ABSTRACT
Study of the prevailing hatred and suspicions that exist between the north and the south focuses on the nineteenth century slave trade; the derogation by the Arab-speaking Sudanese Muslims of the religious practices of the south; and non-recognition of the interests of the southern Sudanese and the Nuba by both the British colonialists and the post-independence administrations in Sudan (Mazrui and Tidy, 1984, p. 194; O'Ballance, 1977; Holt, 1961; Ewald, 1990). History, therefore, constitutes the prima facie determinant of conflict and ethnic polarization between the north and the south. The other studies that take multidimensional perspectives stress the importance attached to the issues of self-preservation, autonomy, and ethnic identity by the south as the center of conflict in Sudan (Wai, 1973, p. 3). The south did not accept the
Egyptian-British colonialism in Sudan. Similarly, the southerners have not accepted the post-independence Sudanese policies oflslamization.
