Acknowledgments
Introduction: Of History and Memory
Chapter 1: Mullahs and the Militias
Chapter 2: The Sunni Salafists
Chapter 3: The Salafi Politicos
Chapter 4: Lebanon: Sectarianism and the Modern State
Chapter 5: Bahrain and the Shi'a Question
Chapter 6: Sectarian Conflict on the Regional Stage
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Geneive Abdo is a senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council In Washington, DC. She is also an adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University.
"Abdo combines a wealth of experience of reporting in the Middle
East, fresh interviews, and an expansive survey of social media...
Anyone interested in better perceiving current conflicts in the
region will benefit from Abdo's analysis and her assertion that how
Shi'a and Sunni perceive each other in the wake of Arab uprisings
affects Arab life at every level of society."-- Publishers
Weekly
"Abdo offers a bold and provocative reassessment of the power and
resilience of sectarian identities in a new Middle East. It has
become easy to explain Sunni-Shia divides as being primarily about
geopolitics. Abdo does us a great service in arguing that ideas and
doctrine do, in fact, matter. It is time to bring religion back
into our understanding of sectarianism, and Abdo does exactly
that." --Shadi Hamid, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution and
author of
Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping
the World
"This compelling and urgent book dissects and re-appraises the
importance of religion to Middle Eastern cultures today. Abdo does
not promote a stereotypical or historically deterministic view of
these cultures, but urges readers to appreciate and respect the
very real challenges confronting native reformers seeking to chart
an autonomous, authentic path to the reconstruction of religious
identity." --Khaled Abou El Fadl, Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Professor
of
Law, University of California, Los Angeles
"Sectarianism is a complex historical phenomenon that continues to
command international attention. Geneive Abdo investigates
political rhetoric, collective memory, and social media activism
among Sunni and Shi'a from Iraq and Lebanon to Bahrain and
elsewhere in the Gulf. Abdo makes the compelling case that
policymakers ignore the specifically religious aspects of
Sunni-Shi'a relations at great peril." --Max Weiss, Departments of
History and Near Eastern
Studies, Princeton University
"By exploring the social, political, and religious aspects of the
new sectarianism in the Middle East and beyond, Abdo convincingly
demonstrates that it is reshaping regional alliances and
threatening global geopolitics. This volume is a landmark in the
study of religion and politics in the Middle East." --Mark
Juergensmeyer, author of Global Rebellions: Religious Challenges to
the Secular State
"Abdo's treatment of these topics is balanced... What is original
is her analysis of prominent self-appointed Salafi "sheiks" and
their output on Twitter."-- John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs
"This careful analysis of the current state of the Arab world will
offer interested readers of the subject a solid perspective of the
various movements and how they interact."--Library Journal
"This is a critical resource for Western readers, most of whom do
not grasp the crucial diversity and impact of religious identity in
the region."--CHOICE Reviews
Ask a Question About this Product More... |