[2][3] Taha was born in a village near Rufaa, a town on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile, 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of Khartoum.

The Meccan verses saying things like "You [Muhammad] are only a reminder, you have no dominion over them”; Medinan speak of the "duties and norms of behavior" in Islam, such as: “Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred one of them over another..." (Q.4:34).

[6] True Shariah law, Taha believed, was not fixed, but had the ability "to evolve, assimilate the capabilities of individual and society, and guide such life up the ladder of continuous development".

Taha preached that the Sudanese constitution should be reformed to reconcile "the individual's need for absolute freedom with the community's need for total social justice."

[11] The next day he was sentenced to death along with four other followers (who later recanted and were pardoned) for "heresy, opposing the application of Islamic law, disturbing public security, provoking opposition against the government, and re-establishing a banned political party.

Describing his hanging, journalist Judith Miller writes: Shortly before the appointed time, Mahmoud Muhammad Taha was led into the courtyard.

The condemned man, his hands tied behind him, was smaller than I expected him to be, and from where I sat, as his guards hustled him along, he looked younger than his seventy-six years.

I managed to catch only a glimpse of Taha’s face before the executioner placed an oatmeal-colored sack over his head and body, but I shall never forget his expression: His eyes were defiant; his mouth firm.

[1]Despite his group of supporters (the Republican Brothers) were in small numbers, thousands of demonstrators protested his execution and police on horseback used bullwhips to drive back the crowd.

[13] The President/military dictator at the time Gaafar Nimeiry was overthrown by popular uprising four months later, the execution thought to be a contributing factor.