Reza Aslan on His New CNN Show About Religious Rituals

posted on: Mar 13, 2015

Yesterday Deadline reported that Reza Aslan, a popular commentator on comparative religion and the author of books like Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth and No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, will be hosting a new CNN show called Believer (a working title) in which he will travel around the world participating in various faith’s religious rituals.

The show, Aslan told Science of Us, will orient itself mostly toward rituals that might be less familiar to an American audience — for example, he cited plans to shoot scenes taking viewers inside Muharram, a Shiite period of mourning involving rituals of self-flagellation, and Na Nachs, a sect that combines orthodox Judaism with a love of rave culture.

In an interview, Aslan expanded on his goals for the show and explained how he both is and isn’t hoping to be a religion-themed version of Anthony Bourdain.

Source: nymag.com