Today 23 percent of the global population is Muslim but ignorance & misinformation about Islam persist In this fascinating & useful book Perry Anderson interviews the noted scholar of Islam Suleiman Mourad about the Qur'an & the history of the faith Mourad elucidates the different stages in Islam's development the Qur'an as scripture & the history of its codification; Muhammad & the significance of his Sunna & Hadith; the Sunni-Shi'i split & the formation of various sects; the development of jihad; the transition to modernity & the challenges of reform; & the complexities of Islam in the modern world He also looks at Wahhabism from its inception in the eighteenth century to its present-day position as the movement that galvanized modern Salafism & gave rise to militant Islam or jihadism The Mosaic of Islam reveals both the richness & the fissures of the faith It speaks of the different voices claiming to represent the religion & spans peaceful groups & manifestations as well as the bloody confrontations that disfigure the Middle East such as the Saudi intervention in the Yemen & the collapse of Syria & Iraq