SAL Presents

Reza Aslan

Past Event: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

At Seattle First Baptist Church

Islam doesn’t promote violence or peace. Islam is just a religion, and like every religion in the world, it depends on what you bring to it. If you’re a violent person, your Islam, your Judaism, your Christianity, your Hinduism, is going to be violent.

— Reza Aslan

Aslan is steeped in the history, languages and scriptural foundation of the biblical scholar and is a very clear writer with an authoritative, but not pedantic, voice.

— The Seattle Times

I believe in God, which means I am open to some absurd possibilities. But I understand the power of that faith, and I understand the metaphor of that belief.

— Reza Aslan

Internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions Reza Aslan will present an original, multi-media talk exploring the origin of religion and how different ideas of God have both united, and divided us for millennia.

At the nucleus of his provocative new work, God: A Human History, is one idea that has spanned time, locations, and cultures: the concept of the “humanized god”—a supercharged, divine version of ourselves.

Reza Aslan is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. He was previously a Wallerstein Distinguished Visiting Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Community at Drew University, where he taught from 2012 to 2013, and Assistant Visiting Professor of Religion at the University of Iowa, where he taught from 2000 to 2003. Dr. Aslan holds a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and a minor in biblical Greek from Santa Clara University (1992-1995).

He has a master of theological studies at the Divinity School from Harvard University (1997-1999), and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also holds am M.F.A. in Fiction degree from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. Dr. Aslan’s first book, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, was an international bestseller, and his book Zealot was a #1 New York Times bestseller. In addition, he authored How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror.

Aslan has also edited two volumes: Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, and Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions, Complexities. Dr. Aslan is the founder of AslanMedia.com, which is a social media site for news and information on the greater Middle East. He has written for numerous publications and is a frequent guest on major news networks.

He is the recipient of the Levantine Cultural Center’s East-West Media Award (2012), the Media Bridge-Builder Award from the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding (2013), and in 2014 he became an Intersections International Honoree for his work promoting justice, reconciliation, and peace. In addition to his role as a Consulting Producer on the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers, Aslan is also the host and Executive Producer of two other original television programs: Rough Draft with Reza Aslan (premiered on Ovation), and the CNN documentary series, Believer. He also served as an Executive Producer on the ABC drama, Of Kings and Prophets.

Selected Works:

No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (2005)
Beyond Fundamentalism (2009)
Caravanserai: Traces, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East (2012)
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013)
God: A Human History (Forthcoming in 2017)

Event Details

Seattle First Baptist Church

1111 Harvard Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

Driving from Southbound I-5

Take exit 168A for Boylston Ave toward Roanoke St.
Merge onto Boylston, and then make a left on E Roanoke. Make a right on 10th Ave E and continue for a little over a mile. Turn left on E Aloha St, and four blocks down, take a right onto 12th Ave E. Continue on 12th Ave E for about a mile, and then make a right onto E Union St. After three blocks, bear left, and then make a left onto Harvard Ave. The church will be on your right.

Driving from Northbound I-5

Take exit 164A for Dearborn St toward James St/Madison St. Keep left to continue toward 7th Ave, and then use the 2nd from the right lane to follow signs for I-5 N/Vancouver B.C./Madison St/Convention Center. Keep right, following signs for Madison St, and merge onto 7th Ave. Take the first right, onto Madison St., and then turn left on Broadway and make another left onto Harvard Ave. The church will be on your left.

By Bus
King County bus route 2 stops on Seneca Street right in front of the church. Other bus routes stopping within three blocks of the church include 9, 11, 12, 43, 49, and 60. For details and trip planning tools, call Metro Rider Information at 206.553.3000 (voice) or 206.684.1739 (TDD), or visit Metro online. The First Hill streetcar runs on Broadway, passing within one block of the church. Stops are available at Marion St. and Pike St., with about a three-block walk from either stop.

Parking
Paid parking is available in the lot adjacent to the church and street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood.

SAL is for everyone. We want all audience members to be able to experience our lectures and readings regardless of accessibility concerns. Accessibility services at our venues are provided at no cost to ticket holders. If you find you need to sit closer to the stage to accommodate your needs but find the cost of a Patron ticket prohibitive, then please contact us—we will seat you where you need to be, regardless of cost.

Open Captioning occurs at every event that takes place at Benaroya Hall. It is also always available upon request for all events in our other halls, with a two-week minimum notice. To make a request for Open Captioning services, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10.

Assisted Listening Devices, including Hearing Loop Assisted Listening Systems, are available at all of our venues, with the exception of Broadway Performance Hall. If you would like more information, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10.

ASL-Interpretated Events are always available upon request, with a two-week minimum notice. To make a request for ASL interpretation, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10.

Wheelchair Accessible Ticketing is available in all sections at our venues, and and our venues are fully accessible to ticket holders with physical mobility concerns. If you would like more information, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10.

For any further questions or requests, or to offer Seattle Arts & Lectures feedback on how we can be more accessible and inclusive, please reach out to our Patron Services Manager at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10.

Seating Chart