The effort to compile the newspaper and magazine articles that represent the output of approximately 20 years of Âkif Emre’s life into a collection is largely completed with Unlimited Occupation Maps, a three-book series that gathers his writings on the Islamic World. The focus of the second book in this complementary three-book series, which we have titled Unlimited Occupation Maps, is: The Middle East (2000-2017).

The four-book Unlimited Occupation Maps series, which also includes Jerusalem: A Compass, published in 2021, is effectively Âkif Emre’s systematic examination of geographies subjected to every form of colonization by imperial powers, centered around his unwavering sensitivity. In these writings, where his focus on every region of the Islamic World is principled and equal, he directs his attention to a large portion of the world map—to many regions that, while appearing separate due to their locations, are essentially equal in terms of their circumstances. The common characteristic these geographies hold for us is that almost all of them have been areas of occupation for imperial powers, and each has been engaged in a struggle for existence against this situation for over a century. Âkif Emre’s sharp consciousness, which functioned without interruption throughout his life and was in pursuit of earthly justice, and his tireless prose, show us a world where Muslims struggle to breathe. We can say that this was his mission, for which there were few takers. In truth, this result must be considered alongside whether or not there exists a vision of an audience capable of making such a mission possible. However, the place Âkif Emre occupies on the agenda of the new generation is a source of pride for those who appreciate his stance, and a reason for reward for his soul.
He looked at current events through their factual aspects and his own constants. He did not speak from a point, but from a center. He approached surface-level events with deep-seated dynamics and principles of thought. Where did Âkif Emre’s principles of thought originate? We can provide the answer to this question by laying the world map before us and viewing it through the values of our civilization. And he had a distinction: in his work, the concept of resistance against imperial occupation was not solitary; it was embedded within the concept of construction.
The 'otherness' in his writings emerged precisely here.