Society which is not exactly, i think, true. Just because, you know, your money says in god we trust doesnt mean that you are under siege. They have a far more literalistic reading of scripture than any literalist i know. Sam harris is quite famous for this. He really reads the scriptures in the most literalist sense, and then if he is confronted by people of faith who dont have the same literalist view of the scripture that he does, he simply says that theyre not really jews, theyre not really christians, theyre not really muslims because they dont take their scripture literally. And certainly, they have the same sense of sole access to the truth. That is the, fundamentally or i should say the defining characteristic of fundamentalism for many of these new atheists, particularly richard dawkins. A person of faith is not just wrong, hes stupid that anyone who disagrees with him is not just incorrect, but, you know, dumb. That religion itself is nothing more than pure evil. As Christoph
Host reza aslan, where does the phrase no god but god come from . Guest it is the first half of the muslim profession of faith. There is no god but god and mohammed is gods messenger. It is essentially the phrase that initiates a convert into the muslim faith. Host you also write it not look that now, islam is available to all muslims and every muslim can speak for islam. And so it becomes a great shouting match. Again, i keep paralleling judaism and is on. The problem of course is theres about 15 million after jews. When you look at the conflicts in the middle east commodious muslim democrat and was some autocrats fighting against each other, muslim peacemakers and the Software Makers are doing against each other, what ewers is precisely the result of this reformation process, this individualization of islam, in the process the authority to decide if faith is being removed, seized ashes back from the hand that these institutions that have gripped it from us at the last 14 centuries an
Host reza aslan, where does the phrase no god but god me it initiates the convert cono the muslim faith. Host you also write it not look that now, islam is available to all muslims and every muslim can speak for islam. It is a religion not to have the intermediary but unlike todays them it has resulted in the creation of a class of scholars the learned once says they are known. For most of the last four centuries. Host how does that involve from mohammad to free them to interpret . That all great religions half profits that was a creator of a religion that is important for people to understand we have a perception of profit is someone who invents a new religion but a profit is someone who reforms the religion in the culture in which he lived they did not create christianitys jesus was said you preaching about it today is some. If he was the hidden duty was reforming hindu with some. The across repeatedly reminds people it is not a new religion this aid was given to all the profits but
Host reza aslan, where does the phrase no god but god come guest ing there is no god but god, and muhammad is gods messenger. Its, essentially, the phrase that initiates a convert into the muslim faith. Convert into the muslim faith. Host you also write it not look that now, islam is available to all muslims and every muslim can speak for islam. Guest of scholars, the learned ones as theyre known who have maintained a monopoly over the meaning and message of islam for most of the last 14 centuries. Host how did that evolve from muhammad into the freedom to interpret . Guest you know, its interesting. This, in many ways, is the same process that all great religions go through. You have a prophet who is primarily a reformer, not a creator of a religion. I think thats the very important thing for people to understand. We have this misperception that what a rough fete is, is prophet is, is somebody who invents a new religion, but thats not what a prophet is. A prophet forms the religion. J