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 books, including his #1 New York Times Bestseller, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (over a million copies sold), have been translated into dozens of languages around the world. His latest book is An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville (October 2022). He is a recipient of the prestigious James Joyce Award.
His producing credits include the acclaimed HBO series The Leftoversand 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 premiere 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 first book, International Bestseller No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, has been translated into seventeen languages, and was named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade by Blackwell Publishers. He is also the author of Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age (originally titled How to Win a Cosmic War), and God: A Human History, as well as editor of two volumes: Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, and Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalties, Contentions, and Complexities.Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth has been translated into twenty-seven languages worldwide and is soon to be a major motion picture with a script co-written by Aslan and Oscar- screenwriter, James Schamus.
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, 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, Born in Iran, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, author and entrepreneur, Jessica Jackley, and their four children.