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Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- Part 1: War on Terrorism -- 1. Before 9/11 -- 2. American Responses Post-9/11 -- 3. Militant Islam Post-9/11 -- Part 2: Islam and Muslims -- 4. Writ Large -- 5. In the West -- 6. Presenting and Representing Islam in America -- Part 3: The Arab-Israeli and Other Conflicts -- 7. The Oslo Diplomacy -- 8. The Oslo War -- 9. Syria vs. Israel -- 10. Iraq vs. All -- Part 4: American Views -- 11. Making U.S. Policy -- 12. The Academy Interprets -- Sources -- Index

Daniel Pipes has collected some of his sharpest and most prescient writings from the quarter century 1989-2014. In them, he addresses a range of current topics, from the origins of the civil war in Syria to denying the Islamic factor in terrorism, to the way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Pipes pursues two themes in particular: the internal instability of Muslim-majority countries, in which nothing abides, and the expression of Muslims' drive to apply Islamic law. Pipes' interests concentrate on the Middle East as understood from a historical point of view and on the role of Islam in politics. Divided into five thematic sections, this work addresses the Arab-Israeli conflict, Middle Eastern politics, Islam in modern life, Islam in the West, and individuals connected to American Islam. Pipes' deep knowledge, gained over forty-five years of study, combined with incisive writing and a well-regarded courage to speak out on controversial topics make Nothing Abides a compelling read for Middle East specialists, students, and the interested public.

Arab-Israeli partisanship fits a broader pattern in which distance turns greys into blacks and whites, increasing political passions. In the case of the Contra war in Nicaragua, the journalist Stephen Schwartz writes that, on the one side, 'Sandinistas often commented to me that they were put off to realize that their Democrat supporters in Washington employed a bloodthirsty rhetoric that would never have been heard in the towns of Central America.' When asked about this, a Sandinista explained: 'We have to face death, and it makes us less willing to speak idly about it; but they enjoy talking about a death they will never risk or inflict on others. This pattern runs contrary to the general assumption that the frenzied combatants in a war need cool-headed outsiders to help guide them to resolution and peace -- an assumption that sometimes leads to the unfortunate decision to put ignoramuses in charge of diplomacy and policy. Adapted from the source document.

The pre-political brigadier-general of 2006 anticipated the somewhat contradictory chief of staff; defense minister, and president. Retired field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is a pious Muslim ambivalent about Islamists; a fan of the caliphate in theory who rejects it in practice; a critic of Mubarak's who permitted the revival of his political party; a fan of democracy who wins 97% of the vote; a military officer theorizing on forms of democracy; a fan of independent media who allows journalists to be convicted of terrorism charges; a critic of tyranny who encourages adulation of himself. Sisi, clearly, remains a work in progress, a 59-year-old still trying to discover who he is and what he thinks even as he rules a country of eighty-six million. Outside powers can help by cooperating with Sisi on immediate concerns -- arms, counterterrorism, and intelligence -- and pressuring him on longer-term issues -- military business operations, the rule of law, and human rights. Adapted from the source document.