Mustafa Akyol: Faith versus tradition in Islam

www.ted.com At TEDxWarwick, journalist Mustafa Akyol talks about the way that some local cultural practices (such as wearing a headscarf) have become linked, in the popular mind, to the articles of faith of Islam. Has the world's general idea of the Islamic faith focused too much on tradition, and not enough on core beliefs?
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate.

[@berlynhale1014]

he's a much better writer than speaker. before yall judge him go read his "Isalm Without Extremes". This man knows Muslim history.

[@theseed2199]

"Forcing people to uncover their head is as tyrannical as forcing them to cover their heads". How relevant now with France.

[@HakmanTim]

hahaha this is so funny when you think about it *Muslim majority countries force muslims to cover their heads; Unjust.* *Non Muslim majority countries force muslims to uncover their heads; Unjust.* What to do?... XD

[@hashimsytc8141]

@@HakmanTim Yeah force in religion is the worst thing - religion must be an option on a personal basis to maintain world peace. It's 2021, its time to make progress from past mistakes

[@duhansingh772]

Yeah. Now in India too. Ashamed of it.

[@linguaphilly]

It amuses me insanely to see al the islamophobic people here in the comments who genuinely think they know the islam better than a muslim who has made a living of studying islamic culture and the Quran.

[@bahraouik]

Sorry to tell you that there are muslims out there that know islam better than you..are not islamic apologists and say things as they are...this guy is an apologist and so are you...Salam :)

[@BenjaminKBroderick]

jortjuuuuuh, you gonna call people fearful of Islam when they don't just buy a poorly presented set of ideas with semi-validity, optimism bias and imaginative embellishment of reality? The dude didn't even think the violent acts of terror were linked to Islam, when there are fucking 100+ Surahs that command people to kill. What denial is that? That is some real reason to not take this guy seriously.

[@daliasuhail754]

You speak of the quran as if you have studied it. I do not plan on replying to all your wrongful 'facts' but I will recite one sentence from the, Quran 5:32 "whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely" -

[@bahraouik]

dalia suhail There is an exception there didnt you catch yourself contradicting yourself there? Do you understand what "corruption done in the land" means?, you will find the meaning in hadith and quran as well, and it means anyone who has a lifestyle that is against islamic teachings , including not praying, drinking, or being a homosexual (meaning those are not protected from being killed )...so even the aya that most of you muslims love using to prove that islam is so peaceful, fails at it. I am fluent in arabic, read the quran, studied hadith and islamic literature and fiqh for more than 7 years and practiced islam for 25 years...so lets get down to it and see how peaceful this islam is. I am not saying that muslims are not peaceful. Most muslims are, but the reason is because most of them dont follow the islamic teachings as preached by muhammad...isis does...salam :).

[@umairahmed1874]

www.answering-christianity.com/laws_of_murder.htm

[@lestrangekidd93]

Read all the comments. Lots of people don't think before they type. Humanity.

[@rogervansteenkerke2504]

Indeed. So many stupid muslim apologists and open islamophilia. It's sickening.

[@muhammadnaufal1868]

@@rogervansteenkerke2504 i disagree with this. Islam can't be reformed. This guy want change Word of Allah ? Stupidity

[@uzairazhar2564]

@@rogervansteenkerke2504 No, just a bunch of Islamaphobic nut jobs.

[@rvgringo]

Some of my happiest memories of kind, welcoming and generous people, come from living in Turkey 50 years ago. I have visited since and seen the amazing modernization and economic development, as well as an unbelievably huge tourist industry. Deserted beaches, where we picnicked and swam, are now 'condo central' visited by land and by cruise ships. It was a pleasure to live there and I regret that age and failing health prevent me from visiting again. We experienced total acceptance.

[@LousyBlowfish]

TED is about gaining a broad, vicarious perspective of the world through the words and images brought by its speakers. Not every talk is restricted to familiar lab sciences. This talk is oriented towards social sciences in the realms of politics and social culture that includes a perspective that a Western audience might not share. He is clearly talking about religion, mostly about Islam, but he is not preaching the word of the Qur'an. He provides an analysis of the culture of Islamic societies.

[@shirxanaslanzade1804]

Islam is beauty, my friends..Dont believe others, they can make up anything, just learn the real Islam and know how beatiful Islam is!

