More on Sudanese editor Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed.

Edited.

Update to Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed's murder at Difficult Images

Ahmed was a journalist and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He had supposedly been rebutting an article written 500 years ago by the historian Al-Maqrizi. The Historian Al-Maqrizi suggested in a manuscrit titled "The unknown in the Prophet’s life" that the real name of Mohammed's father was Abdel Lat or "Slave of Lat and not Abdallah as it was believed.

Mohammed Taha's attempt to explore this position in an article published on April 21, 2006 in his publication, the daily Al-Wifaq was perceived as an insult to the Prophet. His paper was closed down for three months and on May 4, the government of Sudan accused Ahmed of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed. Death penalty was demanded by the prosecution.

According to the Associated Press, Ahmed apologized in a statement to the press while denying the charges.

Taha had previously escaped a murder attempt in 1990. Critical of other Islamic groups, his positions caused anger when he published an article about the Islamist leader Hassan Turabi. Al-Turabi is thought to have played an important role in institutionalizing Islamic Sharia law in Northern Sudan. Turabi was a friend and protector of Ossama Bin Laden who married one of Turabi's nieces.

"Turabi sought to persuade Shiites and Sunnis to put aside their divisions and join against the common enemy. In late 1991 or 1992, discussions in Sudan between al Qaeda and Iranian operatives led to an informal agreement to cooperate in providing support-even if only training-for actions carried out primarily against Israel and the United States. Not long afterward, senior al Qaeda operatives and trainers traveled to Iran to receive training in explosives." -- 9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 2. [1]

Brief biography of Al-Turani - Human Rights Watch News.
Hassan al Turabi, a graduate of Khartoum University School of Law and of the Sorbonne, became a leader of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1960s...

News agencies in Sudan covering Ahmed 's story, Arabic language:
ALRAY-ALAM : Article 1 - Article 2
Addaraweesh


So far today I found nothing in the news from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran on Taha's case.

According to the Jordan Times, there is growing opposition to the Sudanese government.

Sudanese mourn death of editor, fear for future
Jordan Times

KHARTOUM (Reuters) — A sea of white-clothed mourners laid Sudanese editor Mohammad Taha to rest on Thursday after he was kidnapped and killed by unknown armed men, raising fears of a new brand of extreme violence in Sudan.

Taha's decapitated body was found dumped on a dirt road on Wednesday. He had drawn protests from Islamic groups last year by reprinting a series of articles questioning the roots of the Prophet Mohammad.

Amid cries of "There is no God but God" and "God is Greatest", thousands attended his funeral, including government ministers who sat alongside journalists and Taha's family.

"The authorities have to get these people — it's their responsibility," said Taha's uncle, Nasrallah Ali Mustafa.

Hundreds of riot police lined the streets of central Khartoum and near the cemetery in a show of force by the interior minister whose resignation was demanded by hundreds of mourners at the morgue on Wednesday after Taha's body was found.

Sudanese were shocked by the gruesome crime, the first of its kind, and commentators voiced widespread concern it may be the start of a worrying new and violent trend.

"Something must be done before the abduction phenomenon develops into a practice," said state-owned Sudan Vision, which printed in black and white only.

The semi-independent Watan paper said: "When you open this evil door to hell and knives and bullets take the place of the pen, this means we are.... on the path to chaos." Police said they had made some arrests but no one has claimed responsibility for his death and authorities admit they are at a loss as to who committed the crime.

"The circumstances are very murky," said journalist Sabah Mohammad Hassan. "This is the first time we see something like this in the history of this country..."

Other sources:
Alarm about trial of journalist on blasphemy charge
Reporters Without Borders - May 12, 2005

Journalist charged, threatened after story on prophet
CPJ - Committee to Protect Journalists - May 06, 2006

Hassan al-Turani - Wikipedia

Al-Maqrizi - Wikipedia [1]