This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Acclaimed Iranian-American author and religious scholar Reza Aslan will lecture Monday on the future of Islam as part of the University of Utah's prestigious McMurrin Lecture on Religion and Culture.
Aslan is an "astute observer of the 21st-century religious world. His expertise and insight challenge traditional assumptions by exploring religion's ever-changing role in the age of globalization," said Robert Goldberg, director of the U.'s Tanner Humanities Center, which is hosting Monday's free event.
Born in Tehran and raised Muslim, Aslan, 38, is now assistant professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, and a research associate at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy. But he is much better known for his face time on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and numerous national TV programs, where he comments on Middle Eastern and Islamic affairs with a wry flair.
"Now I admit that we Muslims are a pretty powerful bunch," he wrote in a recent post on the Daily Beast, ridiculing a movement to ban Sharia law in the United States. "But in all the secret Muslim gatherings I have attended to discuss our plans for destroying democracy and taking over the White House (we meet every Friday night directly atop Ground Zero), we have come to the conclusion that we will need to raise our numbers from the 1 percent of the U.S. population we currently represent to at least 2 percent before we can begin stoning people at random."
He wrote the bestselling book No god But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, which has been translated into 13 languages. His latest book, Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, comes out next month.
Brian Maffly —
The Future of Islam
Author Reza Aslan will deliver the McMurrin Lecture on Religion and Culture at the Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 S. 400 East.
When • Monday, 7 p.m.
Where • Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 S. 400 East.
Cost • Free