Islam and the Idea of America

The Hidden Story Behind Europe’s Greatest Utopias

What if the intellectual roots of Thomas More's Utopia and Campanella's The City of the Sun stretched far beyond Renaissance Europe?

Jul 11 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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Lady Liberty’s Forgotten Egyptian Muslim World

Before the Statue stood in New York Harbor, the French sculptor imagined a colossal Egyptian woman carrying light at the entrance to the Suez Canal.

Jul 5 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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June 2026

Early Access: The Hidden Story Behind Europe’s Greatest Utopias

What inspired Thomas More’s Utopia and Campanella’s The City of the Sun?

Jun 27 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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John Locke's Qur'an Was Not Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an

Most Americans have heard of Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an. Few know that John Locke owned a Qur'an as well. Surprisingly, however, they were not reading…

Jun 18 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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May 2026

They Called Him Estebanico. His Name May Have Been Mustafa.

How a Moroccan Slave Became the First Explorer of Arizona and New Mexico

May 17 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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April 2026

The Arabic Novel that Transformed Europe: Hayy ibn Yaqzan

Full Transcript with Academic References (Episode 5 of The Stories Untold)

Apr 25 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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Early Access: The Arabic Novel that Transformed Europe

Before Locke, There Was an Arabic Story.

Apr 14 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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March 2026

What Made Prophet Muhammad an Enlightenment Hero? | Deep Dive with John Tolan

No, it is not a clash of civilizations—but a shared intellectual history.

Mar 28 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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Early Access: How Enlightenment Thinkers Saw Muhammad

A conversation with Professor John Tolan about how Europe’s debates on religion, politics, and reason reshaped the image of the Prophet Muhammad.

Mar 8 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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February 2026

The Untold Story: How Islam Shaped the English Enlightenment

A new Deep Dive episode of Islam and the Idea of America is now live.

Feb 8 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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January 2026

Newton’s Secret Faith: Islam and the Lost History of Enlightenment

Episode 4 of the Stories Untold explores a side of Isaac Newton that rarely makes it into textbooks, unpacking the deeper religious world behind the…

Jan 25 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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Early Access: Episode 4 Is Now Live for Paid Subscribers

Before Isaac Newton became the icon of modern science, before gravity and laws of motion defined his legacy, there was another Newton—one who worked in…

Jan 13 • Mustafa Gurbuz

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