"Perry Anderson interviews the noted scholar of Islam Suleiman Mourad about the Qur'an and the history of the faith. Mourad elucidates the different stages in Islam{u2019}s development: the Qur'an as scripture and the history of its codification; Muhammad and the significance of his Sunna and Hadith; the Sunni--Shi'i split and the formation of various sects; the development of jihad; the transition to modernity and the challenges of reform; and 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 and gave rise to militant Islam or jihadism."--Provided by publisher.