Takes apart the faith communities following 50 per cent Saudis (8)
I believe the answer is:
dissects
'takes apart' is the definition.
('dissect' can be a synonym of 'take apart')
'faith communities following 50 per cent saudis' is the wordplay.
'faith communities' becomes 'sects' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'following' says to put letters next to each other.
's0 per cent' means to take half the letters.
'saudis' with half the letters taken is 'dis'.
'sects' put after 'dis' is 'DISSECTS'.
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dissects that I've seen before include "Cuts open and takes apart" , "Cuts apart to examine internally" .)