In this work, Stacey Philbrick Yadav attempts to debunk the widely-held belief that Islamist organizations merely seek to challenge the authority of the state. Instead, Yadav asserts that once these organizations become deeply entrenched within government apparatuses, they can instead strengthen state institutions. To anchor her thesis, Yadav focuses on Islah in Yemen and Hezballah in Lebanon—both legally recognized political organizations. By examining the work of these two organizations (e.g., Hezballah's welfare assistance to Lebanese citizens during its civil war), she builds a case that there are indeed Islamist groups that aspire to both work and cooperate within the existing structures of the state. In addition to demonstrating how these groups strengthen Muslim states, Islamists and the State also challenges the conventional Western views of Islamist parties by evaluating their involvement based on local contexts rather than on multinational interests and perspectives. Yadav's discussion demonstrates that despite being largely considered as primary actors in opposition politics, Islamist groups can be a vital element in political and governmental stability.