Devotion to the Administrative State: Religion and Social Order in Egypt (Princeton University Press, 2024)

Devotion to the Administrative State asks why religious minorities seek recognition from the state even when recognition deepens the very distinctions that set them apart. Focusing on Coptic Orthodox Christians and Bahá’ís in modern and contemporary Egypt, the book argues that the pursuit of official recognition is a devotional practice, one through which communities seek to secure their integrity and coherence over time. Drawing on more than fifty years of administrative court decisions, theological discourse, and minority claims-making, the book rethinks the relationship among law, religion, and state power.

Finalist, American Academy of Religion Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, Analytical-Descriptive Studies, 2025

“Devotion to the Administrative State is a thought-provoking and trenchant book, a major new study that should be required reading for students interested in the nexus of law and religion.” —Matthew Engelke, Columbia University

“Oraby’s argument has a broad significance beyond the Egyptian case and her book is a must-read for those interested in the relation between majority religions and minority religions.” —Peter van der Veer, author of The Modern Spirit of Asia

A Universe of Terms: Religion in Visual Metaphor (Indiana University Press, 2022) | Open Access Edition

A Universe of Terms is an experiment in illustrated scholarship that brings text and image together to rethink eight familiar terms in the study of religion. Coauthors Mona Oraby and Emilie Flamme stage conversations among scholars who approach these concepts from different disciplinary and intellectual perspectives. Through a visual lexicon spanning spirit, economy, human, media, performance, space/place, modernity, and enchantment/disenchantment, the book explores both the limits of inherited scholarly vocabularies and the possibilities of thinking otherwise through visual form.

“Mona Oraby, Emilie Flamme, and their ghostwriters create the kind of visionary experimentation and innovation that are sorely lacking, but very much needed both within and beyond the academy today.” —Mark C. Taylor, Columbia University

“A Universe of Terms ushers into perceptible shape a series of interconnected propositions; it threads these together to create space for expansive imaginings. This hefty contribution is a brilliant object for study and thought.” —Sally M. Promey, Yale University