The Daily Show - Reza Aslan
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- Опубликовано: 13 май 2015
- Religious scholar and "Zealot" author Reza Aslan describes how religion is malleable and can be interpreted in both violent and peaceful ways.
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Приколы
We don't say fuck you when we get a "merry christmas" he was just kidding guys chill
Mohamed Alkhaldi lol
Mohamed Alkhaldi but he said it's in the quran and he looked serious. I don't know if he was kidding.
mean teen he is on a comedy show....
Sam Lawrenz I know. But in order to be funny you don't have to say things which are not true.
Wael WM *edededed
"A Muslim guy walks into a show hosted by a Jew guy....... Best show ever!!!"
wolvie041007 hahaah best comment ever! Lol
Muslims don't have problem with Judaism or Christianity or any other religion. Muslims have problem with the Zionists who took their land, displaced their people, and committed and still committing genocide against them.
@@TheMyFour lmao how cute
Benjamin Park
Very funny 👎🏽
Benjamin Park alcohol is forbidden in both religions infact it is ban in the real religion of “Eisa”.
To responsed to Reza at 2:42.
When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally.” [al-Nisa’ 4:86]
That was a joke, man. And either way, Jesus was also our prophet basically. We're not really supposed to disrespect him anyway.
i thought that was for when like someone says salam and you can say salam back or like extended version of it also he was joking
that was a joke you potatoe head haha
He was joking
Pretty sure he knows more about Islam than you. That alone should have shown you he was joking
"Religion has given people comfort in a World torn apart by religion"...amazing.
Religion has given people comfort in a World torn apart by people to say the least
@Member of the universe Don't mind this idiot brother
We all have a different defintion of religion
@Member of the universe imagine an atheist president in the place of GWB during 9/11.. in fact, Christopher Hitchens was strident in attacking the Middle East as a result of his hatred for religion. So don’t attempt to take the high road.
Torn apart by people not just religion
I can't believe people are actually correcting him about that joke he made. Why is there a need for clarification? Obviously 'fuck you' is NOT in the Quran?!?!?!
LOL NO! Its not. He is wrong
+Ibrahim Nadir it's a joke
Fucking brilliant man, Reza Aslan is.
a guy named "Mohammad" saying Reza is brilliant... makes perfect sense.
If I was a Christian named Michael, I would have commented the EXACT same thing.
Mohammad Ghachame the thing about hypotheticals, is that they're hypothetical. Go to sleep, don't forget to pray first.
You know when Reza mentioned Bigots? He was referring to you two :D
Mohammad Ghachame I am not a bigot. I am a racist and an islamophobe
Why all the hate? He said the truth and as a Muslim i fully understand wat he is saying and i applaud him for it 👏👏
+Ibraheem Monks People are mad about his wording describing his own credentials in an interview. He claimed to have a PHD in religious studies but he actually has a PHD in sociology.
I understand where they're coming from but I think there is more to being an expert than the title of someones deploma. Can't say too much because i didnt read his book but neither did any of these other assholes :p
He has four degrees, his undergrad is relgious studies, one in theological studies
+Tom Marino haha are you sure?
B.A in religion, Santa Clara University
M.T.S in theology, Harvard
M.F.A in fiction, University of Iowa
Ph.D in sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Aslan
Tom Marino Which makes him a scholar or at the very least, an expert in Religion.
Ohhhhh how I despise this man and his apologetic ways!!
Jesse Gumbarge that's satire, right?
Avo Cado No.
Avo Cado No, some people just want to hear "Islam is to blame" and will quote the passages from the Quran that can be interpreted as promoting violence.
ZhangtheGreat It does promote violence though.
ZhangtheGreat I agree that some people "will quote the passages from the Quran that can be interpreted as promoting violence." They're called Muslims.
The Revolutionary war, the Civil War, World War I and World War II, the Vietnam war, the Korean War, The first Gulf War, the French Revolution, the Iraq War. None of those were started based off of religious reasons. They were started based off of philosophical, political reasons. You can't even claim we went into Iraq because of religion, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. We went into there because of a partisan idea that the Bush administration had to take over that country and get rid of Saddam Hussein based off of a false narrative. So to claim that somehow the world would never have had any type of conflict if it wasn't for religion like Jon does is pretty dishonest. Because all of the most violent, horrific, and costly wars in our history were all caused for primarily political reasons or for straight up power.
Jon Stewart, I love you, but be honest.
Nick Grey I'm pretty sure he's not making that claim.
Jesse Gumbarge Jon says IN THE FIRST MINUTE, "I've always said Religion brought great comfort to a world torn apart by religion". And I just debunked that. Hey-yohhh!
Nick Grey Computer, what is a "joke"?
He wasn't just referring to wars, he just made a general statement on how religion has caused great discord among people everywhere in the world. It's a hell lot of arguments and you can bet that it caused wars.
The Middle East is filled with persecution based on religion, maybe not a full on war, but still
Nick Grey Rewatch the video.
