TEDxConejo - Reza Aslan - Unity in Diversity

[@alsalehnz]

"relationships change minds" This is absolutely correct; relations make you look beyond someone's religion or background. Relations get you to judge people for who they are.

[@rochellesledge918]

I had the incredible opportunity to hear Aslan speak at NCORE years ago. I enjoyed both his presence and his points, his depth and his ability to help us all understand the cycles of American history.

[@amnamohamed1253]

The new age soldier--taking on the fight with words.

[@joshrosas5920]

I found this helpful. This message says what I may not be able to convey.

[@dddebolt]

Islam and Christianity are so similar its crazy. Funny how they seem to fight the most.

[@ollezimmerman]

Thanx Reza, you're a part of the solution!

[@ollezimmerman]

@Brody Hill Elaborate, please!

[@brotherlove1]

Thanks Reza for the great work....

[@boshirmh007]

before people commenting on reza they should realise he is a professor of religon so he oviously knows more about the subject then anybody on the comment section. so keep quite and listen and you mught actually learn something from a man of knowledge.

[@michaelhutchison1972]

ThUrT EilNo He's a terror apologist. So YOU sit back and watch some video of Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Atheism-is-unstoppable.Reza is a well spoken and intelligent snake.

[@boshirmh007]

Michael Hutchison dawkins is only a puppet he does no research of his own except what he's told from hear say, as for sam harris, he gets all his sources through the internet, and as for hitchens he got smoked against george gallaway. so no contest.

[@boshirmh007]

Michael Hutchison if you talk of terrorist then who are the real terrorist those who bomb with drones on a daily baises in the middle east killing hundreds of civilians including children. so that also makes the western world a terrorist. you need two to tango!

[@DanLetts97]

He's a Muslim apologist who lays the blame for Charlie Hebdo on the French and their inability to except multi-culture. Just wow. The man disgusts me.

[@hamrunizspar1]

ThUrT EilNo. A professor of religion?! A professor of faity-tales you mean.

[@maximushairstudio]

Well done Reza Aslan. I love the speech, Unity in Diversity.

[@pmmarcov]

This excellent talk reminds of the excellent special document Soledad O'Brien did on CNN called "Unwelcome. The Muslims Next Door." Search for it here on KZbin. It's here. Watch both and see if the what's at the ugly underbelly of that "rapture" non-sense doesn't scare you. I hope Reza is right and these people end up on the wrong side of history and the diversity of America "Wins"!

[@elbazart]

oh, I got the idea of the video all right. The idea of the video is to promote a feeling of victimhood within the Muslim community, and to intimidate the rest of American society from expressing any kind of criticism towards Muslims. As I said, there is nothing remotely original or intellectually intriguing about this talk. All he's basically saying is "society is mistreating us, you should all feel ashamed".

[@darwinistdelusions6504]

So true! You saved me! I didn't get it first! Thank you!

[@persianboy153]

Reza for president

[@sinaest]

great talk!

[@rickmonty8856]

Brief, yet astoundingly remarkable message.

[@TheGreatBatsby]

Let me correct myself, going into the stories of individual ethnic groups does make sense, but Native Americans and Africans have an extraordinary story.

[@Aeneid182]

Obviously you haven't got the idea of this video. Hundreds of Muslims in the US are doctors, lawyers, dentists, school teachers, police officers. Mosques also do a lot for local communities and promoting inter-faith dialogue. I would say that this is a contribution to society, and a large one at that.

[@honeybeechanger]

I understand ur point. Dr. Azlan, speaks as an immigrant from Iran with expertise on history & Islam, Judaism & Christianity. This is his mindset. One has to draw on specifics to get a point across & if one speaks for 4 mins. about diversity in, this, the most ethnically divers country in the World; than one has to leave stuff out. In the end, however, we are all included in the ideal diverse reality he presents in this talk. That is the takeaway. Every American is implicitly included.

[@lindasol740]

I love reza

[@fazalabbas2298]

You are awesome! Great talk

[@irajkhodadoost]

Middle East is going through a period similar to the Dark Ages of Europe from which the West was liberated within five centuries after Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, etc.The liberation of the Middle East from dictatorship and religious fanaticism and fundamentalism has begun, and it may take a century until we reach that balance. Reza is quite eloquent, but misses the mark as many of you have pointed out in your comments. Islamic reformation has not yet begun....

[@itsmrfz1]

Haha loved this, great speech! Let the haters be full of hate, its affecting them more than us!

[@IshtarQueen]

He is handsome :)

[@SamKhan-wy1ud]

Amazing

[@altafhus1]

I have always enjoyed Reza, he is just stupendous.

