Best-Selling “Zealot” Author Reza Aslan to Speak at Drexel May 7

Best-selling author and religion scholar Reza Aslan will join Drexel University on May 7

Best-selling author and religion scholar Reza Aslan will join Drexel University on Wednesday, May 7, as the fourth lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Lecture Series. Previous lecturers in the series include neuroscientist David Eagleman, acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie and media maven Arianna Huffington.

In a talk enetiled "The Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith," based on his number one New York Times bestseller “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” Aslan will sift through centuries of mythmaking to shed new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters, Jesus Christ.

In a talk enetiled "The Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith," based on his number one New York Times bestseller “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” Aslan will sift through centuries of mythmaking to shed new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters, Jesus Christ.

The Fourth Annual Distinguished Lecture will take place at 6 p.m. in the Main Auditorium in Drexel’s Main Building (3141 Chestnut St.). The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and are available here. For questions, please contact Jennifer Yusin at jyusin@drexel.edu.

Aslan also is the author of the internationally acclaimed “No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam,” which was named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade by Blackwell Publishers, as well as “How to Win a Cosmic War,” and is a regular contributing editor to The Daily Beast.

Aslan frequently appears on television shows including Comedy Central's “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.” He also gained attention for an appearance on the FOXNews.com show “Spirited Debate” – in which the anchor repeatedly questioned how Aslan, a Muslim, could write a book about the founder of Christianity – that went viral.

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Aslan is the president and chief executive officer of Aslan Media Inc., which manages BoomGen Studios, a unique media company focused entirely on entertainment about the Greater Middle East and its Diaspora communities. He holds degrees in religion from Santa Clara University, Harvard and U.C. 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.