Reza Aslan is absolutely right, I learned from the comment section, how? Because both islamophobes and extremist Muslims seem to hate him: meaning he's just the right amount of Muslim 👌🏽👏🏾🙌🏽
sometimes it just takes a bit of banter, i dont see any problem with him tbh
There is no such thing. That's because the Koran is a hoax and Mohammed was a butcher, nothing more. Think I'm kidding? Check out the RUclips videos of JajabortheNomad, a Bangladesh blogger who's under a death sentence. Which is no surprise. Scholars of Islam who tell the truth don't have great health records.
he actually represents every Muslim I know and I live in a Muslim country 😏😏
What's the moderate gray area amount of gasoline one should drink? Stupid comment, stupid premise.
Daniel Schaeffer away from religion, he was historically a merchant so idk who’s lying to you but you should try to educate your self instead of being told what to think and how to feel.
This actually makes so much sense and sounds super rational
The secret is knowing your nature, not by science or knowledge, but daily deep observation, that's were being a rationalist is born, by choice not by following, that is religion.
snakey973 It just sounds that way. Why is it that all muslims seem to interpret their violent religion the same way? Some of them act out in violence but the majority are clearly sympathetic whilst not acting out.
funguy29
every terrorist his goals are noble but his ways aren't
I didn't know you had mind reading powers funguy29
Countchrisdo
There are actually polls for this type of thing. It's estimated that about 20% of Muslims tacitly support martyrdom as a way to heaven. They just prefer to advance islamism through law, rather than by sword
And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]. Indeed, Allah is ever, over all things, an Accountan
Quran 4:86
It was a joke. Damn. Y'all are really making it seem like Muslims gave no sense of humour. It was sarcasm.
@@Madeeha_shinkoko No. We're just worried that another misunderstanding about Islam comes up considering that the world now equate ISIS with Islam. No one hate ISIS more than the majority Muslims themselves.
@@Madeeha_shinkoko muslims are, only recently in indonesia a comedian got reported to the police and cyber bullied accused by the religious muslims as 'blaspheming islam' and 'blaspheming ulemas'
simply because?
- 'blaspheming ulemas'
he made a spontaneous joke (which what comedians basically are doing) joking about a shoe brand Adidas into a 'localized' name 'Adi Somad'
he made that spontaneously in his live tv show, and thats it. many religious muslims are accusing him of blaspheming ulemas because as it happens, there are currently 2 trending popular ulemas named 'ADI hidayat' and 'Abdul SOMAD'
so because he's talking about a shoe brand, and said 'Adi Somad' (which he actually divert from Adidas) suddenly it mocks the ulemas. The funny thing? both ulemas responded as if he does mocking them, one even said 'beware if you mock ulemas you'll face destruction of your career'
- 'blaspheming islam'
this case was similarly done in that live tv show but different time, however it gets viral today
when one of his guest interviewed talks about why he made a perfume business, he said 'i heard prophet mohammed's body has the smell of 1000 flowers in one of the book that i read about him, so why not'
he spontaneously responded '1000 flowers? is that body or a garden?'
and this one hits much harder, thus he was reported to the police and intimidated by the many religious muslims
islam never take good stance on jokes, especially when it is either related or 'CAN BE' related (they often force it that way, even when people don't intended to) towards their religion
what those 'comedians making fun of the religion of islam and are ok' happens only in nonmuslim majority nations like the western world. It never has been in islamic religious nations (which are most of them)
I'm a business owner, BUT I need the guy who cleans the toilet because I don't like to, therefore I respect the guy who cleans the toilet and greet him normally regardless of my status as the owner. The guy may even know God better than I do, so why try to be better by greeting better? What do I prove, that I'm better? I'm nothing without God.
Mohammad Ismail
The amount of arguments in the comment section is like damn. you guys have no chill.
If we blame violence in religion in the name of religion then we must credit every act of compassion in religion in the name of religion
A historical defensive point,
quoting from the qur'an
[60:8] Soura momtahena ,
"Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly."
قال الله تعالى: «لا يَنْهَاكُمْ اللَّهُ عَنْ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ» آية 8 سورة الممتحنة
2:40 No, it's not in The Quran.
yes I read all Quraan & of course it doesn't say such redeclous statement Reda knows that I think he thought every body knows it too.
+majd zakia yep he s just taking the piss
He is joking
Bhb Hhbn
He can't joke about this, Jon Stewart replied "I thought that was a Haddith" and Reza just nod his head and confirmed it's in Quran, now people who doesn't have a clue about this would just believe it since Reza is a professor religions field, so he must know what's he talking about, but at this point he fail to give the correct answer.
+Muhannad Ali fair point
Damn, his view of religion sounds like literary theory to me, and makes sense. The internal biases of people thinking the scriptures justify it, never thought of that in that way.
So if you are a good person, you don't need scripture to be good. And if you're a bad person, scripture can't help you.
I feel like Reza Azlan has just made the New Atheist critique for them.
Randall Dexter His point is not, you don't need scripure. It is do not blame scripture. Although I am not religous I understand (even sometimes envy) religious people in the way they want to believe in something bigger then them. Scripture in my eyes (and Azlan's as I have understand it) is a guideline (even when it's 200-3000 years old and morals and believes may not apply) which can help people believe and better themselves, it is not intended to argue against or reason to harm other people.
