About 40 percent
of Ivorian nationals and three quarters of the immigrant population in Ivory
Coast are Muslims. They are often all referred to as Dioulas, the name of
one of the country's Muslim ethnic groups.
Definitions
of ethnicity and religious belief are often blurred in Ivory Coast, where
Christians have long dominated the political leadership. For example, the
current civil war pits northern and western ethnic groups against the south.
Most of the northerners are Muslims and most of the southerners are
Christians, but that aspect of the divide is seldom mentioned.
In the past two
elections, the government prevented many northern Muslims from voting by
raising questions about their nationality. The government also barred the
exiled Muslim opposition leader, former Prime Minister Alasanne Ouattara,
from running for president by raising questions about his nationality.
