July 12, 2008
The Logic of Islamist Terror
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Wednesday's bloody shootout at the American Consulate in Istanbul is still not totally solved. No organization claimed the attack, which left three Turkish policemen dead and two injured. But the evidence collected by the Turkish security forces so far makes it reasonable to assume that there was an Islamist motive in the mind of the attackers. Actually three of them died right on the spot, and the fourth one turned out to be a paid driver. So there is no interrogation-based information. But the police found out that one of the dead terrorists had traveled to Iran and Afghanistan. The other's father was arrested in 1999 for links with the shadowy “Turkish Hizbollah,” a Kurdish Islamist terror group. The general impression in the Turkish media is that the attackers were at least ideologically linked with al Qaeda. So, this seems to be a case of “Islamist terror.”
Continue reading "The Logic of Islamist Terror"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 6:48 AM | Comments (9)
June 21, 2008
Is Islam For 'Victory?' Or For God?
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
A few weeks ago, I ran into a quote from Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian Muslim scholar and Al-Jazeera televangelist, in Turkey’s controversial Islamist daily, Vakit. “Victory,” the 80-year-old cleric was saying, “is only possible by returning to Islam.” The “victory” he was referring to was the one Muslims would have won against Israel. “The defeat of the Jewish State is possible,” he reportedly declared in a sermon in Qatar, “only when Muslims fully return to the pure teaching of Islam.”
Continue reading "Is Islam For 'Victory?' Or For God?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 4:04 PM | Comments (9)
May 8, 2008
Who Threatens Turkey's Jews?
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Ishak Alaton is one of the most prominent names in Turkey’s tiny Jewish community. He, as the boss of the well-established Alarko Holding, is not just a very successful businessman, but also a man of intellect who comments on social and political problems. As a self-defined social democrat, Mr. Alaton believes in social responsibility – not as a public relations strategy, but as a value in itself.
Continue reading "Who Threatens Turkey's Jews?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:25 AM | Comments (2)
April 5, 2008
'Fitna' Is Fanatical—But It Deserves a Voice
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
I just saw "Fitna," the new controversial film produced by Geert Wilders, head of the Dutch Freedom Party. The 17-minute video shows acts of violence, and expressions of hatred, by Muslims against “infidels.” Heads are cut off, bodies are blown apart, children are taught to denounce Jews as "apes and pigs," imams call for world domination, and protesters hold signs that read, "God Bless Hitler." What makes all this disturbing scenery even more provocative, and, in a sense, more meaningful, is the way they are connected to the Koran. After each instance of ferocity, “Fitna” quotes a passage from the Muslim Scripture which, apparently, presents a justification.
Continue reading "'Fitna' Is Fanatical—But It Deserves a Voice"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:58 AM | Comments (14)
December 8, 2007
Muslims Love Their Children, Too
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Music has not saved the world, as some pot smoking flower-powerists used to believe it would in the 1960s. Yet musicians have occasionally uttered words of wisdom that might have helped us calm our hypes. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known by his stage name Sting, once gave one such message of restraint. In one of his greatest songs, “The Russians,” released very timely in 1985, Sting sang the following:
“In Europe and America,
There is a growing feeling of hysteria,
Conditioned to respond to all the threats,
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets.
Mr. Khrushchev said we will bury you,
[But] I don't subscribe to this point of view,
It would be such an ignorant thing to do,
If the Russians love their children, too.”
Continue reading "Muslims Love Their Children, Too"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:32 PM | Comments (11)
September 29, 2007
The Islamic Case for a Secular State -I-
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
One reason why Turkey's secularist elite is so obsessed with religious practice is their concern about the secularity of the state. If a society becomes more religious, they believe, then the secular system will be less secure. If more Turks follow God's orders in daily life, they ask themselves, why shouldn't they impose them on others using state power?
