Introduction: changing role of civil society in the Arab world Tania Haddad and Elie Al Hindy PART I Sacred/non-secular perspectives on civil society and politics in the Arab world 1 Disambiguating the idea of public sphere and secularism in the Middle East Dara Salam 2 Civil society and non-profit governance in the Arab world Tania Haddad and Yara Zalzal 3 Rethinking Arab civil society: Arab Revolutions and reconceptualization of civil society Zaid Eyadat 4 The changing role of Arab civil society: between fundamentalism and civic activism Elie Al Hindy PART II Significant case studies 5 Trapped in a vicious circle? Why Egyptian civil society failed to capitalize on the revolution Moustafa Khalil 6 Civil society and political transition: the cases of Tunisia and Libya Elie Abouaoun 7 Religion, relief and reform: the history of civil society in Lebanon Tania Haddad, Thomas W. Haase and Melissa Ajamian 8 Constraints on Lebanese nongovernmental organizations: a survey of the literature Melissa Ajamian and Thomas W. Haase Conclusion Tania Haddad and Elie Al Hindy