Mustafa Karasu, is a founding member of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and a member of the Executive Council of the KCK (Community of Societies of Kurdistan). In this extensive interview, he discusses the Kurdistan Freedom Movement’s approach to religion, tracing its development from the movement’s early years to its current ideological framework. He examines the role of religion in Kurdish society, the PKK’s engagement with different religious communities, and Abdullah Öcalan’s concept of a revolutionary approach to religion. The interview also explores the distinction between Power Islam and Democratic or Cultural Islam, the historical relationship between religion, socialism, and class struggle in the Middle East, and the legacy of radical and anti-state religious movements. Karasu further addresses the movement’s call for a Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment within Islam, and its understanding of Democratic Islam.
A Revolutionary Approach to the Question of Religion
