Lesley Hazleton at TEDxRainier

Lesley Hazleton explores the Quran and finds much that is quite different from what is reported in commonly cited accounts.
A psychologist by training and Middle East reporter by experience, British-born Lesley Hazleton has spent the last ten years exploring the vast and often terrifying arena in which politics and religion, past and present, intersect. Her most recent book, After the Prophet: the Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split, was a finalist for the 2010 PEN-USA nonfiction award.
She lived and worked in Jerusalem for thirteen years -- a city where politics and religion are at their most incendiary -- then moved to New York. She came to Seattle to get her pilot's license in 1992, saw the perfect houseboat, and stayed. By 1994, she'd flown away all of her savings, and has never regretted a single cent of it. Now her raft rides low in the water under the weight of research as she works on her next book, The First Muslim, a new look at the life of Muhammad.
Twitter: @accidentaltheo
Blog: accidentaltheologist.com/
Arabic translation: Amineh Ayyad.
TEDxRainier is an independently organized TED event held in Seattle Washington.

[@going2sleep]

Beautiful .. "The fact that so few people actually read the Qur'an is precisely why it is so easy to quote... that is misquote." such a strong and meaningful statement.

[@mirakhan7760]

What a great writer....!! Beautiful book and now i came to know about Muhammad(SAWW). Thankyou Lesley!!

[@eslteacher2215]

I was watching this short speech of Lasely Hazleton while lying on the couch. Subconsciously I found myself had gotten up on my feet in the end when the audience were applauding the speaker for her outstanding remarks and a unique approach to the life of prophet Muhammad, the most influential person of all times🌹👏👏👏

[@hibah121]

What a beautiful lecture.....may Allah bless the speaker and the person that posted this....very inspirational Thank you

[@TEDx]

We're preparing a transcript of the talk and will be considering languages for translation. This discussion is an open one, and comments on the video, its topics, and on other comments are welcome, especially when comments add to the discussion and are reasonably civil. Thanks to all who are posting good comments and for the lively discussion. -- Phil Klein, TEDxRainier

[@TheN430]

She's amazing I can't get enough of her.

[@philklein]

Hi, we're preparing a translation of this video with Arabic subtitles. Thanks for your continued interest and for sharing this video. We'll post a link here when that is ready for viewing. -- Phil Klein, TEDxRainier

[@lemon3011]

This lady made me cry Thank you

[@TheDavidDaoud]

Thank you Leslie Hazleton ! I only wish your presentation had been much longer. IMHO, I really do believe you should go on a speaking tour throughout the United States and Canada on the subject of Islam, The Holy Qur'an, and the real sources of Islamophobia in western countries. But watch your back if you do.

[@Cantantora]

Masha'Allah! That was incredible. Insight from an insightful and intellectual person! Thank you so so much for this Lesley Hazleton. May Allah swt bless you :)

[@hadijahn]

Two years back i decided to read the quran English translation. Gave me a yearning to learn reading Arabic this year. I totally understand that feeling u describe of feeling like you can never get the hang of it n then feeling great when u learn that whatever they have told u before is actually wrong. I can never explain it the way you eloquently explain it though. God bless your work.

[@TheRationalizer]

To understand it you need to read the tafsirs for every page, and look at the root words + how they are used elsewhere. QuranX website does that.

[@fayazsheik6077]

@@TheRationalizer thanks bro this is so huge and so much to understand.

[@semsamatanovic5296]

AMIN...AMIN...AMIN...YA RABBI!!!! N

[@macplasma]

Lady's got style, I liked the standing ovation she got at the end, people are way better than they are generally made out to be.

[@TheSuf]

Thank you for posting this. It made me cry.

[@kazemita1]

Enjoyed the talk. Thanks for posting it.

[@mogmethegreat]

Beautiful analysis of quran .may Allah bless her

[@semsamatanovic5296]

AMIN...AMIN...AMIN...YA RABBI!!!!mm

[@shinseijiro90]

Her voice is mesmerizing. She had me hooked with her first sentence.

[@EmilyMac8]

Very well done, a great and informative lecture. I will be looking into her written works. Thank you for posting.

[@SpiffySG]

Warm and beautiful. Thank you.

[@bahriboy]

fantastic video..many thanks for posting

[@ebrutvde]

Thank you for that interesting speech and your honet approach to the Quran without prejudicies. Respect.

[@MJBabyLove]

Beautifully said! Subhanallah what an amazing book... the author being the greatest of all authors, Allah swt... gives me shivers to know thats His words...

[@semsamatanovic5296]

ALLAHU AKBAR!!!!!

[@kanada69]

Thank you so much!