[@1p2o3i]

He's a great speaker, very clear and sober. If people like him only had more influence in todays media society might be more enlightened, even against its will.

[@rvgringo]

Some of my happiest memories of kind, welcoming and generous people, come from living in Turkey 50 years ago. I have visited since and seen the amazing modernization and economic development, as well as an unbelievably huge tourist industry. Deserted beaches, where we picnicked and swam, are not 'condo central' visited by land and by cruise ships. It was a pleasure to live there and I regret that age and failing health prevent me from visiting again. We experienced total acceptance.

[@DiGa25]

In Islamic context: Tradition (taqleed) is the set of inherited beliefs, usually passed by predecessors and ancestors. Faith (imaan), on the other hand, is the set of beliefs that one forms through practicing logic (mantiq or i'malul aql), in other words, the conclusions that one reaches by his/her lifelong process of working one's own intellect.

[@im1canadain]

Thank you for sharing and speaking, this is a difficult topic, which many people become heated over. Your points were well made and logical and rational, something often lacking in religious debates... as can be seen with most comments on here

[@derrasterpunkt]

thanks for that talk!

[@jjhjjff]

A very informative and interesting video.

[@yassau]

Really good class!

[@DesignPunkStudios]

@Volound and @Dardobartoli - As an atheist I have to ask, what's wrong with discussing religion? It's prominent and it's here and it's not going away anytime soon. It's considered an academic topic and it's always full of great conversational possibilities so I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be a topic about religion on TED.

[@VortexMotiveVision]

Quite enlightening.

[@najtrows]

Really interesting!

[@Flyborg]

@MrXSpeaks Indeed the distinction is important which is why I said I didn't know whether to thumb up or down. But when it comes down to it, culture and religion overlap to an extent that it's hard to find where one stops and one begins. Each supports and justifies the other.

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

@Flyborg Perhaps mentioning the fuzzy line is the first step toward making it more defined. One cannot change the world in 17m02s, but one can plant an idea into the minds of 4,900 people in less than 24 hours.

[@valken666]

you did a great talk

[@gokhansur]

@MrJaydawger @kmardes dear friends, this speech is not about what religion is. It is about a possibility of a more modern muslim world. He gives a modern and useful insight to Islam from the only secular and democratic muslim country Turkey, with proposals for solutions. I don't understand why those of you who are disturbed of current situation of muslim thought, don't like this speech. (please don't try to tell anything trolls like phtellq8!!)

[@LeonidasGGG]

I don't know why so many "dislikes"... it's basically a history lesson. For all problem in the world, you should look at what "was", to understand why "is".

[@LousyBlowfish]

@logoth80 Which parts that he points out are incorrect? Are they misinterpretations? Are they over-generalized? Are they straight up wrong?

[@jmr122287]

@Silhouette93 You quoted the last statement from which edition of the Quran? As a secular humanist, I try to differentiate the passions against a faith marred with "controversies" and justified arguments against the actual religious text. According the Quran 64:14-15 (Sahih International), you added that the Quran tells men to consider familial members as enemies and temptation; however, the actual text states that they might come as enemies but not particularly as temptation

[@miskee11]

@RMGAbeliever I read the Qur'an and it was even crazier than I had expected.

[@FreeThoughtSolution]

@therealbreadfan I do really like your comment. Bs vs BS is great and i agree completely. Thanks for the laugh and the valid point you made.

[@GrapplingIgnorance]

At 8:39 he sums it all up for us: Any holy texts can be interpreted to mean whatever its followers want. Therefor religious doctrines enable people to feel that their own personal beliefs and values are in lockstep with the all powerful, all knowing universe-creator. It's a great mechanism for stripping people of their humility, and convincing them that no matter what think or do is justified.

[@peaceall43650]

@jewellx80 well, good for you that you have time to reflect on your views and your logic.

[@AtheistKharm]

Interesting video. Good to finally hear the perspectives from a moderate Muslim.

[@watcher314159]

@test123ok Cultural Design. He describes some flaws in a system and shows how they can and are being fixed (this being independent of whether or not these fixes are optimal -- that's not the point: being a Thought-hammer is). He also demonstrates why we should redesign our thought processes to avoid correlation=causation. YMMV on this being a bit of stretch, but I made two cases in 5 minutes

[@laojace]

Can anybody explain to me what is the difference between faith and tradition?

