The novel "New Jerusalem" combines philosophy, sociology, history, love, and literature, and above that it includes "religion" because the era to which it was exposed is a purely religious era, whether that was among Christians or among Muslims. Talking about it includes religion, of course and necessity, and without it, the talk would be incomplete in its most important aspects.
The novel embodies various human conflicts, in which the powers of cowardice, humiliation, and self-interest compete, in exchange for the power of self-esteem, freedom of thought, and boldness of principle.