In 1999, an Egyptair jet flying from New York to Cairo crashed in the
Atlantic. American investigators have focused on the actions of the Egyptian
co-pilot who, they contend, deliberately crashed the plane in a
murder/suicide. Central to this theory is the co-pilot's repeatedly uttered
prayer to Allah as the plane twisted into its fatal dive, a sign of his
determined action. Islamic scholars have vehemently objected, noting the
everyday character of the prayer. Stereotypes of Islamic faith and its
supposed fanaticism remain strong in American imaginations.
Abdo's account of the recent, resurgent role of Islam in Egyptian
society belongs on every American's bookshelf. Using interviews
across the Egyptian social spectrum, Abdo reaches beyond official prattling
to explore groups of university students, professionals, and academics.
Abdo explodes myths about political and religious extremism in "popular
Islam." Instead, she details a growing, powerful grassroots attempt to build
an Egypt both modern and Islamic. The Islamic fundamentalist extremists so
prominent in American presentations of Islam have largely failed. The jury
is still out on the ultimate influence of this Islamic revival and its
consequences for the West, but Abdo shows that revival cannot be ignored or
dismissed.