When the hot topic of the Middle Eastern conflict comes up on campus, some students might focus only on terrorism, the war and oil. Thursday night, those students will get a whole new perspective.
The Student Activities Council is bringing Gideon Yago, former MTV correspondent, and Reza Aslan, religious scholar and author of "No god but God: the Origin, Evolution, and Future of Islam," to speak about Islam and the Middle East here at The University of Memphis on Thursday, Nov. 6.
When Aslan was seven years old, he and his family fled from the revolution that was taking place in their home country of Iran. An expert on Islam and the Middle East, Aslan works as a commentator for National Public Radio's "Marketplace" and as a Muslim affairs analyst for CBS News. He is also a contributing writer for Los Angeles Times.
Aslan said the biggest misconception is the assumption that Middle Easterners think and feel differently from Americans. He argued Americans lump all the Middle Easterners together because they are not exactly like Americans.
"If it's us versus them, then who is 'them?' All of the Middle East?" Aslan said. "They distrust us the way we distrust them. They feel threatened like we do."
His lectures and writings focus on the relationship between faith and politics in the Muslim world. He views the current conflicts in the Middle East not as a "clash of civilizations," but as an "Islamic Reformation." He said Middle Easterners are determined to find a balance between their religious views and traditions and with the newly introduced ideas of democracy and human rights, and that is why they are fighting.
Having lived both in the Middle East and in the United States, Aslan said he is able to see both sides of the issue. He said that both the United States and the Middle East are to blame when it comes to the misconceptions about each other.
"It's a complete lack of understanding from both sides that has led to the situation we are now in," Aslan said.
Yago and Aslan started touring together about a year ago in hopes that they could paint a whole new picture for audiences as to what's going on in the region.
"We got such a positive response about it, so we are rolling with it," Yago said.
Yago said that the main purpose of these lectures at colleges is to answer all the questions students may have.
"If students have questions about terrorism, Islam, the war or the last few years since 9/11 ... that's what we want to answer," Yago said. "With the exception of the men and women who have been over there, there is curiosity about what is going on."
According to Aslan, the main question that students ask is, "How do we get out of Iraq?" He said he thinks that there is no easy answer to that question.
"It's what is on everyone's mind. We put ourselves in a situation that is unwinnable. It's been called the biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of the United States, and I agree," Aslan said. "There is no right answer."
Both agreed that they really enjoy giving lectures at colleges.
"We love to engage the audience," Aslan said. "Usually students will ask very well informed questions on the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conflict in the Middle East. Occasionally, someone will want to know what J. Lo smells like or what John Stewart is like."
The reason college students ask such good questions, Aslan said, is because they realize they are the "future leaders of America."
Yago said he learns a lot from talking to college students.
"You can have real discussion - honesty. You get to see what people are most interested in. It says something about the country," Yago said. "Plus, you can curse and get away with it."