[@Alpinex105]

@Flyborg I felt the same way. I actually had to switch a couple of times.

[@wokemorty727]

@jerzmacow i don't think it was subtle at all, but it was more along the lines of "that's them, not me"...pretty sure anytime a muslim has to speak about his religion in this climate, there must be that tone because of how thoroughly the rest of the world has generalized muslims in their minds. its a very real and powerful generalization that is like swimming against the current when challenged.

[@peaceall43650]

@jewellx80 with all due respect, your logic baffles me.

[@Ozmourne]

Saudi Arabia's extremism level is over 9000

[@gokhansur]

@jamestrekky So what is your suggestion? Shouldn't he offer any solutions for the problems?

[@moizkhan69]

Excellent lecture. It cleared my mind about liberal islamist . Actually liberal islamist are the real islamists . Respect from Pakistan . #peace

[@opnasd]

The description below the video is wrong. Headscarf is not just a tradition. Mr. Akyol didn't say anything like that too.

[@kaalmansur]

@volound this ist not religious drivel. this is education.

[@SourcesAreEverything]

2:38 "...as Muslims adopted some pre-existing traditions of the Middle East." It's incredibly REVISIONIST and CONTRADICTORY to say that Islamic traditions emerge from Bedouin culture but Islam's lineage is separate from this culture. Mustafa Akyol, I question your sources.

[@SubliminalRealityTV]

Scholars know that when a ruling or law is placed there is a reason for it. What some are saying is that due to the changes in social dynamics the reason for the law being placed has changes. This is similar to when Umar Bin Al Khatab temporarily dropped the Quranic punishment for thieft, as he knew that the law had been placed for a reason and a situation. If you understand arabic I would like you to search for a man called Adnan Ibrahim & Mohammed Shahrour they both have talked about the issue

[@LousyBlowfish]

@logoth80 He does not say that they are not in the Qur'an. He talks about the stands that this holy book takes on such matters, and you are right, there are lots commonalities between Christianity and Islam.

[@Testeverything521]

@opptynox Rarely do religious people define faith as belief without evidence. They would typically consider as synonymous with the word "trust", and as you know trust can be based on good or bad reasoning/evidence.

[@miskee11]

@moidamir Yeah. It's as crazy. I haven't read other religious books though.

[@AnonymousAnimus]

I'd like to see him debate Christopher Hitchens.

[@RoccoDaOne]

@SuperiorDeity Why did you delete the comment? It was pretty good!

[@SuperiorApostate]

I just skipped the whole talk to see if people would clap, and surprisingly they did.

[@snt_gulab]

Someone understands. People get very hung over cultural customs and traditions over actual religious practices. It does not say in the Quran that woman have to be separated or that they have to have arranged marriage or anything like that. It says NOTHING like that.

[@RoccoDaOne]

Under which letter (T, E or D) does this fall? ;)

[@lerappel112]

Pourquoi cest pas.traduis !??

[@omegavalerius]

@Flyborg well put

[@meowcatcool]

@Flyborg I have to say most people don't have any multiple choices in religion. When people are born into an islamic family, they are often stuck in islam even though they want to change.

[@Nedwin]

Thanks for spreading great ideas as moslem Mr. Mustafa Akyol. I'm one of ur biggest fans!

[@moizkhan69]

He nailed it .. awesome lecture

[@sverr0r]

@volound This isn't drivel. He's talking about the practical implications of religious borders. Internal vs external perceptions of mobile cultures, or culture-clash if you will. Not really my favorite subject either, but touching on delicate issues that shines a light to how the global village is evolving is surely important science. For entertainment, I prefer the likes of Theo Jansen or Paul Nicklen, but you shouldn't have to rely on thrilling pictures to qualify for TED.

[@iskinibrahim]

Those who bullshit about him being creationist should remember that societies can not be separated from religions and science. This is a very explanatory speech enlightening some of the aspects why we are living in conflict. Nice speech, as valuable as any other science topics!

[@jussts]

@Akillys04 I think it has to do with some people's knee jerk reaction to all thing religious. I'd wager most of the dislikes come from people that didn't make it a minute into the video... or perhaps didn't make it past the title.

[@user-dm8ql6xl3w]

Перевод кайда?

