The Islamic Jesus:
How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims
by mustafa akyol
st. martin’s, 288 pages, $26.99
On September 25, 2017, Mustafa Akyol was arrested by the Malaysian religious police. He had given two lectures in Kuala Lumpur, including a lecture in which he argued against the traditional Islamic teaching that apostasy is to be punished by death. What most worried the authorities, however, was the topic planned for Akyol’s third lecture: a discussion of his new book, The Islamic Jesus. By Akyol’s account, agents of the religious police told him, “We heard that you will speak about commonalities between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. We don’t like that kind of stuff.” He never gave the third lecture.
The truth is that The Islamic Jesus is not only about commonalities.