ABSTRACT
Religious and ethnic divisions In the introductory chapter the division of Islam into Shia and Sunni sects was discussed. Figure 3.1 offers a more detailed description of the fragmentation of Islam.
The theological and historical basis of these religious groups is less important to the theme of the present chapter than two other characteristics. First, the way in which the Islamic world has traditionally dealt with fundamental differences within the faith has been through the distancing of opposing views, as represented by the concentration, and sometimes segregation, of religious minorities in particular places or localities. Prior to the arrival of the Western concept of the ‘nation state’ these minorities often controlled many of their own affairs, enacting within their community or locality their own religious practices. This did not necessarily mean economic isolation from surrounding peoples-for example the Kharijite peoples (Figure 3.1) of the island of Djerba were an important trading community enjoying extensive commercial links. Under the Ottoman empire the spatial separation of religious minorities was one means by which a decentralized political system was able to allocate responsibilities in a hierarchical fashion. This allowed considerable autonomy to minorities to organize their internal affairs.
