Nearly six years after the Arab uprisings began it is clear that any dream of a pan-Islamic awakening is now more elusive than ever. The wave of unrest has deepened ethnic and religious tensions between Sunni and Shi'a-largely contained in previous years-pushing them once again to the fore. Religious difference and how Muslims define themselves have emerged as salient characteristics within Arab society, displacing the broader conflict between Muslims and the West as the primary challenge facing Islamic societies of the Middle East. The conflict is also likely to replace the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as the key issue mobilizing Arab political life. The New Sectarianism considers the causes for growing Sunni-Shi'a animosity in key countries such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The book demonstrates how sectarian contestation, now recognized as one of the long-term effects of the Arab uprisings, presents the international community with new dilemmas and challenges. This new, renewed sectarianism is particularly corrosive in the face of the generally weak states and hapless state actors, which today characterize much of the region. It also illustrates how Shi'a and Sunni perceive one another after the Arab uprisings, and how these perceptions have affected Arab life. In doing so, the book argues that religion in Arab society matters, not only in how it is instrumentalized by extremists, moderate Islamists, and dictators alike for political purposes, but how it perpetually evolves and is perceived and practiced among the vast majority of Muslims in its own right.

Western media has consistently focused on the extremes of Islam, overlooking a quiet yet pervasive moderate religious movement that is currently transforming the nation of Egypt. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, No God But God opens up previously inaccessible segments of Egyptian society to illustrate the deep penetration of "Popular Islamic" influence. Geneive Abdo provides a firsthand account of this movement, allowing its leaders, street preachers, scholars, doctors, lawyers, men and women of all social classes to speak for themselves. Challenging Western stereotypes, she finds that this growing number of Islamists do not seek the violent overthrow of the government or a return to a medieval age. Instead, they believe their religious values are compatible with the demands of the modern world. They are working within and beyond the secular framework of the nation to gradually create a new society based on Islamic principles.

Both fascinating and unsettling, Abdo's findings identify a grassroots model for transforming a secular nation-state to an Islamic social order that will likely inspire other Muslim nations.

Islam is Americas fastest growing religion, with more than six million Muslims in the United States, all living in the shadow of 9/11. Who are our Muslim neighbors? What are their beliefs and desires? How are they coping with life under the War on Terror?
In Mecca and Main Street, noted author and journalist Geneive Abdo offers illuminating answers to these questions. Gaining unprecedented access to Muslim communities in America, she traveled across the country, visiting schools, mosques, Islamic centers, radio stations, and homes. She reveals a community tired of being judged by American perceptions of Muslims overseas and eager to tell their own stories. Abdo brings these stories vividly to life, allowing us to hear their own voices and inviting us to understand their hopes and their fears.
Inspiring, insightful, tough-minded, and even-handed, this book will appeal to those curious (or fearful) about the Muslim presence in America. It will also be warmly welcomed by the Muslim community.