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Mustafa Akyol is a columnist for Al-Monitor's Turkey Pulse, a columnist for the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News and a contributing opinion writer for The International New York Times. His articles have also appeared in Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian. He is the author of Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty. Akyol is currently a visting senior fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College. On Twitter: @AkyolinEnglish
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![FILE PHOTO: Osman Baydemir, spokesman for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), addresses members of parliament from his party during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey April 18, 2017. Picture taken April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo - RC1730D15E80](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/12-1/RTX38OMB.jpg/RTX38OMB.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=sswtsEVw)
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![Russian Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine Krasnodar sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea during a hazy morning, in Istanbul, Turkey, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1B0857E100](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/12-1/RTS1AOE7.jpg/RTS1AOE7.jpg?h=2a16f619&itok=9GeC_4zM)
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![People gather at the Broadway entrance of Macy's Herald Square store ahead of early opening for the Black Friday sales in Manhattan, New York, U.S. November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly - RC1C2A925EB0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/11-1/1_RTX3JSZR.jpg/1_RTX3JSZR.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=XBL0OxuD)
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![Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (L) shakes hands with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey October 10, 2016. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSRMVB](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/08/RTSRMVB.jpg/RTSRMVB.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=fMqzKxXA)
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![Mehmet Gormez, head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, addresses the media in Ankara January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4KMRF](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/08/RTR4KMRF.jpg/RTR4KMRF.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=w8OfHcxd)
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