Between memory and desire

R. Stephen Humphreys's new book presents a much-needed and thoughtful analysis of Islam's place in today's Middle East. In clear, accessible language, he examines both the medieval and modern history of the region to show the interweaving of the sacred and secular in its political and intellectual life. Between Memory and Desire reminds us how Middle Easterners remember the past: the colonial era as a time of shame, the post-independence period as disappointing, and the Middle Ages as glorious. Driven by these memories, they struggle to liberate themselves from that past and to seize what…