Views and ideology Mahjub was introduced to communist ideas while studying at
Fuad I University in Egypt, from which he was expelled in 1948 for political activities. He became the general secretary of the Sudanese Communist Party in February 1949. As a leading Marxist thinker in the Arab and African spheres, a number of his writings centered on the adaptation of
historical materialism to the specific socio-economic formations of Sudan, rejecting the mechanical transposition of Soviet or Chinese industrial models. Although he anchored the party firmly in orthodox
Marxism-Leninism, he defended the tactical independence of the SCP against directives from the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In contrast to strict
state atheism, Mahjub argued that Marxism in Sudan had to respect the deeply rooted religious consciousness of the masses, supporting freedom of religion. Under Mahjub's leadership, the SCP played an instrumental role in the mass uprisings that overthrew Abboud in 1964. Mahjub was executed by hanging at
Kobar prison in the early hours of Wednesday, 28 July 1971. The execution of its intellectual and organizational leadership severely weakened the Sudanese Communist Party, which never fully regained the hegemonic influence it held during the 1950s and 1960s. ==Writings==