Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance

A fascinating journey into Islam's diverse history of ideas, making an argument for an 'Islamic Enlightenment' today.

In Reopening Muslim Minds, Turkish scholar and author Mustafa Akyol frankly diagnoses 'the crisis of Islam' in the modern world and offers an authentic way forward. Diving deep into Islamic theology and sharing lessons from his own life story, he reveals how Muslims lost the universalism that made them a great civilization in their earlier centuries - and what the cost has been. He highlights how values often associated with Western Enlightenment - freedom, reason, tolerance, and an appreciation of science - had Islamic counterparts, which were tragically cast aside in favour of more dogmatic views. By rereading the Qur'an and revisiting the Sharia, Akyol shows the path to a renewal in Islam.