There is, to be frank, some justification for this worry. There are religious tyrannies in the Muslim world which impose their narrow interpretation of Islam to their citizens. Moreover, there have been groups and individuals in Turkey who talk about doing the same thing.
Continue reading "The Islamic Case for a Secular State -I-"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:15 PM | Comments (3)
September 2, 2007
The Koran and Non-Muslims—Facts Versus Myths
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Many years ago, I came across a book, which claimed to explain “Israeli terrorism” in the light of the Hebrew Scriptures. It was full of photos showing Israeli soldiers attacking and harassing Palestinians, and presented huge captions that included verses from the Old Testament, and especially the Book of Joshua. If the Israelis were breaking the bones of a Palestinian youngster — a globally notorious scene from the ‘80s — then the caption would include a verse with something like “Thou shall break their bones.” The book's argument was blunt and simple: The Israelis were torturing a nation because that was what their religion ordered them to do.
Continue reading "The Koran and Non-Muslims—Facts Versus Myths"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 9:31 AM | Comments (15)
April 11, 2006
Call It 'Mis-Islamic Terrorism'
According to a Reuters news story, "The European Union is reviewing the language it uses to describe terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam. "Certainly 'Islamic terrorism' is something we will not use", an EU official is reported to have said, "we talk about 'terrorists who abusively invoke Islam'."
That's a fair approach. Terrorists those who attack civilian targets certainly misuse Islam for their political causes. Islam has the tradition of a just war, to be sure, but never allows violence against noncombatants. As I have explained in my previous writings, (see, Terror's Roots Not in Islam, Still Standing For Islam - and Against Terrorism, and Bolshevism in a Headdress) what the term "Islamic terrorism" suggests that Islam is the root of the terrorisms at hand is massively wrong.
So, since we need better term, consider "mis-Islamic terrorism." Its semantics would acknowledge the fact that what Al Qaeda and its ilk are doing has something to do with Islam, but in a distorted way. And the cure would be to save Islam from this distortion and define it as what it really is: A path to God and a call for peace.
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 9:20 PM | Comments (8)
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)
December 18, 2005
What Would the Caliph Do?
[Originally published in The Weekly Standard]
Al Qaedas stated goalto 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 dynastyis 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 modernizerand, 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)
September 11, 2005
Islamic Case Against Islamic Radicalism
[Originally published in The Washington Times]
About three years ago, in Birmingham, England, I lectured a large Muslim audience on the topic "The Evidence for God." My lecture focused on the modern scientific discoveries that support the idea of a fine-tuned universe and an intelligently designed life. The audience consisted mostly of very interested Muslim students.
Yet there was a small, dissatisfied group. During the question-and-answer session, one rose and passionately objected to the conference's whole idea. "Why are we wasting time with all this useless philosophical and scientific sophistry?" he demanded. "Shouldn't we concentrate on establishing the worldwide Islamic state that will save us from all evils?"
Continue reading "Islamic Case Against Islamic Radicalism"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 3:46 PM | Comments (0)
July 31, 2005
European Muslims and the Cult of Jihadism
[Originally published in the Turkish Daily News and the Cultic Studies Review]
Since Sept. 11, 2001 European Muslims have been seen as a potential base for a radical, anti-Western ideology founded on a crude misinterpretation of Islam that delights in killing innocents under the banner of "Jihad." The attack in London on July 7 was just one episode in the chain of violence perpetrated by this death cult.
Continue reading "European Muslims and the Cult of Jihadism"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 3:32 PM | Comments (1)
May 1, 2005
Bolshevism in a Headdress
Islamic fundamentalism has more to do with the hatred of the West than with faith
[Originally published in The American Enterprise magazine, also available in PDF]
In October of 2002 I spoke to a crowded Muslim audience in the British city of Birmingham on the topic, "The Evidence for God." My lecture focused on the modern scientific discoveries that support the idea of a designed, "fine-tuned" universe. The audience consisted mostly of Muslim students, and they were very interested in the presentation.
