In Persian folklore, Syngue Sabour is the name of a magical black stone, a patience stone, which absorbs the plight of those who confide in it. It is believed that the day it explodes, after having received too much hardship and pain, will be the day of the Apocalypse. But here, the Syngue Sabour is not a stone but rather a man lying brain-dead with a bullet lodged in his neck. His wife is with him, sitting by his side. But she resents him for having...

Inside the winner-take-all battle for the hearts, minds and souls of the people of the Middle East. Including never-before-seen profiles of the Radicals, the Reformers and the Revivalists, the book explains the implications of each movement, the importance of each leader, not only through the lenses of politics and economics but through the third lens of Scripture. Today, wars and revolutions define the modern Middle East, and many believe the worst...

A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives, which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith, abruptly disturbed when they are forced to follow the new laws of their foreign occupants.

The first definitive account of the lost girls of Boko Haram and why their story still matters--by celebrated international journalist Isha Sesay. In the early morning of April 14, 2014, the militant Islamic group Boko Haram violently burst into the small town of Chibok, Nigeria, and abducted 276 girls from their school dorm rooms. From poor families, these girls were determined to make better lives for themselves, but pursuing an education made them...

In Cairo in the 1940s, Leila Ahmed was raised by a generation of women who never dressed in the veils and headscarves their mothers and grandmothers had worn. Today, however, the majority of Muslim women again wear the veil. Ahmed explores why this change took root so swiftly and what the shift means for women.

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family. Their long dream is realized when the hated Shah is defeated in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, Marji grows up to witnesses first hand how the new Iran has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study....