Rage is a sign of nothing but immaturity. The power of any faith comes not from its coercion of critics and dissenters. It comes from the moral integrity and the intellectual strength of its believers. — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“Gerber, who studied seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Ottoman court decisions, points to examples of Ottoman muftis (official jurists) who, despite being paid by the government,… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“As Islamic liberalism waned, and resistance arose against the West and its influence, that very resistance started to replace genuine religiosity as the basis… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
I think forcing people to uncover their head is as tyrannical as forcing them to cover it. — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“The medieval Islamic world . . . offered vastly more freedom than any of its predecessors, its contemporaries and most of its successors. —Bernard… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“According to Gerber, the Shariah principle here was unmistakably individualist: “The rights of the state are depicted as opposed to the rights of the… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“Moreover, unlike the classical period, in which the Shariah was a check on the powers of the executive, it now became an instrument of… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
Turkey has never been colonized, so it remained as an independent nation after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
The Qur'an not only lacks any earthly punishment for someone who abandons Islam, it even includes verses that imply that such a change of… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“The Qur’an promoted work and trade and defined commercial profit as “God’s bounty.”38 The Prophet, himself a merchant, is on the record with such… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
In the 19th century, when Muslims were looking at Europe as an example, they were independent; they were more self-confident. In the early 20th… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“The Prophet brought a message relevant for all ages, in other words, but he lived a life of his own age.” — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image
“Other problems in the Shariah, such as misogyny, come from the fact that Islamic law incorporated a great many medieval attitudes, customs, and traditions… — Mustafa Akyol Copy Share Image