The Tenth Parallel

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A riveting investigation of the jagged fault line between the Christian and Muslim worlds unfolds along the tenth parallel, a geographical and ideological front line where the two religions collide. This line, seven hundred miles north of the equator, is home to over half of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims and sixty percent of the 2 billion Christians. In the bustling megacities and dense jungles of Africa and Asia, the encounter between these faiths is shaping their futures and impacting entire societies. Eliza Griswold, an award-winning investigative journalist and poet, has spent seven years exploring regions along this line, including Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Her narratives reveal that religious conflicts often intertwine with struggles over land, water, oil, and other natural resources, with local and tribal issues frequently influenced by religious beliefs. Griswold emphasizes that for the people she portrays, one's understanding of God is deeply connected to their geographical context; faith is both geographic and demographic along the tenth parallel. This urgent examination of the interplay between faith and worldly power offers essential insights into the conflicts over religion, nationhood, and resources that will reshape the world in the years ahead.