1. Reza Aslan has written four books on religion: No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, God: A Human History and in 2022 An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville.
Reza Aslan has worked for television, including a documentary series exploring world religions on CNN called Believer, and served as an executive producer on the HBO drama series The Leftovers.
Reza Aslan is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the International Qur'anic Studies Association.
Reza Aslan is a professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside, and a board member of the National Iranian American Council.
Reza Aslan's family came to the United States from Tehran in 1979, fleeing the Iranian Revolution.
Reza Aslan says that he "spent the 1980s pretending to be Mexican" due to the amount of discrimination faced by Iranian Americans.
Reza Aslan attended Del Mar High School in San Jose, and graduated class of 1990.
Reza Aslan has served as Legislative Assistant for the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington DC, and was elected President of Harvard's Chapter of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.
Reza Aslan serves on the board of trustees for the Chicago Theological Seminary and is on the advisory board of the Yale Humanist Community.
Reza Aslan converted to evangelical Christianity at the age of 15, and converted back to Islam the summer before attending Harvard.
Reza Aslan has published four books, edited two anthologies, and frequently writes for different media outlets.
In 2009, Reza Aslan published his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of Terror.
Reza Aslan argues that the United States is fighting a similar war by infusing the War on Terror with its religiously polarizing rhetoric.
Reza Aslan refers to Al Qaeda's jihad against the West as "a cosmic war", distinct from holy war, in which rival religious groups are engaged in an earthly battle for material goals.
Reza Aslan's book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth is an historical account of the life of Jesus, which analyzes the various religious perspectives on Jesus, as well as the creation of Christianity.
Reza Aslan has written articles for The Daily Beast as a contributing editor.
Reza Aslan has written for various newspapers and periodicals, including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post, Slate, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Nation, and The Christian Science Monitor.
In collaboration with Words Without Borders, Reza Aslan worked with a team of three regional editors and seventy-seven translators, amassing a collection of nearly 200 pieces originally written in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Turkish, many presented in English for the first time.
Reza Aslan founded Reza Aslan Media, a media platform offering alternative coverage of the Middle East and its global diaspora communities.
In 2006, Reza Aslan partnered with Iranian American cinematographer and producer Mahyad Tousi to create BoomGen Studios, a studio and production company focused on bringing stories from and about the Middle East to American audiences.
In 2015, Reza Aslan joined the popular HBO series The Leftovers as a consulting producer for both its second and third seasons.
In March 2016, cable network Ovation premiered Rough Draft with Reza Aslan, a fast-paced and timely talk show featuring Aslan conversing with critically acclaimed authors and writers in film, TV, and journalism.
In 2015, Reza Aslan began production on the "spiritual travel series" Believer, a documentary series that follows Reza Aslan as he immerses himself and experiences various religious traditions internationally, focusing on sects considered fringe and disreputable by larger religions.
The program, which Reza Aslan compared to Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown was part of CNN's original programming lineup and premiered in March 2017.
Reza Aslan was accused of sensationalism and anti-Hinduism when Reza Aslan ate part of a human brain while meeting Aghori sadhus.
The organizations American Hindus Against Defamation and the Hindu American Foundation have both questioned why Reza Aslan's show does not cover Islam, his own religion.
Reza Aslan said that he had planned to cover the Ashura festival in Pakistan but abandoned the plan because of insurance costs.
Reza Aslan pledged to cover Islam if Believer had a second series.
Reza Aslan wrote a sitcom pilot titled "Allah in the Family" based on his experiences as an Iranian immigrant growing up in Oklahoma.
On June 9,2017, in response to his remarks, CNN decided to cut ties with Reza Aslan and announced they would not move forward with season two of the Believer series.
On July 26,2013, Reza Aslan was interviewed on Spirited Debate, a Fox News webcast by Chief Religion Correspondent Lauren Green about his book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.
Reza Aslan is a professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside and a board member of the National Iranian American Council.
Reza Aslan is a sitting member of the advisory board for the National Iranian American Council.
Reza Aslan refers to Al Qaeda's jihad against the West as "a cosmic war", distinct from holy war, in which rival religious groups are engaged in an earthly battle for material goals.
Reza Aslan has argued for religious freedom and protection for religious minorities throughout the Middle East.
Prachi Gupta, in Salon, wrote that Reza Aslan believed that the US was partnering with Saudi Arabia while simultaneously condemning ISIS.
Sasson challenged Reza Aslan's claim that female genital mutilation is a problem only in central Africa, saying that it's an issue in the predominantly Muslim country of Malaysia.
Reza Aslan married entrepreneur and author Jessica Jackley, a Christian, in 2011, forming an interfaith family.
Reza Aslan's aunt is the Iranian-American pop singer Leila Forouhar.
Reza Aslan is a fan of the professional football team the Las Vegas Raiders.