[@daflameman]

Actually it says "Do not drink in small amounts what can intoxicate in large amounts". Also it is not "strictly forbidden".

[@Tpainkiller21]

@Akillys04 Its about islam.hating it is part of our life style.

[@rock3tcatU233]

100% True!

[@allwaysbegreatful]

@Keeban3 yes,that is correct.

[@Fattomz]

@MrJaydawger can i ask your reference for what u stated and i quote "People were still put to death for having a public opinion that differed from the religious cannon." .. ? When at that age which u said is a joke, there were absolute mingling between jews, christans and muslims in different fields of life, but anyhow i'd like to know your reference for that piece of info.

[@TogetherForPeace]

@tessellation I'm here responding to this situation and what several 'atheists' have said. I don't deny this is a 'people' problem.

[@GabrielComsa]

All i herd was "maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe" The only other times you hear that in most other TED talks is at the end when a speaker talks about the very long term application of a new invention or whatnot.

[@CardboardArm]

Maybe as the resurfacing of the tribal tradition that predates Islam as he mentioned in the beginning? In Yugoslavia we saw how under Tito ethnic groups seemed to have ended their hated and distrust towards each other and worked together in amazing fashion. Nobody was expecting what happened after the fall of communism.

[@elemental12345678900]

@Silhouette93 i read the Qu`ran numerous times and couldnt find any of those

[@groluna]

Although the stoning of apostates and adulterers is not explicitly stated in the Quran...it is in the hadith, which is Islam's most important second resource. Also, the Quran DOES punish people for being adulterers through lashings. Though I do agree that it is important not to mix up tradition and religion, there is no disputing that their ARE gruesome aspects of Islam.

[@zsalim2871]

the thing is, for apostates that is a personal choice, and it would only be punished if spoken about and promoted by an individual, and for adulterers there needs to be 4 witnesses who directly saw the action taking place, this burden of proof makes getting punished for such actions almost impossible. Islam does not punish sins done in privacy, it is more so the open promotion of sin in public which is penalized.

[@SubliminalRealityTV]

Islamic scholar (the good ones at least) are debating the matter of inheritance as we speak. I take it from your name you either are arabic or know arabic. If you do search for a scholar called Adnan Ibrahim, he openly talks about the issue. But as you know that Muslims hold the teaching of the Quran above all else so great care must be taken when debating such issues. As for verse 2:282 it is speaking about finance and money.

[@jmr122287]

@Silhouette93 Also the virgin promise does not derive from the Quran, rather from the lesser known Hadith, perhaps the second most important document in Islam. And if you translate the Arabic definition of "Hadith," it means "traditions." I will not try to debunk every statement but I suggest you quote every statement from Quran, not merely claim it does come from the Quran. I haven't read the entire Quran but these are the impressions from my reading of those two lines.

[@MarshallTheArtist]

@Airoch4 Yes, and ironically your comment is the highest rated.

[@AgrawSB]

Egypt, not the wole north africa. Egypt is the only trgion in North Africa where female circumcision is practiced. This practice is completely unknown to us, North Africans of the Maghreb.

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

@Ent3rnalAbyss That's a batch of poor assumptions. One can give a talk a fair hearing, reflect on what it has to say, come to reject it, then thumbs down. Rejection is not synonymous with ignorance, nor is acceptance with knowledge. A negative opinion, come to honestly, is more valid than a positive opinion, born of credulity. For the sake of clarity sake, I liked this talk. I respect his perspective. He gave me several things to think about.

[@naybobdenod]

@dardobartoli excellent comment lol. Hope you smile also. Sincerely

[@somuchdepth]

The only problem with this video is in the information bar. THe information bar says: "t some local cultural practices (such as wearing a headscarf) have become linked in the popular mind, to the articles of faith of Islam." Mustafa NEVER says that wearing a headscarf is something traditional or cultural.

[@Silhouette93]

@jmr122287 You are right, the Hadith does disclose more of the details but as cited; 4:57 "And as for those who believe and do good works, We shall make them enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow - to dwell therein for ever; there for them are pure companions - and We shall make them enter plenteous shade." Why not read the quote I have cited before trying to refute it? "quote every statement" No, limited number of characters, I have cited them instead.

[@DesignPunkStudios]

@THECOMMENTER10000 Thank you.

[@jordandaniels7]

@volound Actually if you watch the whole video youll find out!

