Mustafa Akyol, author, columnist, and speaker. The Thinking Muslim,” a popular podcast, defined Akyol as “probably the most notable Muslim modernist and reformer.   Mustafa Akyol comes on The Pakistan Experience for a thorough discussion on Islam, Modernity, Secularism, Liberalism and the Reopening of the Muslim Mind.  On this deep dive discussion, we discuss if Erdogan is leading Turkey down a dark path, Islamic principles, the problem of literalism, Muslim thinkers, Apostasy, Blasphemy Laws and understanding Islamic jurisprudence.   You can download Mustafa Akyol's book, "Why, as a Muslim, I defend Liberty" for free here: https://www.libertarianism.org/books/why-muslim-i-defend-liberty Mustafa is also the author of Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty, long-listed in 2012 for the Lionel Gelber Prize, a literary award for the world's best non-fiction book in English. He became a contributing opinion writer for the International New York Times in 2013. He is mainly famous in the western world for his arguments that Islam is highly compatible with classical liberalism and Enlightenment values, and that Islamic practice and the governance of Muslim-majority countries should be reformed along those lines similar to what previously happened in Christian-majority Europe.   The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.       Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience    And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience    The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.      Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89     Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Erdogan's Turkey 8:40 Islam and democracy 13:40 Concubines 15:30 Can Islam change? 22:00 The problem of literalism 27:00 Muslim thinkers 30:00 Individual reason, conscience and morality 33:40 Apostasy  43:00 Blasphemy laws 49:30 Islam as a political system and secularism 1:00:00 The fight about who the true Muslim is 1:04:00 Understanding Ahadith and upholding the Quran 1:17:00 Are these ideas rethinking Islam? 1:28:00 There is no punishment for drinking in Islam 1:30:30 The laws against Zina in Pakistan 1:34:30 Imran Khan and his ideas about Riyasat-e-Madina