Wut
***** In a time where written law was seldom the case, the Quran acted as a law book, anyone not complying with the law would face a death setence. This is not so different from the current laws in for example the USA. Times have changed, yet the book has not. That doesn't mean that the scripture wants you to kill every disbeliever like many people believe. This means that a lawless act will have a just punishment. I'm an agnostic but blaming religion for all evil is naive. People are evil, religions are what people make of them. (And I'm sure you know this but if not just FYI the bible is not in any way better when it comes to brutality against disbelievers)
So in other words, religion and scripture don't make anyone better. I still fail to see what point you are trying to make.
Randall Dexter As I already said, it's a guide. It helps people in being/becoming a good person. It's a tool. It can help and it can be destructive, it depends on the person who uses it. But it is originally intended to help.
The Quran said in chapter 6 verse 108, (DO NOT revile those whom they worship besides Allah , lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge) .
( ولا تسبوا الذين يدعون من دون الله فيسبوا الله عدوا بغير علم )
so Mr. Reza was wrong.
he was joking.
loooooool muslims literally cannot even understand jokes
Mahmoud Sayed there is no joke when you quote the Quran that's wrong
Nigga y the fuck would it say fuck you in the Quran that nigga was jokin smh
he was sarcastic.........................
God, I love both of them. They're sense of humour is on point and I love how they just vibe with each other.
Curl reza you are lunatic be respectful our Lord after death will in this defenses but He gives Humans free will to Worship him alone with out any partner then He will JUDG human in the dayof JUDGME this in the Glories Qur'an not the you said
So you love conmen and cowards. Okay
@@Danimal1577They were both reasonable throughout the interview. You seem to be projecting.
I like this guy.
sme
I am a huge fan of Reza for this speech. Religion is not what you take out it is what you put in.
Curl reza you are lunatic be respectful our Lord after death will in this defenses but He gives Humans free will to Worship him alone with out any partner then He will JUDG human in the dayof JUDGME this in the Glories Qur'an not the you said
Watch Dave pakmans take down of Reza. Its fantastic. An example of what real critical thinking and research looks like
I feel sorry for the huge fans of Reza. Some of the most gullible people out there.
"How you read Scripture has everything to do with who you are. It does not make you a bigot, you're just a bigot." -- Reza Aslan
Bigotry against Jews is literally written into the dictates of the holy Islamic books, many many times. Not sure how you can read around that, but okay
I really like this episode because it really does show you the danger of a single story and interpretation especially in today's media
reza in spanish means pray
really? does it spells this way or pronounce this way?
both actually
Dicita Lore thank s for the answer
+Dicita Lore Alan mean lion in hi own language
+Dicita Lore but reza in Persian means "a person's will", and he is Persian
The Enlightenment is slowly chipping away at religion. Islam is the most resilient, thus far
+Tom K Thus far and forever by the will of god.
+saad alkuwari - Or stupidity, but whatever
+Tom K It's funny that atheism is in decline, though.
+SpadaccinoLuciano No it's not, lol
eli samara
Yes, it is, lol. Roughly 16% of the world is atheist. That percentage will fall to 13% by 2050, then continue to fall.
People arguing about imaginary gods, its amazing that they are taken seriously.
Thor Jonsson You expect to be taken seriously?
Jonny Velocity He never said that he wants to be taken seriously.
That's why I asked.
Aww you mad bro. Pray for me
I'm not religious. But thanks for answering the question.
Nothing hotter than a good-looking, charismatic professor.
spoyledbratt LOL! Reminds me of Dr. Oz.
I know right. I love his dimples
@@mariej6962 too bad he is a Cannibal.
Jason Bay da fuck?
Nothing dumber than the rubes who believe the lies of Reza
I'm missing Jon Stewart he needs to come back to his comedy show
So if scripture can be read in any way you want to read it, justifying any viewpoint or course of action, what is the point of religion? If you can justify anything by quoting the Bible, Qur'an or any other religious texts, what's the point in reading them?
That's exactly what I thought. If religious scripture is free for any kind of personal interpretation, then a religious guided terrorist is just as right as the religious guided pazifist is. In the and one working with that logic could justify islamist terror attacks just by saying they followed their individual interpretation. If now one can make a true statement about the meaning of scripture, trying to follow it correctly is just impossible.
Viscount Alex of the Horse People from Mars You get an understanding of who you truly are.
Viscount Alex of the Horse People from Mars The scriptures can give you lessons to live by. Even if you do not believe that things that are said to have happened in the testaments (i don't) happened, there are still great life lessons to be found. The prodigal son teaches us about forgiveness and mercy, the good Samaritan can teach us about not judging the foreigner, the he without sin cast of the first stone teaches us that we should stay humble and avoid judgement. For the same reason that I would read tall tales or texts like frankenstein, which can teach us about the nature of man and how we should live
Viscount Alex of the Horse People from Mars there is no point!
Does the prodigal son teach forgiveness? What if I interpret it to mean I can make a mess of my life and everyone else has to support me while I dick around and waste all my money? These alternate interpretations totally undermine the validity of religions to me. They should have clear and unarguable rules that stay relevant to human society forever.
This christmas-thing is why I love living in Denmark.
Here we call it "jul" (from Yule Tide). So while some of the traditions are "christian", it's still very much a pagan, viking holiday.
I love this when we put religion on side and respect each other as human beautiful
"God does not make you a bigot, you're just a bigot...." I love that
Bigotry against Jews is literally written in the holy books of Islam, many many times
It's nice to have such an intelligent and quick thinking person like this in the current political scene. I'm a Christian and it's nice to see someone who is very difficult to be pinned down as a bigot defending religion.
