a very interesting talk the other day about women in Islam, and he issued several very elightened opinions: he argued that there is no real Qur'anic reason that prevents a Muslim woman from marrying a Jewish or Christian man; that a woman's testimony is equal--if not superior--to that of a male; that the veil is not required in Islam; and he reiterated an opinion that he had rendered several months ago to the effect that a woman can lead worshippers in prayer. But this is a man who can't be trusted, who changes and switches positions as his political circumstances change. This is a man most responsible for changing the political culture of Sudan. Sudan, lest you forget, used to have a most interesting and most progresive political culture, with the Communist Party of Sudan being one of the strongest parties in the Arab world in the 1960s. This is a man who used his charisma and brilliance to push for Islamization of the country under Numayri and Bashir; only when they turned against him, he turned against them, but not on principle. Turabi is one of those individuals that you read and wonder: if only this brilliant mind is devoted to a good cause. And his talk contained some sexist elements: like saying that commerce is not "the speciality" of women.