Abdullahi grew up in a Sudan that was under the occupation of the British Empire and from a young age joined in the sentiments of the youth that was disgruntled by the occupation, and was calling for the withdrawal of the British from Sudan. In March 1949 Babikir Karrar Al-Nour (بابكر كرار النور), Mohammad Yousif Mohammad (محمد يوسف محمد), Mohammad Mohammad Ali (محمد محمد على), Adam Fadl-Allah (آدم فضل اللة) and Yousif Hassan Said (يوسف حسن سعيد) established the Islamic Liberation Movement (حركة التحرير الاسلامية) at the University of Khartoum. The goal of the movement was to liberate Sudan from the British occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the country.