I say difficult to pin down as a bigot, because I see some anti-religion commenters getting fired up, but at the same time, this is a scholar of world religions (a great thing to study, as one gets context and a deep understanding of many social phenomena and situations in the today's world), and because he's a guy who has made Fox news look bad. I feel like people don't know which side he is on and don't know what to do with him when he supports Islam and other faiths and thus they have trouble dismissing him as a bigot.
I love the Daily Show! John Stewart was a better Journalist then half of CNN and ALL of FOX NEWS COMBINED....and he calls himself a Comedian....
...yeah....just a VERY well Informed and Professional show hosting comedian.
4:30 The lightning speed comedic prowess of Jon Stewart on display
Damn this is one of the most divided comment sections I've ever seen.
Rela Aslan makes more sense than many so-called religious experts. Relatable and he hit the nail on people inserting their values into their scriptures.
Religion has given people great comfort in a world torn apart by religion" - a great quote!!
Reza is such a cute guy... He gives me this gay vibe... O Lord,,, I just wanna hug him and give him some love.
Leonardo Guimas lol I noticed that too.
+Leonardo Guimas What the fuck - _-
+Leonardo Guimas same
+Roses Of Time You have to be in any religious society.
+Leonardo Guimas omg same! i thought the both of em are just gonna make-out any moment now. fucking stupid mainstream social norms! killing my dreams :/
5 years on. Still relevant as ever.
Both Mr. Aslan and Mr. Stewart made very accurate points points on religion in this interview. I fail to see how the use of "Zealot" comes into play, but until today, I have never heard of Reza Aslan. As represented on this interview, I have great respect for Reza Aslan. I am glad that one of the responses to this interview clarified the Merry Christmas response by Aslan. There are those who would never consider that he was joking.
I watched him on a fox news clip and man he was a trooper. Much respect for this guy
pls invite reza again!
I love how people can comment on Professor Reza's words without even opening up a dictionary, let alone a religious text...or any piece of literature for that matter!
+thearchitect27 Who does that exactly?
***** People like? Because I see religious people say this all the time but literally every single time it was said to me personally they expect me to read the ENTIRELY when we're only talking about a couple of verses at most.
***** *Which* people, I've never heard anyone speak about such topics without having some proper knowledge about them. I'm just trying to understand.
+thearchitect27 Professor of creative writing.
+Khalkara What's wrong with someone asking you to read the whole text when commenting on a couple of verses? Because context.
Damn son, that 2 seconds book ad .... I'll take the effort to find, buy and read that book just because of fast you advertised it.
One of the great interviews
I liked the way he described the word SCRIPTURE (its power comes from its malleability) you can read it anyway you want to, to support your view point.
And I think this is something most of non-religious people don't understand about holy books.
***** Judging by your answer, neither have you, but that doesn't stop you from making that claim.
OldBoy I HAVE actually read the Quran. And before you say that you need to be a scholar to fully understand it, the book is in fact quite easy to read and very specific. I suggest that you read it too. It might open your eyes to the true nature of the religion. And no, I am not saying that all muslims are bad. The vast majority are nice and peaceful. But good people can have terrible beliefs...
***** I have it right here. English translation. So in what way does this book differ from the other Abrahamic ones? And did you finally figure out that Sharia isn't 'a law'?
***** I know how the vast majority of muslims interpret their religion. Is that irrelevant?
***** Your ignorance is only surpassed by your arrogance. Unbelievable.
The problem with Reza Aslan's point is that...he is not willing to admit its a 2 way street. Sure people will look for things they agree with in scripture blah blah, but the scripture itself shapes certain parts of what a society believes. No one would naturally care if people depicted Mohammed in a painting or cartoon. That is, if it was mentioned nowhere in scripture that it was forbidden, they would not be offended. To say that EVERYTHING is informed by who you already are is to say that the scripture serves no purpose and cannot influence someone.
Fact is, as Aslan points out, there are good and bad people everywhere. I would just prefer that the bad ones not have added reasons to hate or cause harm on others, and scripture provides just that.
True, but there is still a choice. Because Christianity dealt with the same prohibition of graven images, which were in some cases, like the Catholic church, ignored in large part so they could create incredible statues of Christ, taken as a prohibition of statues but not other art in the Orthodox world, which led to great religious Mosaics, and to vastly different views among the many, many denominations of Protestantism (some of whom seem to worship the American flag, others the almighty dollar, some wosrhip both).
My point is, it's amazing how many hard and fast rules can pretty much just be ignored for almost 2000 years and few in the faith even question it.
When you post a video like this on RUclips, please give the date of the original. Is this Daily Show discussion recent or does it date back a year or so to when Aslan wrote his book 'Zealot'? It would be very useful and informative to know.
I MISS YOU JON STEWART!!!
Reza Aslan is a pretty nice guy, his views on how reality works make a lot of sense.
If the word of God, as people refer to scriptures of any kind, is meant for everyone then it will always be up for interpretation just how everything else in reality is being interpreted by each and everyone of us.