[@fontevraud]

Great video. Thanks so much for this.

[@quietfi123]

what an engaging speaker. Very thoughtful and insightful look at the Qur'an's meaning of Paradise. a thumbs up from me.

[@spiritlite]

@BintAlHaq AsalaamuAlaykum, MashaAllah thanks for shaing Sister :) JazakaAllah Khair.

[@mkamel2007]

Brilliant. As someone who follows the Islamic faith, I am yet to encounter someone who put this message as eloquently as Lesley Hazleton! Reading the Quran for really what it is brings out its true essence of tolerance, respect, beauty, and peace.

[@midonile]

@TEDxTalks: Thank you for sharing this breath of fresh air. I will be looking forward to reading Ms. Hazleton's upcoming book. Meanwhile, if you would like help with the translation into Arabic or a review of one, I would be willing to oblige.

[@BintAlHaq]

i really admire her, shes spot on mashaAllah :)

[@antiwar2]

This woman is brilliant! :)

[@okamo49]

Thank you Lesley for giving me a reason to read the Quran with a open mind. For too long I have listened to hateful diatribes from clearly judgemental people.

[@SeeSo0]

Well said, well done!!

[@creamers14]

I can't seem to stop watching this over and over again. To me, this is one of the best explanations of what the Quran is what it is not, given to us by someine who is not even a Muslim. Sadly, even many Muslims don't know as much as she does about the Quran. Its just a matter of time until she reverts to Islam and become a better Muslim than many people including myself....thats all I am going to say...

[@booka852]

God bless her so much

[@zerinzinia8660]

I like the fact that she's full of humor.

[@LAILAHUSSEIN]

Great Video! Thanx

[@sarachinisaz1398]

What a wonderful woman (extraordinary)

[@nettwister]

Fantastic !!!

[@GuitarNovice100]

I do not know enough to comment on the meaning of what she said but she was just too smooth and articulate.. great piece of public speaking!!

[@721Haseeb]

First of all, Islam is the best!!! You can never beat a knowledgeable Muslim in arguments. Coming to what you said, you have completely misunderstood the religion! Islam strictly criticizes anger, There are two Hadiths(Sayings of the ProphetPBUH) which I remember regarding this: 1. "Strong is not a man who wins the fight physically but strong is a man who controls his anger" 2. "Anger wastes your good deeds just like fire eats the firewood" I hope you come to the right way!

[@hanananf]

omg I love her ...usually I get bored when people speak more than 2 mint ....but she's one of those people that .... want her to speak and I just listen ...

[@abdiaziz2968]

Me too

[@creamers14]

Sh. Saleem Bhimji showed this video to me. This woman has an understanding of the Quran better than most of the Muslims today...I daresay. She has written many books as well and one of them is called "After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split, Doubleday, 2009" (which I have yet to read)....and just listening to her give this talk on the Quran should make one feel intrigued to read what she has to interpret on the Islamic history.

[@netzel6723]

Amazed good job

[@habib2482]

Wow!!!! Bravo!!!!

[@nourahksa7170]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 ملحدة وتفهم القرآن بهذا الشكل الرائع ! عبقرية ونزيهة 👌🏼

[@illtrax]

"This was perhaps the biggest surprise; how flexible the Koran is. At least in minds that are not fundamentally inflexible" This is the essence of all story books.

[@shinyb1236]

That was beautiful.....

[@boray43]

What was said in those few minutes in my opinion was far richer, deep and intelligent more than hours and hours of TV interviews or books by scholars or even experts in Islam, what she said about the Quran reflects what the Quran is? A mysterious book of God that you need to feel more than read, you have live and not pass by, and that we are living within the boundaries of our capabilities, limits of our creation and the narrow mechanism of our brain.

[@Davlavi]

Very nice and a true discusion. What we realy need.

[@dcc460ut]

Greeting to you dear Lesley, Please accept my best regards.

[@123456nad]

Never enough, she is great

[@TheDavidDaoud]

@twofolddeamer You are so right in saying that visiting an Islamic country would set a lot of American straight on their thinking about Muslims and Islam. I for one, am a WASP Canadian who presently resides in Morocco, and never a day goes by that I am not glad that I made the decision to leave Canada to live here. For reasons that include the nearly total absence of crime, clean air and friendly people.

[@Eeba3215]

this woman could probably tell the best bedtime stories :)

[@Logia1978]

This woman knows what she is talking about!

[@aatayyab]

Subhan Allah - All praise is due to Allah (swt)

[@fahadshahabmba]

Subhan Allah! May Allah give her hidayah and give her paradise.

