"An Evening with Reza Aslan: Religion, Identity, and the Future of America"
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- Through the lens of his own experience-his family fled Iran during the Revolution in 1979 and settled in the U.S. when Reza was seven-and the conflicts he faced as an immigrant growing up, Aslan examines the crisis of identity that is currently gripping the U.S., and suggests some possible ways in which we should think differently about race, religion, and identity in order to abolish the hatred and discrimination that has led to this crisis. As Aslan points out, America has, from the beginning, been a diverse nation, built on immigration and ethnic diversity. This was the 2016-17 Cressman Lecture.
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Man I love me some Reza aslan every once and then , sometimes it reminds me that I'm still important as a Muslim .,he had singlehandedly shaped the way I think about religion. I'm not as radicle as I used to be nor am I extreme in my views. Instead I'm more accepting, more flexible, less bigoted and more knowledgeable of my own faith than before . Thanx to whoever organizes these events
thanks for uploading this!
Thank you so much for having such an intelligent person to speak, I can sit and listen to this guy 24/7 without boredom, he is a magician with his knowledge and speech.
Great lecture! Thank you so much :)
Great Lecture
I agree that there is this idea that compassion towards muslims is zero sum. If I am Muslim, am I not American? Solid lecture
One thing that Reza fails to underestimate is technology. Technology will be one of the biggest disruptors to how religion shapes our personal and cultural psyche in the decades to come. Reza is a humanities scholar and not a technologist so I can see how he would lack the emphasis in this area.
Technology, specifically AI infusement into our personal worlds will redefine how the next gen views religion more so than mass migrations. Technology will give greater access to education, decision sciences and our understanding of the natural world. Will there still be a place for religion and spirituality? Yes, humans will still crave that meaning and need to feel like there is meaning and belonging in our cosmos. That’s not going anywhere anytime soon but with enough time yes it will be a vestigial part of humanity. Technology will trump all in the distant future.
This is an answer to Ms. "Sima Bahman" (on this list of comments) who mentioned that non-Muslims are not allowed to enter or not welcomed to any Mosque. This is absolutely wrong and I would like to ask her where did she get this kind of one-sided bias against Muslims & Mosques?
28:22 I guess Reza Aslan forgot look up the differences in classification between domestic terrorists and terrorists. He is right about Robert Doggart not being called a domestic terrorist.
Khalid Jabara was Lebanese Christian, not a Muslim if i remember correctly. I know he was shot by a neighbor and at the least it was racially motivated, not sure if he thought he was Muslim or not.
This guy is why Jordan Peterson says the humanities division of academia has failed.
Peterson is a fool
Room for Thought
First of all, I like the fact you come out in public and provoke discussion. Your talk really makes me think. I come from a very liberal muslim family but I am not a muslim, not a christian, not an atheist, not an agnostic, not an animal, not whatever label society might put on me. I am a human being that want to live in peace and happiness who tries to provide create better opportunities to my children. What I am inside is not anybody's business. It is my business between me and God. That is the only thing I choose to identify myself.
Contact theory (Ignorance as a root of democracy)
I fear Muslims, not because I did not or I do not have any contact, but on the contrary. All of them (beside those who do not practice), consider themselves higher, with better value system and some of them consider Western values as debauchery. That brings me home that having relationships with just one muslim does not guarantee a better understanding of the narrative you are portraying. While I do encourage contacts, I do not see that as a solution.
Data and media: Yes, you are right about the data. At the end of the day we process data based on our pre-assumptions and they are powerless to change perception. Let me give you an example. When I was watching your data about the probability of being killed by a muslim in States, my experience sent me back to 9/11. Two hours after the event, I was in a mosque in North America (I am not going to mention the place, not cause any labelling) I was shocked to see hear talks in overwhelming joy celebrating the event. That is what made me fear muslims. Data and media means nothing. Let's assume for a moment that Islam-ism (which is a bullshit term ) changes the truth of those data in the future, what can you say then?
Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. In the case of Islam, it creates an unpleasant emotion with or without contact, with or without data.
Solution: As I mentioned earlier, all the questions come from my experience. Others might resonate with your data. However, we have a bitter truth on the ground which needs to be dealt with. Muslims are on a test about their future. Although you believe that things might be different 100 years later, I do not think so. I am not talking about few of you that come out and speak out. I am talking about the mosque that was celebrating 9/11. That speaks louder than you. However, I fully support the question you raised by the end :What country do you want to live in? - The one that proselytizes violence in Dundas Square, Toronto, in the name of Islam or the one that shuts them off and let the others live in peace - including other muslims. My call is to governments which can help all of us who want to live in a free society by exerting the power of law towards all those credos, causes, even religions that bring Nazi ideology in our societies. Remember: there are thousands and thousands of people passing by in Dundas Square. That's where they (commuters) shape their experiences about Islam (consequently muslims as well) No one needs to build a relationship with them. . You know what they stand for, what they say and what books they deliver.
Conclusion: Can a well known figure from muslim community come out and stop defending themselves, stop blaming media and hit the nail on what causes fear or phobia - Change from within please.
Hi, I found your views interesting. I come from a Muslim family as well, I wouldn't call them liberal but they generally lean to more liberal ideas. However, I consider my self to be Liberal today. Like you, today, I define myself as a 'Human' first rather than a Muslim because above any religious or non-religious label is an autonomous Human Being.
Your ideas on the Contact Theory are interesting. From personal experience, years ago, when I was more of a conservative Muslim, I had homophobic views. I thought that gay people were sick and they weren't really attracted to the opposite sex. Fast forward a few years, I made friends with someone and got to know them. Then they revealed that they were gay. I couldn't hate them at all, after all that we have been through. I saw that this was a person with the same ambitions and goals as me. Today, I defend the LGBT community against any discrimination when I see it simply because I know someone within the community and I understand the harm it causes them. Getting to know someone legitimately cured my irrational fear of the 'other' whom I knew little about at the time. This would have been something unimaginable for me a few years beforehand.Therefore, what Aslan says about knowing someone reducing bigotry does resonate with me. However, now I understand from your POV that the Contact Theory doesn't work sometimes. Suppose in a different universe my friend was my bully and I found out about him being gay. This may have tarnished my view on the LGBT community. The exact thing applies to the Muslim Community as well. There are some that offer hope and other that don't. Like you said the ones celebrating 9/11 would have messed me up if I happened to be non-Muslim wanting to know a Muslim after the event.
For the solution, I still think focusing on the 'interpretation' the agent has an their scriptures is more important than focusing on the Scripture and ignoring the interpretation. Interpretations have something to do with the scripture at the end of the day. We need to support the Muslims with the more pluralistic interpretations and use it to fight against the 'Islamism' or 'Jihadist' interpretation of scripture. So your right, there is an interior battle within the Muslim community that cannot be ignored and should be allowed to happen. As the saying goes, "reopen the gates of 'Itjihad' (independent reasoning of the Quran and Sunnah)"
btw may I ask why you think 'Islamism' (or 'islam-ism' I don't know if that was intentional) is a bulls*hit term? Just curious :)
maybe they should show these stats on fox news, it will be interesting to see how the evangelicals respond, knowing they are more threat to america then muslims.
Bad research should be outlawed 😅😂
Brilliant wish he was my fiend
Friend sorry