Turkish columnist and author Mustafa Akyol will speak at the annual Friendship and Dialogue Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center.

Tickets for the event, which is co-sponsored by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Middle Eastern Studies Program, are $60.

Registration begins at 5:45 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. A book signing will follow. For additional information or tickets, visit the online registration link. For additional information or tickets, visit disw-ar.eventbrite.com.

Akyol’s book, “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case For Liberty,” was published in 2011.

In it, he acknowledges that the Islamic world is rife with authoritarian regimes and illiberal attitudes. However, Akyol argues not all of these issues stem directly from Islam, and reforming Islamic law and culture in a way that will remain true to fundamentals of the faith is a possibility.

Called “a pious Muslim and a classical liberal” by the Wall Street Journal, Akyol addresses the underlying question at the heart of the debate concerning Islam– whether it is compatible with individual liberty and a free society.

Akyol is a columnist for two Turkish newspapers, Hürriyet Daily News (published in English) and Star. His articles have also appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Akyol studied political science and history at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, where he still lives.

The event is organized by Dialog Institute of the Southwest and also co-sponsored by the Raindrop Turkish House. More information about Akyol can be found here.