m: A Mosaic, Not A Monolith by Vartan Gregorian (President of the Carnegie Corpo

ration of New York), is an informed and informative survey of the Islamic faith
since its inception some 1,400 years ago. Examining Islam's tenets, institutions
, changes, role in history, crucial questions that have caused strife among Musl
im states, and a great deal more, Islam: A Mosaic, Not A Monolith is readily acc
essible to non-specialist general readers, yet thoughtful enough in its study an
d presentation of complicated issues of faith, politics, and culture to be of co
nsiderable value for scholars and dedicated students of Islamic Studies as well.
In view of contemporary American efforts to combat the threat of international
terrorism arising from fundamentalist Islamic extremists, Islam: A Mosaic, Not A
Monolith should be present in the collections of every school and community lib
rary system in the country.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
A Book On Islam That Engages Your Intelligence, Rather Than Insulting It
By Caesar Warrington on September 3, 2007
Format: Paperback
"Huntington [Samuel P. Huntington, author of THE CLASH Of CIVILIZATIONS And The
REMAKING Of The WORLD ORDER] and others who write about a clash of civilizations
do not recognize that class, tribal, family, personal, ethnic, cultural, econom
ic, and national interests have always defied a unity of purpose that transcends
all these divisions. As shown above, instances when the Muslim world was a unif
ied monolith have been extremely rare. Throughout Islamic history, the gravitati
onal pull of regional, dynastic, and since the nineteenth century nationalist in
terests has consistently outweighed the spiritual affiliations of some idealized
, transcendent, organic umma. If history is a guide, it shows that in Islam, as
in most major religions, there is a broad gulf between the ideal of unity and th
e realities on the ground." (ISLAM: A MOSAIC, NOT A MONOLITH, pp. 110-111).
The above paragraph provides the gist of Vartan Gregorian's excellent book, disp
elling certain myths about both the Islamic world and Islamist extremism which a
re being promoted by some politicians, journalists, writers and religious leader
s in the West.
Gregorian shows that the idea of a totalitarian Pan-Islamic juggernaut determine
d to engulf the world and submit it to "sharia" law not only is unlikely it has
no historical foundation. While the fears of Islamist extremism are naturally no
t unwarranted and should be taken seriously, Gregorian also wants us to keep in
mind the intense struggles between modernity and traditionalism, as well as reli
gion and nationality in the Muslim world.Read more
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Useful and reliable, but very introductory
By R. M. Peterson TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on November 9, 2007
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I bought and read this book as part of my self-education program on Islam. It tu
rned out to be not nearly as detailed as I had expected, especially in its discu
ssion of the tenets of Islam and their application(s) in the modern world. The p
rincipal point of the book is to refute the popular perception of Islam as a mon
olith bent on clashing with and destroying Christianity and/or the West. Still,
as far as it goes it is a very useful introduction, both reliable and objective,
and, as others have noted, superior to Karen Armstrong and far superior to Robe
rt Spencer.
(When I was in junior high school in the early '60s, the perceived threat to the
U.S. was communism, and wanting to learm more about that pressing issue I bough

t a book by J. Edgar Hoover on communism. Needless to say, it wasn't very helpfu

l, although it took me several years to come to that realization. Reading a book
by Robert Spencer to learn about Islam would not be much different.)
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Presentation of the Middle Ground
By Joseph F. Birchmeier on October 19, 2007
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I thought this book presented a balanced view of Islam - not alarmist in nature,
but at the same time not pretending that there are not fundamentalists that att
empt to use Islam to justify their actions. Quick and easy read - completely enj
oyed it.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Very Good But Ignores a Key Question
By Henry Koether on July 7, 2008
Format: Paperback
To educate myself on Islam, I have read a number of books in the past two years
on Islam - ranging from those who trash Islam to those who defend it. Gregorian'
s book is a very good summary of the history and complexities of the issue of Is
lam and how it fits into today's world. It is adequate, but light on the Sunni/S
hiite divide, which is a critical to understanding the Middle East today.
I debated whether this book should get 4 or 5 stars and decided on four because
I think it avoids a critical question. Its theme is that religious tolerance is
critical in today's world. But there are two forms of tolerance: a) accepting th
at others can disagree with you without beating them to a pulp, and b) believing
that all religions are morally equivalent and acceptable to God - kind of a "mo
re than one way to heaven/salvation" statement. Gregorian seems to lump those tw
o thoughts together.
I speak not from a Muslim perspective, but a Christian one. In the mosaic of Chr
istianity, the liberal denominations are moving towards a "all religions are acc
eptable to God" philosophy. Those denominations are also dying. The growth in th
e Christian community is with the denominations that believe in the uniqueness (
and essential belief for salvation) of the historical Christian creed. And they
are doing so accepting religious tolerance of the first kind, but not the second
. I suspect this same issue is being played out in the Islamic world also - but
because of the lack of freedom of speech, expression and religion (think Iran an
d Saudi Arabia especially), it is much more muted.Read more
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Excellent Read.
Level headed analysis, excellent read for people who know a little about Islam,
and those who know a lot about it. its an easy read, so it will sustain your int
erest.
Published 18 months ago by Eyitayo
An excellent introduction to Islam, even more relevant today, 2009,...
I enjoyed reading Vartan Gregorian's book "Islam: A Mosiac, Not a Monolith". It
was written in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, as we in the US struggled to und

erstand why it... Read more

Published on July 5, 2009 by Howard Schulman
Welcome voice of reason
The book was addressed to an American audience; its mission was to provide a bri
ef survey of the Muslim world, its religion and ideologies, with the objective t
o destroy the... Read more
Published on January 25, 2008 by H. Schneider
Most