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March 29, 2006

Praise for Akyol's 'Rethinking The Kurdish Question'

A recent book by Mustafa Akyol, written and published in Turkish and titled Kürt Sorununu Yeniden Düsünmek: Yanlis Giden Neydi? Bundan Sonra Nereye? (Rethinking The Kurdish Question: What Went Wrong? What Next?) is getting praises in the Turkish media. One of the country's prominent pundits, Mehmet Ali Birand, has written in The Turkish Daily News,

There have been many valuable books written in recent years on the Kurdish problem. Each one from a different perspective, these books examine events over the years, often offering solutions. There is one book in particular, however, that has just been published and which I recommend to anyone who wants to get a healthy, well-rounded view of the Kurdish problem. The book's title is "Rethinking the Kurdish Problem," and its author is Mustafa Akyol. Akyol presents the mistakes made in both official government policy and Kurdish ethnic politics with remarkable objectivity. His tone is not that of cold scientific fact but rather more of a sociologist, even a psychologist.

From the Ottoman period to the first years of the Turkish Republic up to modern days, Akyol delves into which people, what stances, which policies, even which international developments have affected the Kurdish situation. And not only this, he offers suggestions to go with his findings. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a healthy, well-rounded idea of what the Kurdish situation in Turkey is all about.

Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 4:11 PM | Comments (2)

March 1, 2006

A Muslim Manifesto—Against Violence & Tyranny in the Name of Islam

[Co-authored with Zeyno Baran and originally published in National Review Online and Der Spiegel; also see The Muslim Manifesto website]

"Who are the moderate Muslims, and why do they not speak up?" After being asked this question over and over again since 9/11, particularly after the Danish cartoon crisis, we decided to propose the following Muslim Manifesto:

Recently, the disrespectful cartoons about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) published in Jyllands-Posten resulted in an extreme reaction among many Muslims worldwide. While we understand the feelings of our co-religionists, we strongly urge them to refrain from rage and violence.

Continue reading "A Muslim Manifesto—Against Violence & Tyranny in the Name of Islam"

Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 6:44 PM | Comments (29)