it seems to me that Islam is a big part
northern sudan's dominance is the legacy of britain's determination to recast africa to best exploit its people and their resources. it's beyond me why kitchener chose to partner up with and empower--rather than eradicate--the fanatics who massacred 50,000 residents of khartoum a decadee earlier. musta paid off for the empire though.
in the 50s, sudan became one entry on a long list of places the brits plundered, destabilized by eliminating traditional boundaries and playing their inhabitants against one another only to eventually dump their mess on the rest of the world.
had they stayed the hell outta the region, sudan might now be three smaller countries of which only one would be islamic.