Aslan Country Quotes

One-fifth of Americans, 20% believe that Barak Obama is, himself, a Muslim and in fact - amongst Republicans that number is almost 40%. Polls show in this country, that the more you disagree with Barak Obama's domestic policies, the more likely you are to think that he is a Muslim. ~ Reza Aslan

If you ask a Saudi Imam why women in Saudi Arabia can't drive, he'll say, 'Because Islam demands it.' But that's absurd, because - first of all - Islam demands no such thing; and secondly, the only country in the world in which women can't drive is Saudi Arabia. The inability to understand the difference between a cultural practice and religious belief is shocking among self-described intellectuals. ~ Reza Aslan

American Muslims - young American Muslims in particular - are starting to understand that unless they are willing to stand up for all the other oppressed communities in this country, including those discriminated against for their gender or sexuality, then no one will stand up for them. ~ Reza Aslan

In times of economic distress, it's only natural for people - and Americans have done this for many years - to look for a scapegoat. Depending on where you live in this country, the scapegoats are either, frankly, Mexicans or Muslims. So, you know, God save you if you happened to be a Mexican Muslim in America right now. ~ Reza Aslan

Why should your Majesty expect it? My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia. ~ C.S. Lewis

We will liberate our country from the occupying forces and put an end to relations between Russia and the Chechen State, no matter how difficult the task may be. ~ Aslan Maskhadov

I think you've seen Aslan," said Edmund.
"Aslan!" said Eustace. "I've heard that name mentioned several times since we joined the Dawn Treader. And I felt - I don't know what - I hated it. But I was hating everything then. And by the way, I'd like to apologise. I'm afraid I've been pretty beastly."
"That's all right," said Edmund. "Between ourselves, you haven't been as bad as I was on my first trip to Narnia. You were only an ass, but I was a traitor."
"Well, don't tell me about it, then," said Eustace. "But who is Aslan? Do you know him?"
"Well - he knows me," said Edmund. "He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. We've all seen him. Lucy sees him most often. And it may be Aslan's country we are sailing to. ~ C.S. Lewis

My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world into some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise. ~ C.S. Lewis

Why should your majesty think it? My own plans are made. While I may, I sail East in Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I row East in my coracle. When that sinks, shall I paddle East with my four paws. Then, when I can swim no longer, if I have not yet reached Aslan's Country, there shall I sink with my nose to the sunrise ... and Peepiceek will be head of Talking Mice in Narnia ~ C.S. Lewis

Please, Aslan," said Lucy, "what do you call soon?"
"I call all times soon", said Aslan. ~ C.S. Lewis

Manism (ancestor cults) - but it was not as concerned ~ Reza Aslan

Ezekiel declared, in the center of all nations ~ Reza Aslan

Muhammad may have been, there is one detail that should not be lost in the tumult and confusion ~ Reza Aslan

The only question that matters with regard to a religion and its mythology is What do these stories mean? ~ Reza Aslan

No one speaks for God - not even the prophets (who speak about God). ~ Reza Aslan

Judea is, for all intents and purposes, a temple-state. ~ Reza Aslan

If God won't play by the rules, then I don't have to, either. ~ Austin Aslan

As noted, naming a book after someone significant was a common way of honoring that person and reflecting his views. ~ Reza Aslan

Throughout the first two centuries of Islam, Muslims regularly read the Torah alongside the Quran. ~ Reza Aslan

Of observable and verifiable events in the past is a product of the modern ~ Reza Aslan

How could the Law of Retribution function properly when one party in a dispute was so wealthy and so powerful as to be virtually untouchable? ~ Reza Aslan

Jesus was crucified by Rome because his messianic aspirations threatened the occupation of Palestine, and his zealotry endangered the Temple authorities. ~ Reza Aslan

[ ... ] pluralism implies religious tolerance, not unchecked religious freedom. ~ Reza Aslan

But in the end, he is the only Jesus that we can access by historical means. Everything else is a matter of faith. ~ Reza Aslan

