Reza Aslan (Persian: رضا اصلان , born 1972 in Tehran) is an Iranian-American scholar, author, and journalist. His most recent book is No god but God (published 2005).
Reza Aslan has a BA in Religion from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Iowa. He is currently a graduate student in History of Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Research Associate at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.
He has also published in numerous newspapers and periodicals and appeared on several TV programs, including Meet the Press, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher.
He moved to the United States in 1979, during the Iranian Revolution
Publications:
- No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Random House, 2005
- 'The Struggle for Islam's Soul', essay in With All Our Might: A Progressive Strategy for Defeating Jihadism and Defending Liberty, Will Marshall, ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006
- 'From Here to Mullahcracy', essay in My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices, Lila Azam Zanganeh, ed. Beacon Press, 2006
Views:
I believe we are living in the time of the Islamic reformation. In fact, I think we are living in the twilight of that reformation. For me, the word reform is defined by its inevitability. This process cannot be stopped; it can be slowed down for a time but reform is inevitable. It's an historic reformation taking place within Islam — it's adapting itself to the realities of the world around it. I think we'll see the same process we saw in the Christian reformation from doctrinal absolutism to doctrinal relativism; toward a truly indigenous Islamic enlightenment. And it's up to us as Muslims in the US to give voice to that for our brothers and sisters who don't have the voice or the same ability to speak out as we do.
Iraq should look to Israel for a model that combines democracy and religious belief.
It is pluralism—the peaceful coexistence and legal equality between different ethnic, religious or political ideologies—that defines democracy, not secularism.
The veil is seen as a symbol of Islam but like all symbols, it's meaningless unless interpreted. The veil is as much a symbol of oppression of women as it is an expression of Muslim femininity. The strangeness of this is that if you go to a country where the veil is either mandatory or there is a lot of pressure to wear it, you'll find the vast majority of women are against it.
Reza Aslan has a BA in Religion from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Iowa. He is currently a graduate student in History of Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Research Associate at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.
He has also published in numerous newspapers and periodicals and appeared on several TV programs, including Meet the Press, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher.
He moved to the United States in 1979, during the Iranian Revolution
Publications:
- No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Random House, 2005
- 'The Struggle for Islam's Soul', essay in With All Our Might: A Progressive Strategy for Defeating Jihadism and Defending Liberty, Will Marshall, ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006
- 'From Here to Mullahcracy', essay in My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices, Lila Azam Zanganeh, ed. Beacon Press, 2006
Views:
I believe we are living in the time of the Islamic reformation. In fact, I think we are living in the twilight of that reformation. For me, the word reform is defined by its inevitability. This process cannot be stopped; it can be slowed down for a time but reform is inevitable. It's an historic reformation taking place within Islam — it's adapting itself to the realities of the world around it. I think we'll see the same process we saw in the Christian reformation from doctrinal absolutism to doctrinal relativism; toward a truly indigenous Islamic enlightenment. And it's up to us as Muslims in the US to give voice to that for our brothers and sisters who don't have the voice or the same ability to speak out as we do.
Iraq should look to Israel for a model that combines democracy and religious belief.
It is pluralism—the peaceful coexistence and legal equality between different ethnic, religious or political ideologies—that defines democracy, not secularism.
The veil is seen as a symbol of Islam but like all symbols, it's meaningless unless interpreted. The veil is as much a symbol of oppression of women as it is an expression of Muslim femininity. The strangeness of this is that if you go to a country where the veil is either mandatory or there is a lot of pressure to wear it, you'll find the vast majority of women are against it.
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