Mustafa Akyol’s New Edited Book:  

No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions: Islamic Arguments for Religious Freedom 

“This volume, composed of essays by the best-known and most-respected scholars of Islamic law and thought as pertains to religious freedom, pulls no punches and tackles straight on the toughest areas: apostasy, blasphemy, coerced ritual observance, and gender freedom.… An absolute must-read.” 

—ANDREW F. MARCH, Professor of Political Science, University of MassachusettsAmherst

WASHINGTON, DC — The Cato Institute is proud to announce the release of No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions: Islamic Arguments for Religious Freedom, a groundbreaking new book edited by Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow at Cato’s Center for Global Libertyand Prosperity.

At a time when the relationship between faith and freedom is fiercely debated, Akyol delivers a bold and timely call to return to one of the Qur’an’s mostpowerful moral principles: “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256).

This landmark volume brings together leading Muslim thinkers — from Pakistan to Morocco, to the West — to make a courageous, deeply reasoned case for full religious freedom within Islam — not as a Western import, but as an authentically Islamic ideal.

Across centuries of tradition and interpretation, certain legal rulings in the Muslim world have justified coercion — from penalties for apostasy to restrictions on personal belief. Akyol and his contributors argue that it is time to challenge these legacies and reclaim Islam’s spiritual essence as a faith rooted in choice, conscience, and moral responsibility. They also examine lived realities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, or Syria.

Blending rigorous scholarship with a passion for reform, No Compulsion in Religion, No Exceptions explores Qur’anic exegesis, classical jurisprudence, and contemporary Muslim societies to demonstrate that freedom of religion is not a modern innovation, but a divine gift.

Digital and print review copies available upon request

Contacts: Christopher Tarvardian, ctarvardian@​cato.​org; Eleanor O’Connor, eoconnor@​cato.​org

Core Themes of the Book

  • The meaning of “No compulsion in religion” (Qur’an 2:256):
  • Reconciling faith and freedom
  • Challenging coercive traditions

Contemporary Relevance

  • Religion and authoritarianism: Why coercive interpretations of Islam often serve political power, not faith — and how religious freedom can be an antidote to extremism.
  • Islam and human rights: How Muslims can ground universal rights in Islamic moral reasoning rather than external frameworks.
  • Muslim voices for liberty: Introducing the scholars featured in the book and how their arguments reflect a growing intellectual movement across the Muslim world.
  • What “no exceptions” really means: Why partial or selective religious freedom undermines both Islam’s ethica

Mustafa Akyol is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. He is the author of books such as The Islamic Moses: How the Prophet Inspired Jews and Muslims to Flourish Together and Change the World (2024), Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance (2021), Why, as a Muslim, I Defend Liberty (2021), The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims (2017), and Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty (2011), all of which have been translated into various languages. The Thinking Muslim, a popular podcast, defined Akyol as “probably the most notable Muslim modernist and reformer.” In July 2021, the UK magazine Prospect listed him among “The World’s Top 50 Thinkers.”

About Cato Institute

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Founded in 1977, Cato works to create a free and open society in which liberty allows every individual to pursue a life of prosperity and meaning in peace.

‘No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions: Islamic Arguments for Religious Freedom.

Mustafa Akyol

Publication date: February 10, 2026

PRICING

Paperback: $24.95 — ISBN: 978–1‑964524–94‑8

Ebook: $12.99 — eISBN: 978–1‑964524–95‑5

For inquiries, please call 202–789-5200 or email Christopher Tarvardian at ctarvardian@​cato.​org.