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

Geneive Abdo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195157931 | ISBN-13: 978-0195157932 | Publication Date: October 24, 2002 | Edition: First Edition

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a book of first-rate investigative reporting, Geneive Abdo uncovers the hidden side of Egypt's so-called Islamic threat. The Arab world's only secular state, Egypt is the West's trophy in the area's power politics, yet insurgent Islamism has been a constant threat to this status. While the West and Egypt's own government have focused on the importance of exterminating Islamic militants, a quiet revolution has transformed the general population. Abdo, news correspondent for British publications, dons her veil and interviews the varying faces of Egypt's newly devout Muslims. By the time Abdo has traipsed from Cairo slums to elite college campuses, from influential professional organizations to a den of militant activities, it is clear to anyone willing to see that Islamic organizations have been good to the majority of Egyptians, who have been locked out of Egypt's corrupt government. Yet Abdo also questions the implications of Islam as a political solution, and the answers can be disturbing. With Egypt viewed as a vanguard of the Middle East, No God but God cannot be ignored. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Despite recent efforts by historians and journalists, Islam still remains a subject that is misconstrued and often reviled by the West. Many books have tried to explain that all adherents of the prophet Mohammed are not terrorists, warmongers, empire builders, and anti-American. This most recent effort shows the peaceful nature of Islam and is a fascinating look at an Islamic subculture mostly unknown to the Western non-Muslim. Abdo, a Middle East correspondent for the Guardian and the Economist, has delved into the grassroots Islamic movement in Egypt to show how that country is accepting modern secularism, yet at the same time rediscovering Islamic religious devotion, and doing it peacefully. Abdo was able to break through the walls of mistrust felt toward the Western press by donning full Islamic dress and was allowed into a world that has little before been seen by outsiders. Through her interactions with Muslims of all social structures and classes in Egypt (thereby showing that Islamic revivalism is not a matter for just the poor), Abdo presents fruitful cross-cultural undercurrents that provide hope for peace and understanding between secularism and religion. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (October 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195157931
• ISBN-13: 978-0195157932
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Perceptive and Profound, November 24, 2000

By 

Tron Honto - See all my reviews

This review is from: No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam (Hardcover)

To be honest, when I first borrowed this book, I expected to sift through an easy read full of quirky anecdotes that I would enjoy but I did not find too engaging. It surprised me, however. Once again, it made me rethink the trends of Egyptian society and Islam. Mrs. Abdo is amazingly persistent in gathering the information for this book. As an expatriate living in Egypt with a first-hand observation of how difficult the society can be for Western women, I was in awe at her achievements.

Her portrait covers the slums to Imbaba to the elite of the American University in Cairo and Egyptian hollywood, and she provides interesting vignettes of each sector of society. I do wish she would have been a bit more comprhensive. The influential and visible Coptic population of Egypt remained on the margins. One cannot expect too much, so perhaps she fealt this was not a part of her analysis. Nonetheless, if you are fascinated by the Mid East and modern Egypt, you will enjoy this book heartily. It is readable and very accessible to the average reader.

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking through the veil, December 5, 2000

By 

Barney Edmonds (Stockbridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam (Hardcover)

"No God But God" offers a wonderful glimpse inside contemporary Egypt as this ancient society struggles with how it will integrate the precepts -- and spirituality -- of Islam into today's secular world. Ever since the Iranian revolution, we have been bombarded by an all-out media effort to demonize Arabs and marginalize their religion, especially the "threat" posed by fundamentalists. Geneive Abdo, an American journalist based in the Middle East, has made an extraordinary effort to track down and interview a vibrant cross-section of believers and has courageously asked them about their vision for Egypt and their agenda for realizing it. Her cast of characters is unforgettable: some frightening in their narrow-mindedness; some amusing in their depiction of the changes around them; and some wise in their capacity to envision a different world view.

I found that her reporting and her insights forced me to reconsider many assumptions about Islam and its followers. After reading the book, it's easier to understand why so many millions of people are clamoring for change and for an opportunity to express their religion the way they choose. During this intense time in the Palestinian/Israeli crisis her respectful and inquisitive treatment of the second-largest Islamic community in the region can help inform the debate ... and calm passions. By finding sources on the front lines of change -- those without access to the media -- she has made her book both intimate and credible. For me, someone without much knowledge about Egypt or Islam, shw was able to paint a very detailed foreground picture while expertly filling in much-needed background information: about the Koran, politics and politicians in Egypt, and the reasons for the "triumph of Islam."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Journalism Meets Anthropology In Cairo, October 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam (Hardcover)

In "No God But God," Texas-born Abdo applies the wiliness of street journalism and the observational wisdom and patience of cultural anthropology to write a tale that reveals so much about the relevance of moderate Islam to modern Egypt, you wonder why no one else wrote tbe book first. Why Abdo sees meaningful change when others see only a seemingly stable U.S. ally unthreatened by religious activism, who knows? But her account is a quick read into changes just around the bend--perhaps as soon as President Mubarak steps down or otherwise leaves the public stage. It is good to know that next Abdo, a correspondent for The Guardian newspaper, intends a book on the shifting scene in Iran. When she's done, folks will be slapping their foreheads again at why she caught the obvious that others could not. Until then, "No God But God" ranks as a must-read for all of us, Arabists and non-Arabists alike.