The debate around religion and the State in Sudan and how to define the role of Islamic law in the legal realm â and in public life in particular â is a riddle that has since independence haunted politicians and the Sudanese elite alike. Prior to separation, delineating this controversial relationship in Sudanâs different constitutions had been one of the most contentious issues between the North and South Sudan. Post-separation, it was indisputably the key point of disagreement between the armed movements and the Bashir regime (until it fell in April 2019) and remains today an issue that is yet to be resolved. The relation between religion and the State will need to be properly addressed if the Sudanese people wish to build a nation on the basis of citizenship, without discrimination based on religion, race, or culture and without imposing an Arab-Islamic identity on a country so diverse.