Aslan: You doubt your value. Don't run from who you are. ~ C.S. Lewis

We deny and have always denied having the slightest link with al-Qaeda. ~ Aslan Maskhadov

Both gospels employ the term "Son of God" exactly as it is used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures: as a royal title, not a description. ~ Reza Aslan

This creator god was called Allah, which is not a proper name but a contraction of the word al-ilah, meaning simply the god. ~ Reza Aslan

The bandits tapped into the widespread apocalyptic expectation that had gripped the Jews of Palestine in the wake of the Roman invasion. ~ Reza Aslan

Herod was convert,after all. His mother was Arab. His people, the Idumeans, had come to Judaism only a generation or two earlier. ~ Reza Aslan

God doesn't make you a bigot. You're just a bigot. ~ Reza Aslan

A king with no place to lay his head. A king who came to serve, not to be served. ~ Reza Aslan

Like most people born into a religious tradition, my faith was as familiar to me as my skin, and just as disregardable. ~ Reza Aslan

There's nothing more distasteful than an academic having to, like, trot out his credentials. You really come off as a jerk when you do that. ~ Reza Aslan

Indonesia, women are absolutely 100 percent equal to men ~ Reza Aslan

no religion is inherently violent or peaceful; people are violent or peaceful. ~ Reza Aslan

[Aslan said,] Well done, last of the Kings of Narnia, who stood firm at the darkest hour. ~ C.S. Lewis

It has often been noted that the biblical stories recounted in the Quran, especially those dealing with Jesus, imply a familiarity with the traditions and narratives of the Christian faith. ~ Reza Aslan

Montanist Christians like Tertullian believed that Jesus possessed the same divine quality as God, but not in the same quantity as God. ~ Reza Aslan

Every single interview I have ever done on TV or in print says I'm a Muslim. ~ Reza Aslan

The idea that education will lead to a lessening of bigotry is just factually incorrect. ~ Reza Aslan

Many poets in Iran have learned to speak almost a secret language, where political issues are talked about in allegorical ways. ~ Reza Aslan

The clash of monotheisms occurs when faith, which is mysterious and ineffable and which eschews all categorizations, becomes entangled in the gnarled branches of religion. ~ Reza Aslan

I think if you place Jesus firmly in the historical context ... you can make very educated hypotheses and guesses about how he lived. ~ Reza Aslan

When you forcefully suppress religious nationalism, you radicalize it. ~ Reza Aslan

Western States keep playing with, and around, Russia. ~ Aslan Maskhadov

Should I act violently in defense of my religion, absolutely. ~ Reza Aslan

Naming a book after a person was a standard way of reflecting that person's beliefs or representing his or her school of thought. ~ Reza Aslan

The separation of "church and state" of which America is so proud was established in Islam fourteen centuries ago, when it was decided that no Caliph would have religious authority over the community. ~ Reza Aslan

To begin with, with the possible exception of the gospel of Luke, none of the gospels we have were written by the person after whom they are named. ~ Reza Aslan

In recognition of his service, Rome named Herod "King of the Jews", granting him a kingdom that would ultimately grow larger than that of King Solomon ~ Reza Aslan

The New Testament is not a historical document. ~ Reza Aslan

All the trees of the world appeared to be rushing towards Aslan. But as they drew nearer they looked less like trees, and when the whole crowd, bowing and curtsying and waving thin long arms to Aslan, were all around Lucy, she saw that it was a crowd of human shapes. Pale birch-girls were tossing their heads, willow-women pushed back their hair from their brooding faces to gaze on Aslan, the queenly beeches stood still and adored him, shaggy oak-men, lean and melancholy elms, shock-headed hollies (dark themselves, but their wives all bright with berries) and gay rowans, all bowed and rose again, shouting, "Aslan, Aslan!" in their various husky or creaking or wave-like voices. ~ C.S. Lewis

the famed French theorist Ernest Renan, who years ago defined the nation as "a group of people united in a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbors. ~ Reza Aslan

