No God but God Egypt and the Triumph of Islam [Paperback]

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 Godopens 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.

As Abdo effectively points out in this important work, regardless of significant Western cultural influence and a relatively secular and firm Egyptian government, the grassroots Islamic revival taking shape in Egypt is indeed a serious and thriving force. --Middle East Insight

Geneive Abdo chronicles Egypt's contemporary moderate Islamist movement with clarity and insight....(She) has a firm grasp of the history of which she writes and an obvious empathy for her subjects. She is a fine journalist and a sensitive analyst. --The Washington Post Book World

Abdo's analysis is fresh, nuanced and grounded in extensive interviewing and observation in that country. --Christian Century

Geneive Abdo, the former correspondent in Tehran for theGuardianand