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KHARTOUM Fundament Islamic fundamentalism threatens the peace and perhaps the existence of the Sudan, Africa’s largest state and an important ally of the United States in the eastern half of the continent. President Gaifar el Nimeiry, who made it possible for his country to recover from a savage civil war in 1972, is, ironically, responsible for the new situation. When the war ended, he promulgated a constitution that guaranteed religious liberty and some measure of autonomy to the partly Christian, partly animist southern Sudan, while retaining Moslem institutions for the northern two-thirds of the country. In recent months, Nimeiry has abolished the southern regional assembly and introduced Sharia law, which upholds fundamentalist Moslem practices such as the amputation of hands for stealing and stoning for adultery. Nimeiry has also tried to introduce a provision into the constitution requiring that the president of the Sudan be well versed in Islamic law and life, a condition that would naturally exclude any southerner. Besides the United States, the Sudan’s other allies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are also concerned about the country’s stability. Saudi Arabia is sensitive to the growth of Moslem fundamentalism anywhere, especially in the Horn of Africa. And Egypt is automatically affected by events in the Sudan because of its position astride the whole upper Nile valley.

PYONGYANG Thinker-in-Chief The world’s most absolute Communist dictator, Kim Ilsung, ruler of North Korea, has decided, at 72, to start transferring power to his son, 42-year-old Kim Jong-il. The process is expected to take four years. The country’s new “Thinker-in-Chief” has already taken on some of the titles of his father, notably “Generous Father of the People,” as well as having succeeded him as commander of the armed forces. An article in the official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said the dynastic transition was required by “the importance of powerful Party leadership.” After praising the father’s leadership, the paper went on to say that “Our Party’s authority is today unprecedentedly high, thanks to the energetic activities of dear Comrade Jong-il, who is effecting a new turn in the building and activities of the Party.”

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KHARTOUM Fundament Islamic fundamentalism threatens the peace and perhaps the existence of the Sudan, Africa’s largest state and an important ally of the United States in the eastern half of the continent. President Gaifar el Nimeiry, who made it possible for his country to recover from a savage civil war in 1972, is, ironically, responsible for the new situation. When the war ended, he promulgated a constitution that guaranteed religious liberty and some measure of autonomy to the partly Christian, partly animist southern Sudan, while retaining Moslem institutions for the northern two-thirds of the country. In recent months, Nimeiry has abolished the southern regional assembly and introduced Sharia law, which upholds fundamentalist Moslem practices such as the amputation of hands for stealing and stoning for adultery. Nimeiry has also tried to introduce a provision into the constitution requiring that the president of the Sudan be well versed in Islamic law and life, a condition that would naturally exclude any southerner. Besides the United States, the Sudan’s other allies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are also concerned about the country’s stability. Saudi Arabia is sensitive to the growth of Moslem fundamentalism anywhere, especially in the Horn of Africa. And Egypt is automatically affected by events in the Sudan because of its position astride the whole upper Nile valley.

PYONGYANG Thinker-in-Chief The world’s most absolute Communist dictator, Kim Ilsung, ruler of North Korea, has decided, at 72, to start transferring power to his son, 42-year-old Kim Jong-il. The process is expected to take four years. The country’s new “Thinker-in-Chief” has already taken on some of the titles of his father, notably “Generous Father of the People,” as well as having succeeded him as commander of the armed forces. An article in the official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said the dynastic transition was required by “the importance of powerful Party leadership.” After praising the father’s leadership, the paper went on to say that “Our Party’s authority is today unprecedentedly high, thanks to the energetic activities of dear Comrade Jong-il, who is effecting a new turn in the building and activities of the Party.”