A frequent guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, Dr. Reza Aslan will visit West Virginia University as part of the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas.

Aslan will speak at The Erickson Alumni Center on Tuesday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m.

Aslan speaks for a generation of Muslims who eschew the fundamentalist stereotype and want to usher in a new era of Islamic democracy. He addresses the topic of modern Islam, religion and politics in the Middle East, Muslim Americans and the rise of a sophisticated Muslim middle class with authority, wit and an infectious optimism.

As a bestselling author and entrepreneur, he has made extraordinary efforts to show Americans the true face of Islam today: a generation of change makers in America and abroad, who are solidifying relations with the West while making their own hopeful marks on the world.

Aslan’s book “No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam,” was named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade by Blackwell Publishers. He is also a contributing editor to The Daily Beast and editor of Tablet and Pen, a literary anthology that uses the arts to bridge the gap of understanding between East and West.

In the corporate realm, Aslan is founder, president and CEO of Aslan Media Inc., which runs BoomGen Studios, a unique media company focused entirely on entertainment about the greater Middle East and its diaspora communities.

Aslan holds degrees in religion from Santa Clara University, Harvard and UC 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.

Aslan will sign copies of his books immediately following his talk. The WVU Barnes & Noble Bookstore will have books available for purchase at the event.

-WVU-

ld/03/02/12

CONTACT: Liz Dickinson, writer/editor, Office of University Events
304-293-8025, liz.dickinson@mail.wvu.edu

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