Turkish Political Commentator and Author

Islam Without Extremes

 

 

 

 

Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish political commentator and author based in Istanbul. Akyol was born in Ankara in 1972. He graduated from Istanbul Nisantasi British High School and later from the International Relations Department of the Bosphorus University. He earned his masters degree while studying “the Kurdish question” at the History Department of that same university.

Since 2002, he has been a regular commentator in the Turkish media. He is currently a columnist for Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s foremost English-language daily. He also writes a regular column for Star, a Turkish language daily.

Akyol’s articles have appeared in numerous international publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. He is also a regular guest on Turkish television political discussion shows.

Mustafa Akyol has spoken to audiences across the globe, including universities and think-tanks in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. His TED talk on “Faith Versus Tradition in Islam” was widely acclaimed.

In 2006 Akyol published a book in Turkish titled Rethinking The Kurdish Question: What Went Wrong? What Next? His latest book, Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty, was published in the United States by W.W. Norton in July 2011. In it, Akyol argues the case for Muslim Liberalism, examining the long history of the often-misrepresented faith.