When you're a brown Muslim from Iran talking about Jesus on TV, you need to keep your cool at all times, OK? That's not rocket science. ~ Reza Aslan

Is it possible that Jesus, unlike 98 percent of his fellow Jews, was literate and educated? Yes, it's possible. ~ Reza Aslan

Obama has been the single worst president in modern American history in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ~ Reza Aslan

The key to recognizing who Jesus was is to recognize this fundamental truth: He was a Jew. ~ Reza Aslan

Considering how effortlessly religious dogma has become intertwined with political ideology, how can we overcome the clash-of-monotheisms mentality that has so deeply entrenched itself in the modern world? Clearly, education and tolerance are essential. ~ Reza Aslan

What most puzzled Rome about the Jews was not their unfamiliar rites or their strict devotion to their laws, but rather what the Romans considered to be their unfathomable superiority complex. ~ Reza Aslan

Jesus, on the other hand, was America. He was the central figure in America's national drama. Accepting him into my heart was as close as I could get to feeling truly American. ~ Reza Aslan

Indeed, everything that is currently being said about America's diverse Muslim population - that they are foreign and exotic and un-American - was said about Catholic and Jewish immigrants nearly a century ago. ~ Reza Aslan

Paul may be an excellent source for those interested in the early formation of Christianity, but he is a poor guide for uncovering the historical Jesus. ~ Reza Aslan

The only way to survive in a community where movement was the norm and material accumulation impractical was to maintain a strong sense on tribal solidarity by evenly sharing all available resources. ~ Reza Aslan

Nestorian Christians argued that Jesus had two completely distinct natures - one human, the other divine - while Gnostic Christians, especially those called Docetists, claimed that Jesus only appeared to be human but was in fact fully God. ~ Reza Aslan

I have watched Muslims chant 'Death to America!' on the streets of Tehran, then privately beg me to help them get a visa to the United States. ~ Reza Aslan

In the history of the prophetic biblical canon that starts with Genesis, the Koran is by far the most tolerant of the views of other religions. ~ Reza Aslan

The intention of the United States government in supporting Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war was to curb the spread of Iran's revolution, but it had the more disastrous effect of curbing its evolution. ~ Reza Aslan

My hope with this book is to spread the good news of the Jesus of history with the same fervor that I once applied to spreading the story of the Christ. ~ Reza Aslan

Those who treat the muslim woman not as an individual but as a symbol either of Islamic chastity or secular liberalism are guilty of the same sin : the objectification of women ~ Reza Aslan

Religion is, by definition, interpretation; and by definition, all interpretations are valid. However, some interpretations are more reasonable than others. ~ Reza Aslan

The relationship between the Jews and pagan Arabs was symbiotic in that not only were the Jews heavily Arabized, but the Arabs were also significantly influenced by Jewish beliefs and practices. ~ Reza Aslan

Literature offers not just a window into the culture of diverse regions, but also the society, the politics; it's the only place where we can keep track of ideas. ~ Reza Aslan

A cosmic war is like a ritual drama in which participants act out on Earth a battle they believe is actually taking place in the heavens. ~ Reza Aslan

There is absolutely no difference between religion and politics at all in Jesus' time. In other words, every seemingly religious word that came out of Jesus' mouth had very clear and unmistakable political connotations to it. ~ Reza Aslan

Whether you're talking about MSNBC or Fox or CNN, it's all about getting enough interest out there, sensationalizing the story in such a way that people are compelled to tune in. ~ Reza Aslan

The Muslim community is completely fractured - it doesn't really exist anymore; the only place it does exist is online. ~ Reza Aslan

Do not look sad. We shall meet soon again." "Please, Aslan", said Lucy,"what do you call soon?"
"I call all times soon" said Aslan; and instantly he was vanished away. ~ C.S. Lewis

It is no exaggeration to say that Syria holds the key for nearly all of America's foreign policy goals in the Middle East. As Syria goes, so goes the region. ~ Reza Aslan

