Mustafa Akyol

A provocative manifesto for an interpretation of Islam that synthesizes liberal ideas and respect for the Islamic tradition. From furious reactions to the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to the suppression of women, news from the Muslim world begs the question: is Islam incompatible with freedom? With an eye sympathetic to Western liberalism and Islamic theology, Mustafa Akyol traces the ideological and historical roots of political Islam. The years following Muhammad's passing in 632 AD saw an intellectual "war of ideas" rage between rationalist, flexible schools of Islam and the more dogmatic, rigid ones. The traditionalist school won out, fostering perceptions of Islam as antithetical to modernity. However, through his careful reexamination of the currents of Muslim thought, Akyol discovers a flourishing of liberalism in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire and the unique "Islamo-liberal synthesis" of present-day Turkey. Only by accepting a secular state, he powerfully asserts, can Islamic societies thrive. Persuasive and inspiring, Islam without Extremes offers a desperately needed intellectual basis for the reconcilability of Islam and religious, political, economic, and social freedoms.

Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty

A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance

Reopening Muslim Minds

This short but accessible book provides an argument that the Lockean revolution in Christianity--which reconciled faith with freedom--is both desperately necessary and also promisingly possible in Islam.

Why, as a Muslim, I Defend Liberty

“A welcome expansion of the fragile territory known as common ground.” —The New York Times When Reza Aslan’s bestseller Zealot came out in 2013, there was criticism that he hadn’t addressed his Muslim faith while writing the origin story of Christianity. In fact, Ross Douthat of The New York Times wrote that “if Aslan had actually written in defense of the Islamic view of Jesus, that would have been something provocative and new.” Mustafa Akyol’s The Islamic Jesus is that book. The Islamic Jesus reveals startling new truths about Islam in the context of the first Muslims and the early origins of Christianity. Muslims and the first Christians—the Jewish followers of Jesus—saw Jesus as not divine but rather as a prophet and human Messiah and that salvation comes from faith and good works, not merely as faith, as Christians would later emphasize. What Akyol seeks to reveal are how these core beliefs of Jewish Christianity, which got lost in history as a heresy, emerged in a new religion born in 7th Arabia: Islam. Akyol exposes this extraordinary historical connection between Judaism, Jewish Christianity and Islam—a major mystery unexplored by academia. From Jesus’ Jewish followers to the Nazarenes and Ebionites to the Qu’ran’s stories of Mary and Jesus, The Islamic Jesus will reveal links between religions that seem so contrary today. It will also call on Muslims to discover their own Jesus, at a time when they are troubled by their own Pharisees and Zealots.

How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims

The Islamic Jesus

How the Prophet Inspired Jews and Muslims to Flourish Together and Change the World

