Reza Aslan’s new book, Zealot, is currently 2 on the New York Times Best Sellers List.  It provides insights into the forces that continue to plague the turbulent Middle East.  Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs traipse through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God.  This is the age of zealotry – a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews.  And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy.

Network 20/20 Charter Member Dr. Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed writer, scholar of religions, and contributing editor for The Daily Beast.  A best-selling author, Aslan’s first book, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, was named one of the hundred most important books of the last decade.  He has made regular appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CBS News, and Tavis Smiley among many others.  He is also the author of How to Win a Cosmic War (published in paperback as: Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age), as well as editor of two volumes: Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, and Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions, and Complexities.