Table of Contents

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

About the Author

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.

Reviews

"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