Reopening Muslim Minds

Much more than an impassioned defense of tolerance and reason, Mustafa Akyol takes his readers on a truly enjoyable and enlightening journey through Islamic theology and law. With brilliant wit and eloquence, Akyol has written a book of undeniable presence and power. This book should be mandatory reading for any serious student of Islam or the Muslim world. --Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, and author of Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari ah in the Modern Age. Mustafa Akyol has written a page-turning intellectual adventure-story that will rivet the attention of his fellow Muslims, and raise the hopes of us non-Muslims all around the world. --Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of God: A Biography and God in the Qur'an The lure of rationalism as a touchstone for the interpretation of religion marked a spellbinding period of premodern Muslim intellectual history. Reopening Muslim Minds, both revisits as well as repurposes some of these debates in order to foster a robust conversation as to how Muslim public theology should be conducted in the contemporary world. An accessible, stimulating and thought-provoking work in which Akyol sparks lively conversation. --Ebrahim Moosa, Mirza Family Professor of Islamic Thought & Muslim Society, University of Notre Dame and author of What is a Madrasa? Mustafa Akyol passionately engages in controversial and timely issues, builds upon a wide range of contemporary scholarship on Islam and expands his well thought arguments by supportive examples and interesting stories. This is a brilliant book. -- Mariam Al-Attar, Lecturer of Arabic heritage and Islamic philosophy at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates For Mustafa Akyol, the Islamic heritage is not to be approached as a sterile museum, but a lively garden which can always and at any time be cultivated anew. He gives pivotal value to the classical knowledge, or ilm, while not shy away from crucial questions of our modernity. He helps his readers to realise how fruitful is the conjoining of horizons of knowledge, culture and philosophy which belong to past and present.. --Enes Karic, Professor of Qur'anic studies at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, University of Sarajevo In this lucid and captivating book Akyol gives us a most compelling and penetrating plea for reform in Islamic thought. A fervent believer in the universality of reason and freedom, he masterfully links the most debated issues in contemporary Muslim societies to their roots in the past. But for Akyol history is not an exercise in itself, it is here to teach a lesson. And the lesson is that there will be no lasting political reform in the Muslim world without a much-awaited theological renewal. --Martino Diez, associate professor of Arabic, Catholic University of Milan The tug-of-war in the three monotheistic traditions between reason and revelation is both ancient and fiercely contested, but perhaps never more so among Muslims. We are in Akyol's debt here for penning such an eye-opening history of minority scholars and movements in Islam who from the beginning called for the greater use of reason in theology and law and promoted pluralism and tolerance. Especially in a day when crowds all over the world spill into the streets crying out for freedom and dignity, this is a must-read for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. --David L. Johnston, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary; Author of Muslims and Christians Debate Justice and Love This is a hugely important book. Akyol has dared to destroy one taboo after the other. It should be required reading for all Muslims as well as non-Muslims concerned about the deplorable state of the Islamic world today. I recommend it without any hesitation. --Murat Cizakca, Professor of Comparative Economic History and Islamic Finance at Marmara University, Istanbul This is an alluring book; it is an inviting book; it is a remarkably erudite book about what happened to Muslims as a result of the gradual closing of our minds. An exercise in historical remembering can often be painful, maybe even bitter. But, in Akyol's hands, it becomes a story vast in its scope and compelling in its evocation of the universal values and ethics in our Scripture, religion, history, philosophy, literature, and culture. Instead of lamenting the past, he urges us to use it as a doorway into a possible future. He writes with intuitive intelligence, empathy, and--dare I say it--love and hope. This isn't just an invitation to Muslims to reopen our minds; it is also a testimony to what such a mind can look like. --Asma Barlas, Professor of Politics (retired), Ithaca College, author of Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an Mustafa Akyol's Reopening Muslim Minds provides a well-reasoned, broad reminder of what Islam and its culture have represented over the past 14 centuries to its adherents and those familiar with the faith and its tradition. It is a reminder needed by all, for we do need to find a way to live together rationally, freely, and accepting of one another now and in the immediate future. Akyol's book is a sure guide for that endeavor. --Charles E. Butterworth, Emeritus Professor, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland As the modern West appears to increasingly embrace intolerant nativism and religious bigotry, Mustafa Akyol's latest publication is a timely and passionate reminder that universal values like tolerance, freedom, and equality constantly need to be nurtured and protected -- lest they disappear. He shows insightfully how such values may be extracted from Islam's foundational texts and storied past, the memory of which has been nearly eclipsed by cataclysmic political events and sectarian strife through time. Akyol makes the compelling case that this moral and intellectual legacy is still available for the asking and remains eminently receptive to a new flowering in the twenty-first century - should the will and the opportunities be there.? -- Asma Afsaruddin, Professor of Islamic Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, author of Contemporary Issues in Islam Thoroughly researched and fervently argued ... Scholars of Islam, and especially Muslims interested in the faith's future, will find Akyol's take trenchant and satisfying. --Publisher's Weekly