2 “Sharīʿa and Reality”: A Domain of Contest among Sunni Muslims in the District of Shendi, Northern Sudan

Abstract

This chapter examines the way in which some Muslim groups in Northern Sudan take opposite sides over the issues of sharīʿa and reality. It considers the Muslim diversity in Northern Sudan to be an argument that any attempt to implement the sharīʿa will be fraught with conflict. This premise is supported by field data from the urban and rural communities of the District of Shendi, which represents the southern part of the River Nile State, on the eastern bank of the Nile. These communities are multicultural, multiethnic and inclusive of some Muslim and Christian religious groups. The Muslim groups, which are all Sunni, include both males and females in their memberships. Dividing the Muslims into these groups in the District of Shendi has been in response to their self-identification, as the boundaries among these groups are clear in the region. Keywords: sharīʿa ; District of Shendi; Nile; Northern Sudan; Shendi; Sunni Muslims