As the Arab Spring erupted, hopes ran high that this signaled a regional cry for secular-based reform and pan-Islamic cooperation. That didn't pan out. Instead, it seems to have exacerbated the Shi'a-Sunni divide in violent and disastrous ways. Abdo examines how the prospect of democracy threatens minorities and sends them looking for support, how the religious adherence (or not) of the old authoritarian ruler drives identity after his ouster, the assistance to be had by Salafi or Shi'a regional powers (Saudi Arabia or Iran) in exchange for religious affiliation, and how this kaleidoscopes differently across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Bahrain.