Just how we all look at this video and put our views and ideas into play when watching it
Curl reza you are lunatic be respectful our Lord after death will in this defenses but He gives Humans free will to Worship him alone with out any partner then He will JUDG human in the dayof JUDGME this in the Glories Qur'an not the you said
Reza Aslan is a liar, conman, charlatan, and fraud
Why do most people hate Reza Aslan? Just wondering
+zaynbitch he is a living fucking proved fraud.just search sam harris and maajid nawaz with his stupid name then you will know why.
+Colloquial Patato What Qu'ran are you reading? Or rather where are you reading it from to come up with that? Allah states that all humans are equal (in the sight of God), regardless of race/gender/sexuality/status. The only thing that separates people is their deeds and piousness.
"O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might get to know one another. Surely the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous. Allah is All-Knowledgeable, All-Aware." (49:13)
However, that doesn’t mean that people are not different from each other; it also doesn’t mean that one individual cannot be better than another in some areas. The Almighty has created a lot of diversity in us. Had it not been there, the system of our world wouldn’t have been able to function properly. We need different people with different interests and abilities to take care of the different obligations that our societies need to discharge. Had everyone been alike, this wouldn’t have been possible. This much is obvious. You wouldn't want your wife to lift heavy objects, when you're much suited for it. That's what you call justice. Assuming you're a guy of course, if not, you must just think of the opposite. You'd rather someone who is better suited for the job, to actually do the job.
Thus all humans are equal as humans. They are however different in their abilities. They are also different in the most significant criterion of piety, about which only God Almighty is the best judge. No human can claim superiority over a fellow human on the basis of family, race, status, or any other worldly criterion. Hope this makes sense, because it is true.
"It is We Who distribute the means of their livelihood in the life of this world, raising some in rank above others, so that one may take others into his service." (43:32)
+Colloquial Patato Oh, and don't forget to back up your claims. It helps other people as well.
+Dei Quran
Quran (2:191-193) - "And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing...
Quran (2:216) - "Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it.
Quran (4:74) - "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward."
Quran (4:76) - "Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah…"
Quran (5:33) - "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement
Quran (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them" No reasonable person would interpret this to mean a spiritual struggle.
Quran (8:15) - "O ye who believe! When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. (16)Whoso on that day turneth his back to them, unless maneuvering for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey's end." Quran (8:39) - "And fight with them until there is no more fitna (disorder, unbelief) and religion is all for Allah" Some translations interpret "fitna" as "persecution", but the traditional understanding of this word is not supported by the historical context (See notes for 2:193). The Meccans were simply refusing Muhammad access to their city during Haj. Other Muslims were allowed to travel there - just not as an armed group, since Muhammad had declared war on Mecca prior to his eviction. The Meccans were also acting in defense of their religion, since it was Muhammad's intention to destroy their idols and establish Islam by force (which he later did). Hence the critical part of this verse is to fight until "religion is only for Allah", meaning that the true justification of violence was the unbelief of the opposition. According to the Sira (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 324) Muhammad further explains that "Allah must have no rivals."Quran (8:57) - "If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember."
Quran (8:59-60) - "And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah's Purpose). Lo! they cannot escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy."Quran (8:65) - "O Prophet, exhort the believers to fight..."Quran (9:5) - "So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captive and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them." According to this verse, the best way of staying safe from Muslim violence is to convert to Islam (prayer (salat) and the poor tax (zakat) are among the religion's Five Pillars). This popular claim that the Quran only inspires violence within the context of self-defense is seriously challenged by this passage as well, since the Muslims to whom it was written were obviously not under attack. Had they been, then there would have been no waiting period (earlier verses make it a duty for Muslims to fight in self-defense, even during the sacred months). The historical context is Mecca after the idolaters were subjugated by Muhammad and posed no threat. Once the Muslims had power, they violently evicted those unbelievers who would not convert.Quran (9:14) - "Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you
+Steven Smith This only strengthens Aslan's point that scripture is malleable. I'm not saying he's not a fraud, he definitely is. Even the most basic Google search can back that up. He does have a good point though. Scripture is so huge and diverse and contains so many contradictions that you can justify basically anything.
He does his "Muslims can be fun afterall despite the terrorism and what people say, I am super comfortable in this studio environment, John Stewart is my friend, you guys are gonna love my speel" camp dance walk as he enters! 0:08
He is who I wish I was, smart, educated, patient.
I started his book. Very thought provoking. If you call your yourself "christian" without reading scripture, you need to understand why you are christian in the first place. Most likely its because of identity issues. In reality you don't need to call yourself christian to believe in Christ.
Many who call themselves Christians, go to mass once in a blue moon, don't read the bible are like what Reza said - needing to identify themself with a group. Same goes to the Muslim community.
Reza Aslan or Cesar Milan? I cant keep them straight. O.o
"so all you can say now is, 'hello sir' "
*hello, sir*
"did you just assume my gender?"
XD
I'm Christian and I love my Muslim brothers and sisters.
This guy's central and recurring argument is that religious texts are infinitely malleable - meaning that it doesn't matter whether you are Muslim or Buddhist, you will cherry pick and selectively interpret from those texts as necessary to support your pre-religious inclinations.
This is the sort of thing that politically correct audiences want to believe, but it just doesn't seem supported by evidence or common sense. Polls show much higher support for suicide bombing etc. in the Islamic world, and the obvious explanation is Koran's promises to martyrs in the afterlife. It doesn't help that in peddling this pretty far-fetched thesis, Aslan is constantly misrepresenting his academic credentials. Moreover, it just doesn't seem like a scholarly thesis - it's just so generalized and lacking in nuance.
