Islam is not in a good place

05/17/21 • 55 min

Mustafa Akyol of the Cato Institute talks about his new book, Reopening Muslim Minds, and the value of questioning Islamic theology (1:30), the problematic thinking of some Islamist leaders contradicts the early days of Islam (9:20), the majestic moral failure of Turkish Islamists and the AKP (22:30), the real reason for under-development in the Muslim world (35:35), fixing the crisis in Islam and the wrong-headed approach of leaders like French President Macron (45:40).

Previous Episode

What's happening in Turkey is heart-wrenching

Asli Aydintasbas of the European Council on Foreign Relations talks about Turkey’s troubling third wave of covid-19, democratic backsliding and the anti-Western shift among Turkish nationalists (4:50), Turkey’s elite as out of touch and President Erdogan needing to pivot (9:10), shutting down the pro-Kurdish HDP as problematic for the ruling AKP (17:30), why Erdogan is worried about Biden’s “cold shoulder” (23:25), particularly amid looming financial troubles and the shaky Turkish economy (37:00), and reasons for hope for Turkish activists and opposition figures (41:55).

Next Episode

I was warned not to write about Kashmir

Kashmir-born, US-based linguist Sadaf Munshi talks about the subtle tensions and divisions in pre-insurgency Kashmir (2:15), the early-90s imposition of conservative Islam by a sort of female Taliban (11:15), working amid corruption at state-run Doordarshan (19:30), researching the mysterious Burushaski language (25:15), finding a friend on a trip to Gilgit (36:05), the total internet shutdown after revocation of Article 370 (44:10), and India’s betrayal and growing anger in Kashmir (52:20).