[@QuaideAzamPakistan]

I am just one humble student of the Quran and my heritage of Quran reading stretches to 14 centuries of my ancestors. I know how glorious this Book is. The Quran is as bright as the Sun. It itself is the most authentic Hadith of the era of The Prophet (S). One does not need light bulb to look at the Sun. All one needs is common sense, a commitment to read and the guts to reject nonsense.

[@JawaDAARJI]

She is great and direct. I believe she believes in it.

[@HZ_LionsDen]

@kmardes The 'violence' you talk about pertains to specific contexts in all regards and in all cases. Hazleton just cited the most commonly misquoted supposed 'violent verse' and dispelled the misconceptions rather eloquently.

[@SantaOfNeretva99]

she's destroying morons since youth, now she's more potent then ever !

[@mindysue2994]

Thanks for your insight. We Muslims love you, and the most important things for going to heaven are for you to believe in the oneness and all powerfulness of God (most important of all) & secondly to do more good than bad. God will bless you for your good deeds in helping people understand.. not only Muslims and Muhammad PBUH... But.. most of all for all of us love and respect all other human beings. We love you. God Bless you. ❤️

[@wesam2003]

Dear TEDex talks, we are interested in lesley speech ,, would please write it in words in the description especially the last part when she is talking about what paradise is

[@philklein]

in any reasonably educated society, the basic and powerful insights of this talk should be common knowledge. Hopefully, now they will be!

[@neurosurgeonmja]

Awesome

[@ffsdffsd1]

Hello to all. First: I grew up in a Muslim (Iran) country and was taught Arabic from an early age. Ms. Hazleton did a good seminar and a good speech. Some really good points. She just missed some parts, probably because she's new to Quran OR mostly because she suggests treating it as a kind of Arabic musical! The point is, this text, the Quran, is supposed to be a "clear" message from the only God, like it states in the Quran itself which "this was sent to you in clear Arabic to be understood"

[@AshfaquddinMohammed]

Subhan Allah! May Allah give her hidayah

[@semsamatanovic5296]

AMIN...AMIN...AMIN...YA RABBI!!

[@JAFFERSH]

@conanf she did use tafseer. She used the footnotes, which is where the tafseer appears.

[@geek2core]

Subhan'Allah. It was awesome. May Allah give her hidayah.

[@semsamatanovic5296]

AMIN...AMIN...AMIN...YA RABBI!!

[@Pemerhati007]

@rzadan, now i understand why others have tried to get through to you but cant. appreciate it though coz thanks to you i learned a lot from studying surah al-talaq. i'm no imam, but you made me study quran even more. may allah reward you for that. and i'm sure you know, rape is a sin is islam. if an underage girl is to get married, she will have to get parents consent. I hope the thousands of cases you said were done that way. If it happens then thats by choice, not by force.

[@boray43]

What is before and what is after no one even can think, what is it? one thing for sure, it will be unseen before, unheard of and never crossed your mind.

[@Donni786]

Salamun'alaikum > Quran 6 verse 54. Hamdullillah she is more knowledgeable about the Quran than most so-called Muslims.Keep it up.Allah blessing to you.Let's the world know. Allahhu Akhbar.

[@PlancksTime]

I wish more western scholars/academics/intellectuals/atheists, such as Bertrand Russell, and of course this Lady, would delve deeper into Islam and its peculiarities, and share this with the public. It would certainly help world peace. And bring greater enlightenment to the west about this religion, which is very foreign yet also very human. No doubt, Islam is the greatest religion, as far as religions go. A purer, supreme form of Christianity and Judiasm, flexible enough to capture any mind.

[@TMJaffer]

Thankyou so much =) '..Say, (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) "To Allah belong both, east and the west. He guides whom He wills to the Straight Way." ' The Holy Quran (2:142)

[@LAILAHUSSEIN]

@TheRationalizer It's difficult to discuss on youtube, can I have your email?

[@Logia1978]

It's pleasent to see the hate of all these guys who cant do nothing against islam. It' is said that the fire in them is even greather. Lesley Haleton has my respect. She is such an intelligent Woman, I like her, I like Shabir Ally and Jamal Badawi. Keep up the good works.

[@LAILAHUSSEIN]

@TheRationalizer I have two other comments.. have you read them?

[@nilopheri]

How to participate in ted x, friends

[@HErenK1]

@asalamualaikum1 walaykumussalam, I too like this video to be placed everywhere, to be watched in mosques, and other warship spaces and media outlests....i would vote for this video to be video of the year 2010....