+TorontoLarrivee You'r right that we find much higher support for suicide bombing in the Islamic world than in any other parts of the world, but in itself proves that many Muslims in this day and age selectively interpreted and modified religious doctrine in order to legitimize suicide bombing, rather than the reverse.
Historical and political perspective should be considered in this analysis.
For example, suicide bombings in the Islamic world is a relatively new phenomenon. It was only adopted in the 1980s. Islam and the Koran has been around for over a millennium and the dynamite for over 200 years - so, why the heck Muslims only remembered to resort to suicide bombing merely 30 years ago?
Can you tell me of an historical example of suicidal jihadists besides Imam Ali (only revered by some Shias, btw) or Muslim warriors during the Middle Ages or early modern period? Sorry, but you won't find that many.
Even Afghan Mujaheddin that fought the Soviets in the 1980s under the banner of Jihad didn't use suicide tactics whatsoever, so how can you explain that? If suicide bombing or suicide attacks are a fundamental part of Islamic doctrine you would find plenty of examples of Muslim warriors acting like that throughout history. But the real facts shows us a different story.
And politics should also be taken into consideration: Palestinians overwhelmingly support suicide bombing, but only half of Moroccans and less than half of Indonesians support it. Why those different numbers?
Do you think Moroccans and Indonesians are less Islamic than the Palestinians? Or is the fact that Palestinians are involved in a never-ending conflict with Israel that might explain the large support they have for suicide bombings?
Religion doctrine does very well have an impact - that's why it's called Islamic terrorism in the first place - but politics and identity should also be part of this discussion.
Of course politics and identity should be part of the discussion. But Aslan talks as if religion is an insignificant variable. Sure there's variation in support for suicide bombing, women's rights, etc., across Islamic countries - but we're obviously missing something if we focus on the fact that 'only half' of Morrocan Muslims support suicide bombing.
***** I'm still clueless of what Aslan is trying to transmit with his knowledge about the subject.
But anyways, yes suicide bombings now carries a very religious/political symbolism in the Muslim World.
But one thing that people should look carefully is that Islam as a religion and radical Islam in particular, has been transforming itself in the last century or so.
Islam was a lot more lenient religion during the 17th or 18th century than it is right now.
Those people that always chant that Islam need "a reformation" should see more clearly and notice that the "reformation" already took place in the Muslim World. But they didn't reform towards the direction that secular progressives wanted....
I take your point. I just think Aslan way overstates his point, to make it seem as if religion and scriptures play no role in motivating terrorism, mistreatment of women, etc. For that matter he misstates basic facts.
+TorontoLarrivee I think each subject - treating of women and terrorism - should be treated and analysed separately.
I believe that both religion, identity, tribalism, politics and socioeconomic situations are all factors that should be taken into consideration.
Tomorrow I´m making a cherry pie, Perhaps Reza here would like to help me pick the cherries.
Good one
How about I eat the pies for free and you give me some change? Lol
How the hell can he talk about malleability of the word of god and not see how ludicrous that sounds, in any religion. The word of god, if it was really the world of god, would not be malleable and it would not be open to interpretation, otherwise, the "god" who has written that book has failed to guide the people correctly.
Yressa So you don't think it's possible for someone to interpret a verse in one way and another person to interpret the same verse in a completely different way?
Mankar It is possible. And the fact that it is possible refutes any notion that the books are words of god. Why would god write subjectively? Why would god make it so people would interpret his word differently? That is a huge oversight and is the major reason that religious disputes occur. Why wouldn't god with his all knowing power know not to make it subjective so that there is no opinion on what things mean, and therefore settle disputes?
Yressa I don
Yressa Except there are over 30,000 different sects in christianity, and the bible has been rewritten and altered for different sects. Baptists vs catholics and whatnot. Ask a protestant they are the ones who rewrote the religion.
I love Reza, he`s great
Reza looks like an asian Ellen
Lol
+mondovb Iran is in Asia!
ManWithShoulder 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
fergoesdayton yea asia isnt just china and Japan buddy Iran,Iraq and Afghanistan is also in asia
ManWithShoulder Ellen is lesbian, this one is gay,
What exactly is the point of religion then? You don't derive values or morals from it, so why follow it at all? The reality is, people do in fact get a lot of their views and morals from scripture and religion. People aren't homophobic for fun, they're homophobic specifically because of their religious texts, clergymen, dogmatic parents etc. This is proven by the fact that many societies were fine with homosexuality, until religions like Islam or Christianity came along and imposed their horrific views and values instead.
Arsenal Like many religious apologists, he stresses individual responsibility while ignoring the universality of organized religious indoctrination of children. It's sort of like, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
Arsenal Identity,as he said.Some people are homophobic because some people are homophobic,that is reality.Sorry to burst your bubble.you do not have to be religious or to have a religion to be a homophobe.
chessplayer Of course you don't. I am well aware that there are many non-religious homophobes, but to deny that religion doesn't play a role is just insane. I was bought up in a creationist, fundie Christian household. I used to hold horrific sexist, homophobic etc. views because of what I was taught from church and parents. Also the Bible would reaffirm that it was correct to discriminate and hate homosexuals. A few years back in my early teens, I was exposed to different ideas and watched many prominent atheists just tear apart the morality and lack of evidence for Christianity. I now no longer hold such homophobic views, as I'm aware that is is natural and not sinful, also there is zero evidence for the existence of any God. So don't try and tell me that if homophobic religions didn't exist there'd still be a lot of homophobia.
