  The wave nature of light leads to interference and diffraction. A well known
example of the wave nature is Thomas Young's double slit experiment, where
light propagates through slits in an opaque screen to form a diffraction
pattern at the detector. Here we extend this concept from opaque screens to
spatially polarized wave fronts. The spatial variation of polarization gives
rise to diffraction, opening the possibility to manipulate the beam shape and
propagation direction via polarization control. We describe and simulate the
propagation of a spatially inhomogeneous polarized wavefront and then
experimentally demonstrate polarization control with a Bessel beam. Lensing in
a beam without the need to change the phase-front of a beam is shown. We
further explore how non-uniformly polarized beams may be used in combination
with phase modulation for a high speed point scanning technique. This is in
contrast to traditional methods of beam manipulation that make use of phase or
amplitude modulation alone. Our work shows that diffraction due to polarization
opens new possibilities for flexible and high speed beam control.
