In al-Tahtawï's book, the Sudanese were ultimately most important as targets of Egyptian colonialism. … As he described it, half of its inhabitants were like beasts and others like stones.The men of the Sudan forced their women into pros- titution, and they accepted the progeny of these unions, despite the prohi- bition of Islamic law. They taught the women to fornicate like beasts. If it had not been for the white Arabs—law la al-bayda min al-`arab la känu— they would have been blacker and blacker and blacker, nothing but black- ness—sawädan fï sawädin fï sawädin.

Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Coloni…, loc. 242