Introduction: conflicting representations of al-Turabi; 1. Early life and education, 1932–1964; 2. Charisma and its limitations, 1964–1989; 3. Salvation Regime, 1989–1999: 'one-man show'?; 4. Between liberalism and totalitarianism: al-Turabi's Western influences; 5. Reformer or radical? Islamic and Islamist influences; 6. Between global and defensive jihad; 7. The Islamic state: sharia, nationalism and non-Muslim rights; 8. Al-Turabi's Islamist democracy: a valid blueprint?; 9. Champion of the marginalised? The decentralisation strategy; 10. Legacy: Turabism, post-Islamism and neo-fundamentalism.