Mustafa Akyol talks about his latest New York Times op-ed, which describes a backlash among the people of the Muslim world to some of the political extremism that has recently become common in the Middle East. Scott and Akyol rehash the history of radical Islamist movements that have sprung up in response to the actions of the U.S., turning regimes like Libya, Iraq, and Egypt that were stable and secular—if not perfect by American standards—into murderous and chaotic theocracies. A decade or so later, a sort of “backlash to the backlash” is now emerging in the form of Muslim populaces who are sick and tired of heinous actions being taken in the name of their religion. This gives Akyol hope for the future of his country, Turkey, and for the rest of the region.
Discussed on the show:
“A New Secularism Is Appearing in Islam” (The New York Times)
Mustafa Akyol is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. He is the author of The Islamic Jesusand Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty. Follow him on Twitter @AkyolinEnglish.
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Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from this website. He’s the author of the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. Visit https://scotthorton.org