Dear *|LNAME|*,
We are pleased to publish the second issue (February 2017) of the monthly newsletter of Istanbul Network for Liberty containing activities of our members spreading the ideas of liberty around the world. Do write back and take out time to fill our short survey. Happy Reading, Istanbul Network Team.
Please visit our website "www.istanbulnetwork.org" to learn more about us.

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Istanbul Network Council

We are pleased to announce that Istanbul Network Council has been established, which will act as an advisory group to the Network, provide intellectual guidance to the Board and Management and will help promote key principles that Istanbul Network stands for.

Founding members are (From Left to Right):
- Dr. Hisham El-Moussaoui (Professor of Economics)
- Dr. Atilla Yayla (Professor of Political Science)
- Dr. Syed Kamall (Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament)

Promoting economic freedom in Muslim-majority countries is the key to prosperity

The IEA’s Islamic Foundations of a Free Society, written by a range of Islamic scholars, sheds a great deal of light on questions about Islam’s compatibility with a free society and a free economy. This book aims to inform those in the West who view Islam with fear and suspicion, while encouraging Muslims to remember and learn from their history of rich and pluralistic Islamic civilisations.

Islamic Liberalism: Real or False Hope?

Featuring Mustafa Akyol, Author, Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty (W. W. Norton and Company, 2011), Visiting Senior Fellow, The Freedom Project, Wellesley College; and Shadi Hamid, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy Studies, Brookings Institution; moderated by Ian Vasquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.

February 15, 2017
4:00 PM to 5:30 PM

"Predominantly Muslim societies suffer from low levels of political, economic, and civil liberties. Authoritarian political regimes, rigid social structures, and radical religious movements that suppress human liberty in the name of God loom large in the Muslim world. Is this liberty deficit due to a “dark age” of Islam, which can be overcome with reform and a different religious interpretation? Can Islam make its peace with liberal democracy, as Christianity and other religions did after their own illiberal ages? Or is there something different about Islam, making it inherently incompatible with a secular government and a free society? Mustafa Akyol, a longtime defender of Islamic Liberalism, is optimistic."

Video of Istanbul Network

Perspectives on Ideas of a Free Society in Islam

Istanbul Network for Liberty organized a session at the Open Fest in Sarajevo.
Click here or the image above to watch the whole session.

Most Viewed Articles of this Month

Market and Morality

"Conflicts are inevitable in a society where people do not recognize a living space for actors with different choices. Coercive policies of any group that gets their hands on the political power to their dissenters in the name of morality will lead to a political (and economic) polarization, the division of resources and their less productive uses thereof. Wealth however, depends on large scaled enterprises which require the gathering of capitalists and investors based on mutual consent and trust. The only system that allows it is the one that respects every individual’s right to private property, voluntary exchange and cooperation; namely the free market economy." (Hakan Sahin)
Click here to see the article.

The Libertarian Character of the Islamic Economy

"Islam was introduced by a Prophet, who led an active life as a merchant for 40 long years and who is reported to have said: ‘Welfare and blessedness is composed of ten parts, nine-tenths of which is attained through trade.’ This is possible only if the economy is organised on enterprise-centric rather than state-centric lines. The letter of shari’a guarantees economic freedom, and its spirit enjoins social justice. The spirit of welfare, which Islam propagates, is based on the degree of choice and freedom that individuals enjoy, and is dependent on the absence of coercion. Welfare does not come from a big state; it comes from prosperous and responsible individuals who imbibe the notion of mutual goodwill and charity towards others." (Ali Salman)
Click here to see the article.

Questionnaire of Istanbul Network for Liberty

We're conducting a survey and your input would be appreciated. Click here or the image below to start the survey. Thank you for your participation!