[@dandipadisainam2114]

If someone comes from a Muslim background, why is that person identified only as a MUSLIM? It does not happen in the case of other faiths. If we meet people of other faiths, we simply say, "I saw a man standing as the bus stop." Or, "I met a woman at the airport." We do not care about their faith, neither do they. But if we ever come across someone from a Muslim background, the whole statement changes. We say, "I met a Muslim today." Even Reza is saying the same in the video. He is identifying a man or a woman as being only MUSLIM. If you are a Muslim, you are first a Muslim, secondly, a Muslim, thirdly a Muslim, and all 99 times, a Muslim. Then maybe, on the 100th time, you could be identified by your other identity, which could be a man or a woman or whatever you are.

[@honeybeechanger]

I think that the NY Cathedral is different than "the ground zero Mosque". I get that they are both protested/controversial religious buildings built by groups, perceived as Un-American but the major difference is in the context of 9/11 & historically, conquers building over the conquered or simply changing a Mosque to a Church, a synagogue to a Mosque... a Cathedral on top of an Aztec Temple. In context to 9/11 I believe that it was insensitive in time & placement.

[@moonoo000]

such a Hippocratic title. i waited 15 mins for him to say something useful

[@hamrunizspar1]

moonoo000 The gullible will believe pork is beef if you tell them that pork is beef. Wow!!

[@BennyEternET]

It's beautiful talk...About geopolitics and values of religions...but ... Where did you hear something about Islam or the Qur'an in this video ? nowhere ! Where did you hear about God even ? (ok for the roman catholic there's Jesus Christ that he calls a jew). He's got a perfectly secular discours, trying to say : muslims are just people, and trying to put them at the same level of persecution as jews. But he is not muslim and does not represent the view of most muslims, he's deist at best !

[@BennyEternET]

Hands ( of Fatima) off me. I said "pillars of FAITH=Iman" I meant the 6 articles of faith. Believe in the prophets is one of them, and he disaproved the prophethood of Jesus/Issa in his last book. The Hagia Sophia was the centeral cathedral of the Greek Orthodox church and was then transformed in a Mosque and is now a museum in Istanbul.

[@chinemenmayoruk930]

Very powerful! Makes me want to share my story

[@honeybeechanger]

I think we could have have American Interfaith camps where people of all communities can send their kids to this summer camp for 3rd, 6th & 10th grade (or something like this) & these children then learn the American story together & form lifelong relationships but we should also have extended interfaith activities for our clergy & other leaders. Chances are leaders & children can lead us to more unity as we are becoming more diverse.

[@emshaspand]

Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks [beheading with knife/sword] and smite all their finger-tips off them [finger-tips amputating].” 5:33 unbelievers (who reject pay jizayah 9:29) “execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides” 5:51 “O you who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors” 24:4 “(rape victims) flog them with 80 stripes”

[@gunslinger000001]

he makes it seem like only america has a intolerance to anything forign but if you look at most muslim countires there is very very little tolerance to non muslims. I am not hating on him just saying..

[@xuraseali2078]

reza aslan is brilliant. not like self-enlightened atheists and the sort.

[@waynejohnson1786]

New Atheists be like "take a seat and let me teach you about your religion, I'm a scholar. I got my degree in religious studies from KZbin University, I was taught by Professor Bigot."

[@adamharrisakarexon9492]

hahahah :D

[@darwinistdelusions6504]

😂😂

[@ollezimmerman]

He is so cool!

[@secretdekoi]

wonderful speech.... people being upset that america is removing "GOD" from the pledge... but what we should remove is the part that says ONE NATION... and the INDIVISIBLE part too... because we haven't acted as a nation.

[@Earthling108]

I agree about the melting pot of soup. It’s great, but it’s not so much to the point where all the ingredients are too blended. Also a strong flavor of one kind in the soup is definitely not good thing such as over salting, over spicing. Also I do believe Islam has an agenda to take over… there have been genocides in areas sometimes where Islam was a dominant religion. Not everywhere but many times in history. I still don’t believe that hurting others due to their beliefs or their ethnicity is right. But it’s important to make sure the ethnic group entering isn’t causing harm to the people living there already. Boundaries help society function better.

[@honeybeechanger]

This will be my last comment about this talk. Preface: I love & respect diversity & I admire religious faiths/buildings of all kinds. If it would have been proposed; I think Americans would have been justified in rejecting the building of a Shinto shrine about 2 blocks from Pearl Harbor. No matter how peaceful the intention might have been by of the Cordoba House. The proposal was in insensitive & the reaction to it predicable & I believe justified. How can you ignore the context if 9/11?