Islamic Moses

“Mustafa Akyol telah menulis kisah tentang perjalanan intelektual yang membuka wacana dan akan menjadi pusat perhatian teman-teman Muslimnya, serta menimbulkan harapan bagi kita non-Muslim di seluruh dunia.” —Jack Miles, Penulis Buku God: A Bioraphy dan God in the Qur’an, yang Memenangkan Pulitzer Prize “Lebih dari sekadar pembelaan yang berapi-api terhadap toleransi dan nalar, Reopening Muslim Minds membawa pembaca pada perjalanan yang benar-benar menyenangkan dan mencerahkan melalui teologi dan hukum Islam. Dengan kecerdasan dan kefasihan yang brilian, Mustafa Akyol telah menulis sebuah buku yang kehadiran dan kekuatannya tak terbantahkan. Buku ini harus menjadi bacaan wajib bagi setiap pengkaji Islam dan Dunia Muslim secara serius.” —Khaled Abou El Fadl, Profesor Hukum terkemuka Fakultas Hukum UCLA, Penulis Buku Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age “Buku ini memikat, menarik, dan sangat terpelajar tentang konsekuensi yang ditanggung umat Islam akibat mengesampingkan nalar. Akyol menulis dengan kecerdasan intuitif, empati, cinta, dan harapan.” —Asma Barlas, Profesor Politik Emeritus Ithaca College, Penulis Buku Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’an “Bagi Mustafa Akyol, warisan Islam tidak boleh dianggap sebagai sekadar museum yang steril, tetapi sebuah taman hidup yang selalu dan, kapan saja bisa diolah kembali.” —Enes Karic, Profesor Studi Al-Qur’an di Fakultas Studi Islam, Universitas Sarajevo “Pengingat yang tepat waktu dan penuh semangat bahwa nilai-nilai universal seperti toleransi, kebebasan, dan kesetaraan harus digali dari teks-teks dasar Islam.” —Asma Afsaruddin, Profesor Studi Islam di Indiana University, Bloomington, Penulis Buku Contemporary Issues in Islam “Dalam tiga tradisi monoteistik, tarik-menarik antara akal dan wahyu sudah terjadi sejak dulu kala dan diperdebatkan dengan sengit, tidak terkecuali di kalangan Muslim. Kita berutang budi kepada Akyol karena telah menulis sejarah yang membuka mata tentang cendekiawan dan gerakan minoritas dalam Islam yang sejak awal menyerukan penggunaan akal yang lebih besar dalam teologi dan hukum serta mempromosikan pluralisme dan toleransi. Terutama pada era ketika gelombang massa di seluruh dunia tumpah ke jalan-jalan meneriakkan kebebasan dan martabat, inilah bacaan wajib bagi Muslim dan non-Muslim.” —David L. Johnston, Asisten Profesor Studi Islam, Fuller Theological Seminary, Penulis Muslims and Christians Debate Justice and Love “Dalam buku yang jernih dan menawan ini, Akyol menyeru kepada kita akan perlunya reformasi dalam pemikiran Islam. Sebagai seseorang yang meyakini universalitas akal dan kebebasan, secara piawai menghubungkan isu-isu krusial dalam masyarakat Muslim kontemporer dengan akar masa lalunya. Tetapi, bagi Akyol, sejarah bukanlah peristiwa yang berdiri sendiri, melainkan terjadi untuk memberi pelajaran bagi kita. Dan, pelajarannya adalah bahwa tidak akan ada reformasi politik yang signifikan dan lestari di Dunia Muslim tanpa pembaruan teologis yang fundamental.” —Martino Diez, Profesor Bahasa Arab, Catholic University of Milan “Mustafa Akyol secara bersemangat terlibat dalam isu-isu hangat dan kontroversial, dengan argumen yang dibangun berdasarkan beragam ilmu kontemporer tentang Islam. Dia juga memperluas argumennya yang matang dengan memberikan contoh yang mendukung serta cerita yang menarik. Buku ini brilian.” —Mariam Al-Attar, Dosen Sejarah Peradaban Arab dan Filsafat Islam di American University of Sharjah, Uni Emirat Arab, Penulis Islamic Ethics: Divine Command Theory in Arabo-Islamic Thought “Buku ini sangat penting. Akyol berani menghancurkan tabu demi tabu. Ini harus menjadi bacaan wajib bagi semua Muslim dan non-Muslim yang prihatin dengan keadaan Dunia Islam yang menyedihkan saat ini. Saya sangat merekomendasikannya.” —Murat Çizakça, Profesor Sejarah Ekonomi Komparatif dan Keuangan Islam di Marmara University, Istanbul, Penulis Islamic Capitalism and Finance

Looks at the Islamic view of Jesus, exploring its origins in the seventh century and how it relates to the views of the Jews and Christians of the day.

how the King of the Jews became a prophet of the Muslims

A fascinating journey into Islam's diverse history of ideas, making an argument for an "Islamic Enlightenment" today In Reopening Muslim Minds, Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and opinion writer for The New York Times, both diagnoses “the crisis of Islam” in the modern world, and offers a way forward. Diving deeply into Islamic theology, and also sharing lessons from his own life story, he reveals how Muslims lost the universalism that made them a great civilization in their earlier centuries. He especially demonstrates how values often associated with Western Enlightenment — freedom, reason, tolerance, and an appreciation of science — had Islamic counterparts, which sadly were cast aside in favor of more dogmatic views, often for political ends. Elucidating complex ideas with engaging prose and storytelling, Reopening Muslim Minds borrows lost visions from medieval Muslim thinkers such as Ibn Rushd (aka Averroes), to offer a new Muslim worldview on a range of sensitive issues: human rights, equality for women, freedom of religion, or freedom from religion. While frankly acknowledging the problems in the world of Islam today, Akyol offers a clear and hopeful vision for its future.