Yet there was a small dissatisfied group in the hall. During the question-and-answer session, one who seemed to be a spokesman for the group rose and, in a passionate voice, objected to the whole idea of the conference. "Why are we wasting time with all this useless philosophical and scientific sophistry?" he demanded. "Shouldn't we concentrate on establishing the worldwide Islamic state that will save us from all evils?
Continue reading "Bolshevism in a Headdress"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 4:23 PM | Comments (2)
November 14, 2004
European Muslims and the Quest for the Soul of Islam
[Originally published in New Europe Review]
There are about thirteen million Muslims living in Europe, nearly all of them law-abiding citizens. Since September 11, 2001, however, European Muslims have been seen as a potential base for a radical, anti-Western ideology founded on a crude misinterpretation of Islam that has nothing to do with true Islamic faith and is rejected by the majority of Muslims worldwide. The contest between these two views of Islam may define the course of the 21st century.
Continue reading "European Muslims and the Quest for the Soul of Islam"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:23 AM | Comments (1)
October 26, 2004
Inviting Bat Ye'or To Consider Fairness
[Originally published in FrontPage Magazine]
In a recent article on Frontpage, titled "Spare Us Another "Golden Age?", Bat Ye'or responded to my earlier rejoinder to her colleague, Andrew Bostom. Both Ms. Ye'or and Mr. Bostom believe that terrorists such as al-Qaeda spring from and represent the supposedly inherent violence of Islam. I argue, on the other hand, that the current "Islamic terrorism" we face stems from a distortion of the true Islamic faith.
Continue reading "Inviting Bat Ye'or To Consider Fairness"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:40 AM | Comments (3)
October 22, 2004
Akyol At The Symposium, "Terror & Poverty: A Connection?"
[Originally published in FrontPage Magazine]
Is "Islamist terrorism" rooted in economic inequality and social injustice? To discuss this question, Frontpage Symposium has assembled panel. The guests were Mustafa Akyol, Salim Mansur, (a Muslim writer and a professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario) and and John Loftus, (a former Justice Department prosecutor).
Continue reading "Akyol At The Symposium, "Terror & Poverty: A Connection?""
Posted by Web Master at 4:55 PM | Comments (1)
October 20, 2004
Terror' Roots Not in Islam [A Reply to Robert Spencer]
[Originally published in FrontPage Magazine]
After my article on Frontpage, titled Still Standing For Islam – And Against Terrorism, Robert Spencer, the editor of the Jihad Watch website posted a rebuttal. He argued that Islam is indeed the legitimate source of terrorists such as al-Qaeda, and my arguments can't persuade those militants to stop their
violence.
Continue reading "Terror' Roots Not in Islam [A Reply to Robert Spencer]"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:28 AM | Comments (2)
October 8, 2004
Still Standing For Islam - and Against Terrorism
[Orginally published in FrontPage Magazine]
A few weeks ago, Frontpage published a very long article titled "Jihad Killings of POWs and
Non-Combatants," written by Andrew G. Bostom. Mr. Bostom's
piece was basically a rebuttal against my two earlier articles appearing on the
National Review Online, titled "The Prophet and Paul Johnson"
and "Al-Qaeda vs. The Koran".
In both of these articles, I had argued that indiscriminate killings by
al-Qaeda and its ilk are unacceptable from a true Islamic perspective.
However, this proved to be unacceptable for
Mr. Bostom. For him, and for other like-minded authors such as Robert Spencer,
who also criticized me at
his "Jihad Watch" website, the very faith of Islam is the source of
today's radical Islamist terrorism and al-Qaeda is doing exactly what the Koran
advocates. In another article that
disapproved my argued, Hugh Fitzgerald summed this up. "Bin Laden is a
good Muslim," Mr. Fitzgerald wrote, "an orthodox Muslim."
Continue reading "Still Standing For Islam - and Against Terrorism"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 4:13 PM | Comments (3)
