Much 'food' for thought. It needs to be incorporated with The Islamic Jesus and Reopening Muslim Minds to address possible issues for the Progressive Class.

Mustafa Akyol is a columnist for Hürriyet Daily News and Star. He has also written for Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune among others (http://thewhitepath.com/). His book starts out with his account of childhood years. He recounts his eye-opening visit to the Mamak Prison to see his father, who had been imprisoned after the September 12, 1980 military coup, which catapults him to the question of authoritarianism in a secular democracy like Turkey, as well as most Islamic states. His thesis is that Islam and liberalism can co-exist and when that happens, Islamic civilization is at its peak. He retraces the history of Islam with the explanation that, after a brief period of liberalism, it was the authoritarian zeal of the Umayyad rulers who sided with the Traditionalists that brought an end to the dominance of the People of Reason in Islamic civilization. He retells the history of the Ottoman Empire, highlighting the achievements of Islamic culture as it correlated with liberalism. He concludes by presenting late 20th, early 21st century Turkey as a model which synthesizes liberalism and Islam.
I do not share the same optimism about the synthesis of liberalism and Islam in Turkey. Unfortunately, liberalism is very vulnerable to radicalism and today's so-called mildly Islamic government might easily transform into a radical authoritarian rule once it has gained enough power. However, the book is a good read on how one would wish the state of affairs in Turkey might turn out. ( )