Çözümün şafağında Kürt sorunu

Gilles Kepel

Alessandro Zaccuri

Marco Demichelis

Eugenio Dacrema

Paolo Monti

Stella Coglievina

Ines Peta

Laura Silvia Battaglia

Viviana Premazzi

Miriam De Rosa

Carlo Nardella

Da tempo ormai i media hanno cessato di essere semplici spettatori dell’attualità e sono diventati attori di un processo sempre più complesso, nel quale la propaganda di un’organizzazione come ISIS si contamina con il linguaggio dei social network e i contenuti di un settimanale satirico come Charlie Hebdo possono scatenare uno "scontro di civiltà" difficilmente comprensibile secondo i criteri occidentali, ma non per questo meno sanguinoso. Il fenomeno chiama in causa da un lato la questione della rappresentabilità e dei simboli religiosi (è il tema della libertà di espressione, non esente da implicazioni giuridiche), mentre su un altro versante mette in questione l’uso strumentale del linguaggio religioso islamico da parte di un apparato audiovisivo di impressionante efficacia. Prendendo in considerazione i diversi ambiti della nuova presenza mediatica dell’Islam – dal cinema d’animazione al rap e alla pubblicità – e dando conto anche del dibattito nei Paesi musulmani, i saggi raccolti in questo e-book contribuiscono a illustrare la trasformazione nel rapporto tra religioni e media e i suoi effetti sulle società plurali in cui viviamo. INDICE Una tempesta perfetta. Prefazione di Alessandro Zaccuri -- Gilles Kepel, Lo spettacolo del jihad -- Paolo Monti, Conflitti sui confini del visibile. La dialettica degli sguardi fra Occidente e mondo islamico -- Stella Coglievina, Libertà di espressione e libertà religiosa. Alcuni dati normativi -- Ines Peta, Da Charlie Hebdo a Chapel Hill: stragi incrociate nella lettura dei media arabi -- Marco Demichelis, Il "Califfato" islamico. Propaganda e sostanza all’origine dell’Isis -- Eugenio Dacrema, Il jihad globale attraverso l’evoluzione dei media -- Laura Silvia Battaglia, Tarantino Style Jihad 3.0: l’apocalisse mediale del nuovo fondamentalismo - Viviana Premazzi, Seconde generazioni, rap e terrorismo islamista -- Miriam De Rosa, Métissage. Contaminazioni linguistiche nel cinema del meticciato -- Carlo Nardella, Simboli usati e simboli difesi. Qualche osservazione su Islam e pubblicità -- Mustafa Akyol, Ripensare l’Islam, ripensare i media

Islam e media al tempo del meticciato

Il tablet e la mezzaluna

Islam, the second largest religion in the world, has several authoritarian interpretations today that defy human freedom—by executing “apostates” or “blasphemers,” imposing religious practices, or discriminating against women or minorities. In Why, as a Muslim, I Support Liberty, Mustafa Akyol offers a bold critique of this trouble, by frankly acknowledging its roots in the religious tradition. But Akyol also shows that Islam has “seeds of freedom” as well—in the Qur'an, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the complex history of the Islamic civilization. It is past time, he argues, to grow those seeds into maturity, and reinterpret Islamic law and politics under the Qur'anic maxim, “No compulsion in religion.” Akyol shows that the major reinterpretation Islam needs now is similar to the transformation that began in Western Christianity back in the 17th century, with the groundbreaking ideas of classical liberal thinkers such as John Locke. The author goes back and forth between classical liberalism and the Islamic tradition, to excavate little-noticed parallels, first highlighted by the “Islamic liberals” of the late Ottoman Empire, unknown to many Muslims and non-Muslims today. In short chapters, Akyol digs into big questions. Why do Muslims need to “reform” the Sharia? But is there something to “revive” in the Sharia as well? Should Muslims really glorify “conquest,” or rather believe in social contract? Is capitalism really alien to Islam, which has a rich heritage of free markets and civil society? Finally, he addresses a suspicion common among Muslims today: What if liberty is a mere cover used by Western powers to advance their imperialist schemes? With personal stories, historical anecdotes, theological insights, and a very accessible prose, this is the little big book on the intersection of Islam and liberty.

Mustafa Akyol

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