[@NuraddinSamadzadeh]

@kargidesign Elif Shafak gave 2 talks on TED before if I'm not mistaken, so not the first Turk I guess

[@saerain]

@MrSCPhoenix How do you figure?

[@SchlangeVonEden]

@JC593 The end might indicate endorsement of islam, but as soon as you switch on your brain, you might also notice the point that democracy is more important than secularism, because one does not work without the other under the given circumstances. As a "militant" atheist, I can fully subscribe to that.

[@kiddhitta]

@omegavalerius that is one of a very small group. but, yes, that is one.

[@MrIrtzaahmed]

it means tooth brush of that time people must brush there teeth at that time using something beating is not to hurt women but to have a symbolic effect

[@GleamGoldenrock]

Turkish subtitles please :D

[@rezihk]

@aHmEDbainELnas i am muslim and i agree with what the man is saying.also i think all religions are just constructed from cultures and traditions to keep society under control.after all without rules the world would notbe here. back when when these books were being created, there was no proper manual on life rules given by the state.nowadays each city has its own rules we must follow and also that social convention where on greets one kindly which is what all religions teaches to be a good person

[@DBrownofdc]

this is brilliant. cats like this are going to change the world.

[@KeeganIdler]

@allwaysbegreatful What I meant is that in many places the Hadith advocates the killing of people that I would call innocent. For example, in volume 4, book 52, number 259-260, it advocates the killing (but not burning) of apostates. I tried to read it in context, but perhaps I may have missed something. If I didn't and the Hadith is part of Islam, then not all of Islamic verses must be taken out of context to advocate atrocities.

[@peaceall43650]

@xjustamem0ryx tradition and practices change over time. i am not sure about the turkish experience, but i believe many muslims understand the difference between religion and cultural norms. in a world focused so much on material gain, there will be a void which is filled through spirituality and meaning. For some, it will be Islam.

[@nerimancokelekoglu3613]

The way we believe and practise Quran is totally different than Middle Eastern Countries.i am from Turkey

[@ruwaalhayek]

and-- a side note, the "problematic" issues with islam, are not, if examined and implemented as they really should be (which basically means they would rarely, if ever, be implemented because they provide the moral standard for a society, and protect society, and proving those punishable crimes is extremely difficult-- in the case of stoning, virtually impossible. i think the problem is the way they are implemented/understood-- not in themselves.

[@gokhansur]

@KemaTheAtheist Yes it doesn't justify anything but actually it matters where it originate from, considering people will have generalized impressions from that specific action.

[@Flyborg]

I don't know whether to thumb this up or down. He starts with a good point that some people don't realize - the difference between culture and religion. It's a fine, fuzzy line. However it is such a fuzzy line that it's almost pointless to mention. What matters is what people believe, not what they SHOULD believe. Religion is like a book of multiple choice that you can use to justify ANY position, without adequate evidence. It's a ticking time bomb, and you can't excuse that with hand waving.

[@jaer1711]

How ever much we feel that religion is the antithesis of science, one must be realistic that it plays a big part of our world. Engagement and not isolation is the only way to persuade the mass to be more tolerant of everyone.

[@teenspirit1]

@Keeban the stories are similar, not exactly copies of eachother. Mosaic law isn't exactly there. It is more of an adaptation to desert rule.

[@peaceall43650]

@unkaodya separation of church and state, maybe. but separation of religion and state? that's something else. the state should protect every religion, while religious values should be what drives and aspires the state...especially when the citizens of that state share the same religious values.

[@peaceall43650]

@Jotto999 it's just an invitation. it's up to you.

[@alameriki123]

@niswanji absolutely not. from that verse he is prevented from beating her as the limitation for "force" that the man can use is a toothbrush, (miswak)...how can you not see sir that this is primary prevention? this verse prevents women from being beaten. even if we say beating is allowed it is limited to using a toothbrush, and the man cannot "strike" her private regions or leave any sort of mark. Either way you see it you can conclude that is not a promotion of wife beating at all.

[@niinja2]

@unkaodya well of course that to

[@edgarinv]

Dont be afraid to learn something new...

[@zarkoff45]

@sensur1 You have to work with what you've got. We can't expect to turn the Arab world into a mass of secular atheists, we have to communicate and move people with radically different views forward one small step at a time.