Summary Of Mustafa Akyol's Islam Without Extremes

Mustafa Akyol’s target audience for his book Islam without Extremes, is both Muslims who question the sanctity of their faith and Westerners that don’t fully understand the origin and principles of Islam. Akyol, throughout the book, often recognizes similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity; as well as, he notes the different environmental factors between the Middle East and the West and how they play a role in the political development of each religion. For example, Akyol explains the medieval christians’ fascination in Islamic liberalism and freedom, which Christianity, at the time, was considered a much more conservative ideology (78-79). Akyol uses these contrasting ideas to show the nature of religion and how it affects the development of a state in an academic and economic sense. As well as, he describes these differences in order to clear the misconceptions held by the West that Islam is a widely conservative ideology when in reality, it’s post-Qur’anic traditions that impose the conservative ideas seen in modern day Islamic states, in addition to giving a historical context that not necessarily long ago Christianity was considered the ultra-conservative doctrine. In addition to the difference
Akyol’s target audience is apparent due to the multiple historical contexts he gives to the reader that led to the rise of modern day Islam, as well as the distinct differences and origins of the extremists group that operate according to their own Islamic doctrine. Akyol wishes to explain to these differences in religious ideologies and traditional ways of life to ensure the clear Qur’anic views. Akyol quotes the Qur’an throughout the beginning of his book as a contrasting insight to what the Qur’an preached and the conservative doctrine that dominated