Speaker addresses Islam complexities

By Kristina Chiapella

When Santa Clara alumnus Reza Aslan came to speak about Islam in Mayer Theatre last Wednesday, there was not an empty seat to be found.

As the first voice in the university's "President's Speaker Series," Aslan outlined the many misconceptions that accompany America's view of the Middle East and the Muslim identity. Gesturing behind the podium, Aslan focused on challenging assumptions about Islam and encouraging the audience to lessen the dominant mentality of "us" and "them."

"I think it's important for us to recognize that there is nothing exceptional about Islam," said Aslan. "Nothing different or weird or exceptional or special about Islam as a religion, a history, a community, a culture, a civilization or however you want to refer to it. There is nothing that an Arab faces in his experience that an American doesn't face."

Aslan, who graduated from Santa Clara with a bachelor's degree in religious studies in 1995, is now an international voice on the complexities of the Islamic world.

He recently published an account of the religion's history is his book, "No god but God."

During the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Aslan was a professor at the University of Iowa teaching an Introduction to Islam class. On Sept. 10, Aslan reported to have approximately 35 students in the class. He says that on Sept. 12, that number sky-rocketed to 280.

Considering the dramatically heightened interest in Islam, his agent jumped at the idea when Aslan told her about a book he had been meaning to write.

With a manner that is both humorous and articulate, Aslan is a man with the ability to communicate otherwise dense ideas in a clear and engaging way.

Only seven years old when he moved to the United States during the Iranian Revolution, Aslan has since become a major voice on behalf of the Muslim world.

His articles have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Nation and the Los Angeles Times, and he has been interviewed on NPR, NBC, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "Meet The Press," "The Colbert Report," Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "Nightline."

Santa Clara professor James Bennett uses Aslan's book for his honors course, Ways of Understanding Religion, because he believes it to be "a very powerful window into both Islam and the study of Islam" and says that it "highlights the promise of religious studies for engaging what religion is and the way it's understood in the world."

With Aslan visiting Santa Clara, Bennett also thought it would be a great opportunity for his students to talk to the author face-to-face.

Visiting Bennett's class, Aslan sat in a circle with students and told them, "you are so fortunate to be in this room," emphasizing today's importance of having a backing in religion like Santa Clara religious studies courses.

Leaning forward in his desk, he said that when considering religion, "we think about religion as though it's history, as though you could study the history of Jesus the way you study the history of Napoleon. But you can't. It's ridiculous to think so."

Pursuing the careers of both an academic and a writer, Aslan has been involved in organizations such as the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington and was elected president of Harvard's Chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, a United Nations organization devoted to solving global religious conflicts.

Touring the United States to speak at forums, councils and universities, Aslan is committed to spreading the valuable message that the history of Islam is not unique, but something that is very much intertwined with all religions. Aslan also emphasizes that there really isn't all that much dividing one religious experience from another, or separating "us" from "the other." Above all, we must be responsible for spreading these ideas, and we must take part in building the bridge between our two societies.

Contact Kristina Chiapella at (408) 551-1918 or kchiapella@scu.edu.