THE CITY CIRCLE

In some Muslim countries a woman can be jailed for uncovering her hair.  In others, she could find herself persecuted for wearing the head-scarf.  Both states might invoke religion or the protection of religious doctrine to justify their actions, yet, neither would have a strong basis for their rationalisation.  Mustafa Akyol argues that such authoritarian behaviour do not stem from Islam itself, but rather from deep-seated political cultures and social structures that have prevailed in Muslim countries.

In this talk, the speaker will discuss the complex history of liberty in the Muslim world and put forth provocative, religious arguments for a secular state, “freedom to sin,” and freedom from Islam.  The speaker will argue that this secular liberal model would permit Muslims to practice their faith more sincerely and allow Muslim societies to overcome the authoritarian natures of their political cultures.

The speaker's book "Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty" will be available for sale at a discounted rate and the author will sign copies.

Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish political commentator and author based in Istanbul, Turkey.  Akyol was born in Ankara in 1972 and had his early education there. Later he graduated from Istanbul Nisantasi British High School and from the International Relations Department of the Bosphorus University. He had his master thesis on the Kurdish question at the History Department of the same university.

 

Since 2002, he has been a regular commentator in the Turkish media. He is currently a regular columnist for Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s foremost English-language daily. He writes a regular column for a Turkish-language daily, Star, as well. He also appears regularly on Turkish TV, on political discussion shows.

He has spoken on many platforms, including the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings Institution, Mont Pelerin Society, Cato Institute, Acton Institute, Discovery Institute, Mises Institute and many universities around the world .