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December 18, 2005

What Would the Caliph Do?

[Originally published in The Weekly Standard]

Al Qaeda’s stated goal—to reestablish the caliphate, the political leadership of worldwide Islam embodied first in the successors of the Prophet Mohammed and most recently in the four-century rule of the Ottoman dynasty—is pure, ahistorical fantasy. One way to appreciate this is to revisit the 33-year reign of the most remarkable modern caliph, Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876-1909). An ally neither of bigoted Islamists nor of the radical secularists who ultimately deposed him, Abdulhamid was an Islamic modernizer—and, interestingly, a friend of the United States.

Abdulhamid emphasized the role of Islam inside the Ottoman Empire, and he emerged as the protector of Muslims around the world, from India to sub-Saharan Africa. He pressed for a new railway to the holy places of Mecca and Medina and sent emissaries to distant countries preaching Islam. Because of these policies, once called “pan-Islamism,” he is still revered among conservative Muslims.

Continue reading "What Would the Caliph Do?"

Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 1:14 AM | Comments (7)

December 3, 2005

Turkish Muslims Pray for the German Hostage in Iraq

Turkish Muslims living in Berlin prayed for the well being of Susanne Osthoff, a Bavarian archaeologist who spent decades studying and excavating sites in Iraq and was kidnapped by the insurgents about two weeks ago. As reported in the Turkish daily Hürriyet, the prayer was organized by the Turkish-Islam Association, which is linked to Turkey's official religious institution, the Diyanet. Imam Harun Bulut, in his sermon, denounced terrorism in the name of Islam and explained that violence against civilians has no justification in Islamic sources, even in the time of war.

Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)

December 2, 2005

Under God or Under Darwin?

[Originally published in National Review Online]

When President Bush declared his support for the teaching of intelligent design (ID) theory in public schools along with Darwinian evolution, both he and the theory itself drew a lot of criticism. Among the many lines of attack the critics launch, one theme remains strikingly constant: the notion that ID is a Trojan Horse of Christian fundamentalists whose ultimate aim is to turn the U.S. into an theocracy.

In a furious New Republic cover story, "The Case Against Intelligent Design," Jerry Coyne joined in this hype and implied that all non-Christians, including Muslims, should be alarmed by this supposedly Christian theory of beginnings that "might offend those of other faiths." Little does he realize that if there is any view on the origin of life that might seriously offend other faiths — including mine, Islam — it is the materialist dogma: the assumptions that God, by definition, is a superstition, and that rationality is inherently atheistic.

Continue reading "Under God or Under Darwin?"

Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 8:27 PM | Comments (21)