[@1fq]

6:45 subhanallah

[@yusriyusra]

Please grow up people... she gave so much respect to the quran.. more so than most people including muslims..she was able to analyse and show Quran in beautiful light..why are we so greedy to want more from her..... just listen and not expect so much from a non muslim...what she said impressed me so much..I pray Allah will gave her hidayah...Please stop criticising people who made so much effort to respect Our holy book..

[@TheDavidDaoud]

@Deyabil Don't be sorry; just keep speaking truth to power. Especially in this critical time.

[@sherifsalama6002]

it has been written ( rivers of wine with sweet taste )

[@lawer3333]

I feel comfortable when you listen to the Quran

[@AlotaibiA]

@mohol93 u word like daimons ..thank u very much I hope thay will understand ..and find peace in thay lifes thanks all

[@Pemerhati007]

@rzadan, correction on your statement : divorced women with menopause (overaged women) HAVE to observe iddah. same goes for divorced women who have not started menstrating yet (underaged women) as per 65:4. .... if such things do happen. This is not about cruelty. This is about covering all angles.

[@ReviveASunnah]

@liabub I beg you to share with us where in the Qur'an it says that the world was created for Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

[@kanada69]

I hear Lesley mentioned that the Qur'an is quite clear when it says that you will be “a new creation“ in Paradise, and that “you will be re-created in a form unknown to you.” Which verse is that from the Qur'an? Can anyone guide me please? Thank you.

[@rizalditwo1550]

Al-Waqi'ah QS 56:61.."ʿalā an nubaddila amthālakum wanunshi-akum fī mā lā taʿlamūna" - In that We (will) change your likeness[es] and produce you in what not you know..

[@1jazaki]

the only reason people take it as a bad thing it's out of fear but believe me i don't want anyone to go to hell

[@Mehbz]

@Lavazzacuppa Thats actually quite beautiful!

[@IDH2008]

@TheRationalizer 1. Please list the verses that say what you claim about the whole east/west and muddy pool issue. 2. I did watch the video and your conclusion about those verses quoted are incorrect, they are used in a reference point to both the place and time. Orbit is a word used in the english translation and is used to describe the cycle the sun an moon have and not necessarily a literal orbit. 3. There is nothing that says a woman cannot hit a man if he is being unfaithful or abusive.

[@andy4an]

TED is at its finest when people take a fresh look at majority opinions and force you to think about them. This is a solid talk... WITH A TERRIBLE NAME. My goodness, would it kill them to say what this is about in the title?! I skipped this talk many times in my journeys through TED archives. Thank goodness I lowered my standards to "lots of views, and doesn't sound lame" from "lots of views and an interest piquing name".

[@ghittaelbernossielphilalie5474]

So so beautiful

[@ShoebMortoza]

Thanks to her for talking about the Quran. I liked very much. One thing I would like to extend that about killing non Muslims what she referred is correct but she did not include 2 important points or summarized them by saying "better not to". In fact the Quran orders that if a non Muslim seeks refuge a Muslim must guard and take him to a safe place for safety. Anyway, thanks again to all who reads and likes the Quran.

[@farzanatasneem]

@miladmeah You need to read the historical background of the verses you are quoting You can visit englishtafseerdotcom and read the explanation

[@Pemerhati007]

@rzadan, you are absolutely right, happy?

[@AdorIslam]

Every soul will experience death, and you will be given your recompense in full on the Day of Resurrection. The one who is saved from Hellfire and admitted into Paradise will be truly victorious. And what is the life of this world except a deceptive enjoyment. [Al-Qur’an 3:185]

[@philklein]

wesam2003: I'll see about having the talk transcribed and will update this comment thread when I know more. Thank you for your interest.

[@rahimick5]

Very eloquent summation of the Quran. I admire this woman's bravery and honesty. One thing that she said, I have thought for many years: Both the fundamentally deranged fanatics and anti-Islamers both take a rigid, out-of-context interpretation of the Quran. They are essentially different sides of the same worthless coin.

[@conanf129]

What that lady speaks of is mostly true. My only comment is that if she want to decipher or understand the Qura'n in Islamic perspective, she probably has to use "tafseer" or scholarly interpretation to gain an insight into muslim thinking. That would significantly delay her work ,though, seeing that there are huge volumes of tafseer published throughout the centuries and by different scholars. But the fact that she took lengths to read it is very commendable.

[@marcelcol69]

@kmardes 21:39] If only those who disbelieve could envision themselves when they try to ward off the fire - off their faces and their backs! No one will help them then. [21:40] Indeed, it will come to them suddenly, and they will be utterly stunned. They can neither avoid it, nor can they receive any respite. [21:41] Messengers before you have been ridiculed, and, consequently, those who ridiculed them incurred the retribution for their ridiculing.

[@JIMI291]

WOW