One of the most disruptive forces, a force that has shaken the global order in the last few decades, is Islamism. In his new book Islamic Exceptionalism, How the Struggle over Islam is Reshaping the World, author Shadi Hamid offers a unique and provocative argument on how Islam is extraordinary in how it relates to politics. Divisions among citizens in the Muslim world aren't simply about power or material factors. They are the product of fundamental disagreements over the nature and purpose of the modern nation state, and the question of religion’s role in public life. Hamid argues for a new understanding of the role religion can play in political and public life, especially in the Arab world. He also makes a strong set of recommendations on how liberal, secular democracies should deal with the Middle East.