Sanüa recognized the importance of the Mahdïya, but he misjudged how deep a blow the Mahdïya’s success was to Egyptian nationalism. And though the Mahdï’s rebellion shrank Egypt’s borders (both imagined and physical), Sanüa saw the Mahdï as an ally in the Egyptian struggle against the increasing British presence, a presence he considered to be a direct challenge to Egyptian polit- ical aspirations. He wrote many articles about the Sudan and Egypt joining together to defeat their common enemy, misinterpreting the message of the Mahdï’s revolution completely.

Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Coloni…, loc. 337