ABSTRACT
At first glance, the Muslim states on both sides of the Sahara seem very similar. There is a centralized ruler, viewed by the people as a commander of the faithful. There are religious personnel who adjudicate in semiseparate courts, according to the rules of Islamic jurisprudence. Indeed, throughout history the monarchs of these states have taken the long arduous journey to Mecca in order to fulfill their religious obliga tions, and-from early times onwards-most of the Sudanese kingdoms have been regarded as integral parts of the greater Islamic world by scholars in and beyond the perimeter of Islam.