[@Earthling108]

EXACTLY. It’s not like Islam was not responsible

[@BennyEternET]

Oh that's sweet of you pumpkin, I actualy did it without you asking, and his sophisticated definition of religion and the fact that he is a scholar made him write a book about Jesus and take position against the "prophethood" and the "virgin birth" and for the "crucifixion". Now correct me if I'm wrong but one of the pillars of faith in sunni Islam is the prophets. But maybe that's the EXACT vision of a billion muslims, what is your take on this ?

[@Aeneid182]

as well as the fact that lobby groups tend to cause more harms than benefits anyway- i'd support the removal of all special interest groups- but id say that if you are worried about any PAC, the NIAC is the last you should really be concerned about.

[@nyrtzi]

I see that people don't know how the reply button works. Heh.

[@tothestars101]

So drinking alcohol and having premarital sex defines who is good vs bad now? wow what a time to be alive

[@deadmanssuit]

I somewhat agree with you, but we must keep in mind that they are actually PhD's in the HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY of various religions. Kinda like people that analyze sports statistics lol.

[@shigraf6500]

Raza is great

[@emshaspand]

@iranian81 Ok I believe in this what you say: MY POINT IS ALL RELIGIOUS GROUPS are tolerant when they are a minority, and INTOLERANT when they are a majority. But dont change the subject by bringing the other religions in this, BECAUSE afterall you are advertising and defending Islam in this video. So stay on this subject.

[@Aeneid182]

Are you serioius, really? The fact is that there is a lot of anti-muslim sentiment in the US, particularly by the Christian right, and people who are fueled by fear. The point of the talk is to illustrate how both technology and academia can be used to illustrate how Muslims can still be Americans and vice versa- something that a lot of people in America often forget.

[@DanLetts97]

America is a very conservative Christian country, and Islam and Christianity have been at war for centuries. So, it's understandable that there is a lot of anti-Islamic sentiment in America. It's probably not a good idea to mix the two.

[@mahmoodtajar]

yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

[@doctorsabir5]

ALLAH IS LOVE....CREATOR OF UNIVERSE....CREATED US OUT OF LOVE....THIS LIFE IS TEST IF WE PASS ALLAH WILL GIVE US ETERNAL LIFE..

[@hamrunizspar1]

Sabir Sindhu. So you want to live forever?! I call that arrogance and not humility. And to get to heaven one has to be humble and submissive. Asking no questions. Humility. Faith. Acceptance. It doesn't work like that.

[@cameron93387]

I’ll drink to that🥃

[@TheGreatBatsby]

On a talk about Islamopobia going into the stories of individual ethnic groups wouldn't make sense. It isn't actively relevant to the subject of the speech. (at least not in a way where it would fit into a 18 minute talk)

[@Bozewani]

as for majority minority another country beat us to the punch, Brazil

[@honeybeechanger]

I have heard you on Fox News & NPR. I find you both knowledgeable & engaging but in this talk you seem to have skirted around something. You talked about education, relationships & stories. Internet, books and movies are great but it does not get people & clergy meeting & accepting each other like interfaith programs. I think that is key to building actual relationships.

[@elbazart]

What a shallow conversation! Is this the most original idea Mr. Aslan could possibly come up with for a TED talk? "Ohh! we are discriminated, You all must treat us better!". A century ago, when Jews were suffering from discrimination in the US (Mind you, without any of them flying 747's into buildings), they started reaching out for the community. They didn't build mega-synagogues, they built hospitals, something that is actually valuable for the rest of society.

[@darwinistdelusions6504]

So true! They are chosen people doing good things! Thanks!

[@antitesisthrash]

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Unity in Diversity

[@ffddar]

Great speech but the pube looking art in the background is a lil distracting

[@dandipadisainam2114]

Christianity and Islam quarrel over mundane, simplistic, childish issues. They do not talk about exploring the existence as a puzzle. It is so sad !

[@hamrunizspar1]

dandipadi sainam. You forgot to mention atheism. That works best when trying to unravel anything.

[@joristurk]

why is every debate in usa so polarized either you are a zealot or a extreme atheist im an atheist but i recoginze that people like harris are deluting themselves if they think they can erase religion

[@mariasmith2198]

This has nothing to do with Atheism vs Religion. This is the world versus jut one intolerant, violent ideology dressed up as religion...although now they are trying to be considered a race, because they want to stop anyone that objects with the spectre of racism.

[@Aeneid182]

Im just highlighting a double standard. And considering I am not religious, why on earth would you assume i 'support' the mullahs? Im just saying how ridiculous it is to have such standards.