Arsenal That's exactly the thing. While Reza thinks he is 'oh so smart' with his reply, he painted himself into a corner. Why does anyone need the religion then? Why not just trust your own values if you will end up deriving a sense of morality out of religion through your own lens!? And how about really clear cut commands in religious texts? Are they noise? Or can they be ignored? How can one ignore the direct word of god like the Quran is supposed to be?
As usual with other apologists, Reza is great with vagueing up the real issues and fails to engage ideas on a deeper level. People just eat this shit up just as they do with WLC for example.
Yeah but religions evolve in societies and the societal norms at the time influence the morality reflected in those texts. The two are inextricably entwined. Also, it's true you don't derive values just from religion or religious denominations wouldn't exist. You bring something from your culture and other philosophical ideologies to the table and view religious texts through those filters.
+Tom K Yes, historical ancient Buddhism "philosophy" I believe started us on the path to the enlightenment at one point engraving on many monuments "there is no God" and informing major thought on freedom of thought, (before contemporary Bhudism added on superstition), and the writers of/during the French Enlightenment truly took it to another level, influencing the modern world. I love this thread of thought through the ages because it connects us all as humans regardless of your identity.
I remember my 3rd grade teacher swore that Moses was in the book of Psalms but us students kept telling her it was Exodus. She said her father was a pastor so it's sad she didn't know it 😂
Most on point description of religion I've ever heard.
If you're a gullible sucker who believes the lies of one Mr. Reza Aslan
Why did God dictate such a vague book. Couldn't this omnipotent all knowing God be a little more clear in his message so people don't kill each other over different interpretations.
decunamus2 Answer: he didn't. And even if he did do you think that would make a difference? You miss the point of the video.
Jon's first question is: "Why doesn't god settle it?" Do you think if God settled it and said 'Jesus is God, so... there you go' that people would change their minds? Jews would stop being Jewish? Muslims would change their ways? I doubt it very much.
decunamus2 The Koran isn't to be interpreted by people the way they wish. The Prophet taught the Koran in his Hadiths. That's why the Hadiths are just as important as the Koran.
Yeah but ho is Mohammed to translate the Korean for me?
Jonny Velocity He is the Messenger of God, and the verses were read to him from God's Angel in the first place. So the Messenger plays a very important role in Islam. Even though God told him he was forgiven for all his previous and future sins, he was still so humble he cried when he remembered God's power and punishments on Judgement Day, and stayed up so late every night in prayer, and helped his wife with all the domestics, also he never asked "Why?" when his wives, servants or children messed anything up, he remained calm.
His character and teachings are an example for all Muslims, and his Hadiths are very important, because as I mentioned above, the verses were read to him in the first place because he couldn't read or write.
He just wrote it.He's no expert. It wasn't written fr hi, it was written for everyone. So I think I'll decide how it applies to me, not some secretary
.
I watched this while finishing a term paper on D&G's "Capitalism and Schizophrenia" ... it actually supports my thesis: that political theology impacted the development of desiring machines and body with out organs. Reza Aslan & Jon Stewart much more entertaining thought. Would definitely try to work in a reference if I thought I could get away with citing The Daily Show in an academic paper ;)
Sounds like a super interesting paper. Do you have it saved or published anywhere? Would love to read it!
This is all very interesting, but has anyone else noticed how adorable this guy is?
Reza speaking the truth once again, of course the staunch anti-theists will hate this.
Maybe God just has a really dark sense of humor and just lets it go for amusement.
Makes sense. An at the end he comes like Gandalf with an army of Rohirim and say : Gotcha Bitches !
lmao
Jeff Sydor lol
People bring up the "good" and "compassion" due to religion all the time, even among those against religion. Religious people never shuts up about it in fact. The argument against that is that religion has done much more harm than it has good.
Some also argue that the religious motives for doing good can replaced with secular ones but one can also say the same in regards to the bad things. While it is undoubtedly true that specific religious beliefs causes "bad things" to be worse than they would had been due to secular reasons alone, they could had also cause people to do "better things" than they otherwise would had due to secular reasons alone.
Regardless, the argument that the "bad effects" with religion as a root cause is far more powerful and far-reaching than the "good effects," is a strong one.
Happiness, Love, Compassion, Empathy, Sympathy, Sadness... this is my Mantra.
Learn the Herstory, but don't follow it. Think for yourself.
He's wrong at 2:42 it's nowhere in the Quran
Oh really? I had no idea! > bruh, it was a joke, everyone knows that.
Wait, did Aslan just checkmated himself?
Jon:I thought it was part of hathia
Reza: yo mad respect 💯😂🤜🏼
Miss Jon very much
Reza Aslan's point of view on religions:
' If something is good then it came from God; if something is bad then it's from the misunderstood people '
Even when ordering Subway I'm not as selective as Reza Aslan is when going through the holy books.
