The Ansar under the leadership of chosen successors (22). In addition, despite the government's policy in 1927 and its orientation towards settling these immigrants in specific villages in the Kassala, Fung, Blue Nile, and White Nile provinces, some of them settled, seemingly on the advice of the Sayyid, in other areas in those provinces. Thus, they opened them up to the influence of the Ansar, and the idea of the Mahdiya took root there.

2- The second group whose support Sayyid Abd al-Rahman sought consisted of tribal populations, including the sheikhs of the regions along the river. Initially, the Sayyid was skeptical and hostile towards the native administration that the government had vigorously supported since 1924 to limit his power and break his influence among educated Sudanese. However, he soon realized that it was here to stay, and that the rational approach of living and letting others live held more rewarding possibilities (23). Sayyid Abd al-Rahman ultimately succeeded, through his practical conduct, in controlling the mechanism of the native administration, which, in his words, played a historical role and attracted tribal leaders as allies to the Ansar for the independence camp (24). In a similar vein, through financial aid and other means, the Sayyid was able to win the goodwill of the sheikhs of the Sufi orders, which were historically hostile to the Mahdiya.

Most importantly, Sayyid Abd al-Rahman used his wealth and reputation to seize the political leadership of a third group, namely the representatives of enlightened urban public opinion, especially in the three cities. In 1927, he initiated an organized and active campaign to announce himself in large and small cities, and from that year onwards, he generously celebrated the Prophet's birthday, an occasion that was not as well-connected and publicized as the 1922 famine in Fung. His refined lifestyle was also carefully calculated to impress the masses with his generosity and authority. Furthermore, his pre-arranged visits to cities, such as Medani in 1931 and Jabal Awliya in 1934, appeared to be public occasions. In Omdurman, he announced his plan to establish a public library. As 1929 approached, he was behind a project to establish the Sudan Commercial Agricultural Company, but this was prevented. He attempted to control the nascent labor movement that was just beginning in the country by proposing to sponsor the Khartoum Workers' Club, but the government, of course, was not involved (25). At the same time, Sayyid Abd al-Rahman saw that political nationalism was beginning to transcend religion.

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