Editing Muhammad Ahmad (section)

==Response of the 'Ulema==
Despite his popularity among the clerics of the Samaniyya and other sects, and among the tribes of western Sudan, some of the [[Ulema]], or orthodox religious authorities, rejected Muhammad Ahmad's claim as the Mahdi. Among his most prominent critics were the Sudanese Ulema loyal to the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Sultan and employed by the [[Turco-Egyptian Sudan|Turco-Egyptian government]]. Examples were the Mufti Shakir al-Ghazi, who sat on the Council of Appeal in Khartoum, and the Qadi Ahmad al-Azhari in Kordofan. These critics were careful not to deny the concept of the Mahdi as such, but rather to discredit Muhammad Ahmad's claim to it.<ref>Islah and Tajdid.</ref> 

They pointed out that Muhammad Ahmad's manifestation did not conform to the prophecies laid out in the Hadith literature. In particular, they argued for the political interests of the Turco-Egyptian government and its British rulers, that his manifestation did not conform with the "time of troubles" "when the land is filled with oppression, tyranny, and enmity".<ref name="ReferenceA">Kapteijns, The Religious Background of the Mahdi.</ref>