"If you are a violent misogynist you will find things to support your view point, if you are a peaceful feminist, you will find just as much to support your view point!" .... If your scriptures are contradicting themselves, why do you hold them so dearly? If there are parts you do not agree with, why do you not revise your books to eliminate them? If you can't revise it because it's against your religion, then why do you still believe in the rest when you know there are sections that are false? Them being false opens the door to everything in them being false, because if they are not sacred and completely true, then they cannot be your "God's" word, and thus must be written by humans and designed by humans.
He was talking about interpretations not verses,contradictory interpretations are a human fault,what does that have to do with your argument ?
"interpreted in both violent and peaceful ways".....What's the peaceful way to interpret Qu'ran verse 4:34 "those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance advise them; forsake them in bed; AND BEAT THEM. But if they obey you, seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand."
darkmath100 OK, I cannot change your mind probably. But someone can easily blame interpretation. Right now I have a Persian interpretation of these verses in "Tafsir al-Mizan", which is a 50 years old book, it brought several historical examples to say that despite the "اظربوهن" (beat them) in these verses it doesn't mean that you are allowed to beat them! The author brought historical example to support this interpretation that you only can beat "your wife" if you both accepted that sort of action before hand. The author brought some historical examples from the prophet and his descendants who directly tried to explain that you cannot read this particular verse unconditionally.
Mehdi Ghanimifard It's crazy to follow a book which you cannot even read. I as a muslim prefer to follow my own mind and heart ;)
Mehdi Ghanimifard It sounds like you're not sure if Surah 4:34 means you can beat your wife or not. What does the Islamic Law say? The Qu'ran is quite clear: a husband can beat a disobedient wife until she becomes compliant again.
darkmath100 Islamic Law is just another interpretation from Quran and other historical sayings that was useful for ruling a caliphate government in middle ages. I don't see any point on reading them nowadays.
But I'm sure that all of these texts are written many ages ago by another human being. Then if someone finds her/his faith in that God, she/he should also consider this fact as a crucial point in her/his practice of that religion.
Mehdi Ghanimifard "Islamic Law....I don't see any point on reading them nowadays." ....... That's great but I'd say at least a Billion Muslims still do unfortunately. And laws about beating your wife actually matter. Certainly they matter to a lot of Muslim wives out there.
;-)
Brilliantly put, Reza.
Everything Aslan said is the reason I am secular.
Two words for Reza Aslan, "David Pakman"
gozaderadrfunk hmnnn David Pakman a journalist vs a guy with 4 degrees and a PhD....
David Pakman is a filthy Zionist who is in War with Muslims.
Pac Man fan boys got nothing on Reza!
Reza is great, an intelligent scholar who challenge anything.
"There's this misconception that people derive their values from their scriptures, and the truth is that it is more often the case that people insert their values into their scriptures."
They both are hot and smart....I can listen to them both talk for hours!
Reza needs to give up this wierd mixmatch of apologetic, trying-to-appease-everyone commentary.
- coming from a Muslim.
electrifrying
I like that quote,religion has given people peace in a world torn apart by religion
I like Reza Aslan and the way he is referring to Taqiyya.
"God does not make you a bigot, you're just a bigot!" Rarely are truer words spoken.
I guess he is saying that holy books can be interpreted into meaning anything you want them to. That's a pretty good summary of describing how utterly useless they are. Although, they do make for good firewood.
"If you have a problem with someone saying 'Happy Holidays,' you don't know the meaning of Christmas. And if you have a problem with someone saying 'Merry Christmas,' you don’t know the meaning of happiness.”
- Michael B. Johnson
absolutely loved this
I'm sorry, I've looked at Reza's credentials and there is nothing there that resembles a PhD is New Testament or Islamic studies. His background is sociology which is nothing like the others.
+Savethe Males Yeah some fox news anchor said that a while ago.
+Savethe Males Sociology is a big field. Learn how academia works before you accuse someone of fraud.
+Savethe Males Here we go again... People try to discredit intellectuals like Reza because they completely destroy your view throung intelligent reasoning. Instead of realizing how wrong they have been for so long, which follows by a natural feeling of shame and guilt, you desperately find ways to disregard it. Cowards is a huge understatement. Sub-humans would be closer. You are all a bunch of cavemen.
+Savethe Males Really? You can't find anything that even RESEMBLES a PhD in New Testament?
Aslan's degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from
Santa Clara University (Major focus: New Testament; Minor: Greek) , a
Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University (Major focus:
History of Religions), a PhD in the Sociology of Religions from the
University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Fine Arts from
the University of Iowa
He has a PhD in the Sociology of Religions, and seeing as how the New Testament is one of the most popular pieces of religious scripture, I'm sure that qualifies.
get your info right
+TheChongmaster What fairy stories does he believe?
i am not a muslim but 2:42 holy shit took me by surprise i thought he was a very sophisticated man and a extreme muslim
Ur name make 0 sense :/
+Muhammad Raza (smilewide) fuck you
He is a secular apologist Muslim. He's a piece of shit.
+EvanMD well that's not very nice
+Alex OReilly thanks
Why the dislikes? He makes really good arguments.
Coolest way 😎😎
Some🙄🙄 arguing in burning debate 😝😝😝
"I have a PhD in the history of religions." - Reza Aslan
Ah, NOW I see why he's on comedy central.