Reza Aslan
And His New Anthology
Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes of the Modern Middle East |
TABLET & PEN
Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East
This is a volume which celebrates the magnificent achievement of 20th-century Middle Eastern literature that has been neglected in the English-speaking world. A landmark literary event, this groundbreaking work spans a century of literature by the region's best writers—from the famed Arab poet Khalil Gibran to the Turkish Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk—all of them bound together not by borders and nationalities but by a common experience of domination and imperialism. As best-selling author Reza Aslan writes, the mesmerizing prose of the Middle East—Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu—has been virtually excluded from the canon available to English readers. Under the umbrella of Words Without Borders, Aslan has assembled this extraordinary collection of short stories, memoirs, essays, and poems, featuring both contemporary and historical works, with many of the selections appearing in English for the first time. Featuring literature from countries as diverse as Morocco and Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, Tablet & Pen is a long-awaited, riveting work to be devoured as a single sustained narrative. Aslan, who lives in Los Angeles and teaches creative writing at the Univeristy of California, Riverside, opens the doors to internatioal exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of some of the world's best writing in this anthology, destined to become a collector's item for the
thinking reader.
MORE ABOUT REZA ASLAN:
Dr. Aslan has degrees in Religions from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He serves on the board of directors of the Ploughshares Fund, which gives grants for peace and security issues, Abraham's Vision, an interfaith peace organization, and PEN USA, which 
champions the rights of writers under siege around the world. Aslan is President and CEO of Aslan Media Inc, whose holdings include BoomGen Studios, a mini-motion picture and media company focused entirely on entertainment about the Greater Middle East and its Diaspora communities. His books include: No God But God:The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, the international bestseller, which has been translated into 13 languages and named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade. The New York Times Book Review called No God But God "Wise and passionate... An incisive, scholarly primer in Muslim history and an engaging personal exploration....A stimulating history of Islamic history and thought," while the daily New York Times proclaimed it "Grippingly narrated and thoughtfully examined... a literate, accessible introduction to Islam."
The Los Angeles Times Book Review described it as "An eloquent, erudite paean to Islam in all of its complicated glory." The book was selected as Best Book of the Year by both the Financial Times and the
Los Angeles Times. It was short-listed for the Guardian's First Book Award.
Though the world's fastest growing religion, i Islam remains shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic State be founded on democratic values such as pluralism and human rights?
A writer and scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has garnered international acclaim for the passion and clarity he has brought to these questions. In No god but God, Aslan challenges the "clash of civilizations" mentality that has distorted our view of Islam and explains this critical faith in all its complexity, beauty, and compassion.
Contrary to popular perception, Islam is a religion firmly rooted in the prophetic traditions of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Aslan begins with a vivid account of the social and religious milieu from which the Prophet Muhammad arose. The revelations that Muhammad received in Mecca and Medina, and which were recorded in the Quran, became the foundation of a radically egalitarian community, the likes of which had never been seen before.
Soon after the his death, the Prophet's successors set about the overwhelming task of defining and interpreting Muhammad's message for future generations. Their efforts led to the development of a comprehensive code of conduct expected to 
regulate every aspect of the believer's life. But this attempt only widened the chasm between orthodox Islam and its two major sects, Shiism and Sufism, both of which Aslan presents in rich detail.
Finally, No god but God examines how, in the shadow of European colonialism, Muslims developed conflicting strategies to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the social and political realities of the modern world. With the emergence of the Islamic State in the 20th century, this contest over the future of Islam has become a passionate, sometimes violent battle between those who seek to enforce a rigid and archaic legal code on society and those who struggle to harmonize the teachings of the Prophet with contemporary ideals of democracy and human rights. According to Reza Aslan, we are now living in the era of "the Islamic Reformation."
No god but God is a persuasive and elegantly written account of the origins, evolution, and future of Islam.
He is also the author of How to Win a Cosmic War (published in paperback as Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age). With his second book Aslan solidified his place as the voice of moderation in the battles of Christian vs. Islam. As an American-born Muslim, he has insights for his fellow citizens about the history and perspective of those whose hearts and minds we are trying to win in the Middle East. He carefully explains the philosophy which drives Islamist terrorism. How collective guilt is assigned and collective punishment is justified. How the apparent injustice of killing innocent civilians and innocent children is explained away. These ideas have been touched on by others as well, but Aslans book connects the dots between different ideas and puts them together to make sense. He drives home the point that the war on terror cannot be won by bombs; it is an ideological war. It requires a different approach.
He is a much sought-after commentator on Middle East affairs for national television, as well as the new media of the internet. To access his published commentaries, go to:
http://www.rezaaslan.com/articles.html (published articles)
http://www.rezaaslan.com/newmedia.html (new media)
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