Reza Aslan
Religious Scholar, Author of “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth”
Reza Aslan is a leading expert in world religions. He is also an internationally renowned writer, professor, and an Emmy- and Peabody-nominated producer.
His producing credits include the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers and the CBS comedy United States of Al. Aslan is also the host and executive producer of two other original television programs: Rough Draft with Reza Aslan on Topic, and CNN’s documentary series, Believer. He served as an executive producer on the ABC drama, Of Kings and Prophets, and on the Emmy-nominated documentary series The Secret Life of Muslims.
In 2006, Aslan co-founded BoomGen Studios — the premier entertainment brand for creative content from and about the Middle East — which has provided an array of targeted services ranging from strategic messaging to grassroots marketing to publicity and social media outreach, to producers, studios, and filmmakers.
Aslan’s degrees include a bachelor of arts in religious studies from Santa Clara University, a master of theological studies from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in the sociology of religions from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a master of fine arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in fiction.
Aslan is a tenured professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, and serves on the board of trustees for the Chicago Theological Seminary and The Yale Humanist Community, which supports atheists, agnostics, and humanists at home and abroad. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the International Qur’anic Studies Association.
