Secular Coexistence in Lebanon

In this valuable book Raja Abillama has provided an anthropological account of secularism in Lebanon by focusing on the detailed way Muslim-Christian co-existence works there. Central to this analysis is his stress on the importance of particular legal, political and emotional aspects of social life. This is a thought-provoking study that enlarges and complicates our understanding of 'the secular' that is too often taken as an abstract generality. It deserves to be read not only by specialists of the Middle East but also by anyone seriously interested in theorising secularism.--Talal Asad, City University of New York Skilfully argued and richly illustrated with fascinating material from recent Lebanese legal history, Secular Coexistence is an essential contribution to the anthropology and political history of the Middle East. Through a careful study of Lebanese law and the types of coexistence between Christians and Muslims that it attempts to guarantee, Abillama expertly and sophisticatedly dissects the mechanisms of secular power it employs. In doing so, he masterfully reveals the ways that the law, through its careful management of religion, creates forms of communal life that are hard to transcend, as well as offers the seeds for thinking the relationship between law, religion, and the secular otherwise, moving beyond a politics of religious difference alone.--Noah Salomon, University of Virginia