[@rahulahangga4169]

Unity in diversity? You should google "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika"

[@emshaspand]

How often do you have to lie to save the face of your beloved islam? The Once more i should call you a charlatan because all the evidence of your women rights is in quran, Are you trying to build a new religion based on islam? Because by quran we know how much rights women have under islamic rules which is none.

[@darwinistdelusions6504]

Thank you! I didn't know it before! This was an eye opener! Thank you!

[@MeGaPlatypus10]

The only muslims i know are some of the most unique, most amusing, most nice people i have ever met.

[@mariasmith2198]

And we know who to look at for economic stress. That would be Obama. Now there is less economic stress. So if he is right, then anti Muslim feelings will be gone.

[@devo7075]

This is stupid you left out the first half of the American story Natives and Africans yes the were her to. Don't want to speak about that story do you.

[@oldmancaesar]

How does it feel to have multiple PhD's in nonsense?

[@kanatsizkanatli]

'Knowledge doesn't change minds' ... 'Story telling changes minds' Reza Aslan. Is this not part of the problem Reza? Having listened to you bad mouth and lie about people, your disrespect of facts and your emphasis on 'story telling' now sounds more sinister.

[@hamrunizspar1]

newbluesky Story-telling, yes. And playing Chinese Whispers.

[@trappedinamadworld]

This guy is basically like: "I'm Iranian, I kiss USA ass, please accept me, I'm not a Muslim"

[@netinaut8746]

Reza, consider this : 1.7 billion muslims and 12 nobel prizes, 7 of which ironically is for peace ;-) 2 in literature, 2 in chemistry and 1 in Physics... Do you think Islam is undermining its followers? Hmm, 15 million Jews and 192 nobel prizes. Wish there were 1.7 billion Jews instead ;-)

[@AsmaSohailMRTH]

Most of the 1.6 billion Muslims live in Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia. All these countries were colonized and their natural resources plundered for three hundred years by the British, the people there were enslaved till the British were forced to leave by the 1960s. For example, India where 400 million Muslims live had the largest GDP of the world in 1600 was 25% of the world and it was richer than the US and the Europe combined. By the time the British left, GDP of India was 4% and it had millions of people dying from famine because Churchill had diverted all the food grains for soldiers fighting the World War Second.

[@darkfoxbill9657]

20 minutes of false equivalence.

[@growthandunderstanding]

You so sad, and scared.

[@imcia.3647]

Scared of what? The exploding Mexican underclass of America is only a threat to poor white people. Everyone with money can live where ever they want so changing demographics don't matter to rich northerners.

[@growthandunderstanding]

Is there a relevant point to your comment?

[@Sinan97082]

And in the comments I can notice an other fact that doesn´t change people: Even storytelling won´t change some obviously. xD apologist... but wait he said that this will happen! Sad People.

[@thebatmanover9000]

Why are they giving this quack a platform?

[@niinja2]

a muslim and a jew rofl so true

[@nyrtzi]

Oh well. Now it's China?

[@williamstone8330]

Nice pants Professor Aslan, damn. I want a pair

[@Cas24365]

another muslim poppet

[@scootu6219]

Unity is diversity, only in non muslim country😛

[@نادرالیراحمان]

Complete nonsense. Go to Malaysia. So much diversity. And the largest rate of crimes is committed by indians. Probably non-Muslims.

[@dmpeters]

a lot of BS and blocked my other post =(((((((

[@kixmet]

The five pillars of Sunni Islam are Faith, Prayer, Fasting during Ramadan, Charity and a Pilgrimage to Mecca. Jesus is a Muslim Prophet too. There are many Muslims who are named Jesus (Issa in Arabic) or Moses (Moosa) or Joshua (Yusha) or Abraham (Ibrahim) or Mary (Mariam). The Portuguese town of Fatima got its name from the Fatima the daughter of Muhammad and is now a popular Catholic name.

[@9KoubA2]

Come back once you've met an dealt with a muslim.

[@emshaspand]

@iranian81 Explain, how i abused the persian language when i (in my only persian comment) simpley asked: WHY YOU AND OTHER LOBBIES HAVE NEVER CONDEMNED the barbaric acts of the pisslamic regime of Iran? By every single comment of yours i learn more of your personality and integrity about the truth and reality. That you dared to translate my persian comment into something else and changed the subject instead of an answer, should tell enough about your real intentions and agenda.

[@emshaspand]

@iranian81 Wait wait, You mean Stop the war ONLY WHEN they become a moslim or you have humiliated them to pay you money (JAZIAH). Come again!

[@tothestars101]

How does it feel to be cleaning his toilet?