The truth of the matter is that when you write about religion like I do, you're writing about something that people take very seriously. ~ Reza Aslan

The war is ending, for the first time in the history of relations between Moscow and Grozny, and the era of peace is starting. ~ Aslan Maskhadov

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but the sword. MATTHEW 10:34 ~ Reza Aslan

All these schools of though gradually transformed into legal institutions, the diversity of ideas and freedom of opinion that characterized their early development gave way to rigid formalism, strict adherence to precedent, and an almost complete stultification of independent though ~ Reza Aslan

Baby!" he hissed. "Silly little bleater! Go home to your mother and drink milk. What do you understand of such things? But the others, listen. Tash is only another name for Aslan. All that old idea of us being right and the Calormenes wrong is silly. We know better now. The Calormenes use different words but we all mean the same thing. Tash and Aslan are only two different names for you know Who. That's why there can never be any quarrel between them. Get that into your heads, you stupid brutes. Tash is Aslan: Aslan is Tash ~ C.S. Lewis

The idea of literalism in the Bible is a very new phenomenon. In many ways, it's a product of the scientific revolution. ~ Reza Aslan

The reason crucifixion was so common is because it was so cheap. It could be carried out almost anywhere; all one needed was a tree. The torture could last for days without the need for an actual torturer. ~ Reza Aslan

[Islam] is the dynamic conviction that a person's spiritual and worldly responsibilities are one and the same, that an individuals duty to the community is indistinguishable from his or her duty to God. ~ Reza Aslan

The first-century Jews who wrote about Jesus had already made up their minds about who he was. They were constructing a theological argument about the nature and function of Jesus as Christ, not composing a historical biography about a human being. ~ Reza Aslan

Will the others see you too?" asked Lucy.
"Certainly not at first," said Aslan. "Later on, it depends."
"But they won't believe me!" said Lucy.
"It doesn't matter. ~ C.S. Lewis

Lucy buried her head in his mane to hide from his face. But there must have been magic in his mane. She could feel lion-strength going into her. Quite suddenly she sat up.
"I'm sorry, Aslan," she said. "I'm ready now."
"Now you are a lioness," said Aslan. "And now all Narnia will be renewed. But come. We have no time to lose. ~ C.S. Lewis

The help will come," said Trufflehunter. "I stand by Aslan. Have patience, like us beasts. The help will come. It may be even now at the door. ~ C.S. Lewis

That actually is true of most of the books in the New Testament. Such so-called pseudepigraphical works, or works attributed to but not written by a specific author, were extremely common in the ancient world and should by no means be thought of as forgeries. ~ Reza Aslan

Thus, a story concocted by Mark strictly for evangelistic purposes to shift the blame for Jesus's death away from Rome is stretched with the passage of time to the point of absurdity, becoming in the process the basis for two thousand years of Christian anti-Semitism. ~ Reza Aslan

One would think that Jesus's admonishment not to teach others to break the Law of Moses would have had some impact on Paul. But Paul seems totally unconcerned with anything "Jesus-in-the-flesh" may or may not have said. ~ Reza Aslan

'Zeal' is essentially a compromising devotion to God, a commitment to cleansing the Holy Land of all foreign and pagan presences and to re-establish the kingdom of David as God had intended. ~ Reza Aslan

Certainly the shahadah contained an important theological innovation, but that innovation was not monotheism. With this simple profession of faith, Muhammad was declaring to Mecca that the God of the heavens and the earth required no intermediate whatsoever, but could be accessed by anyone. ~ Reza Aslan

I really believe that to have a full impression of Jesus, both as Christ as a man, you must know about the world that gave shape to him - the world out of which he arose. ~ Reza Aslan

Whether or not you believe that after three days of being dead and entombed, Jesus got up and walked out of his own accord, what you cannot argue about is the fervent belief of the followers that this happened. ~ Reza Aslan

For every well-attested, heavily researched, and eminently authoritative argument made about the historical Jesus, there is an equally well-attested, equally researched, and equally authoritative argument opposing it. ~ Reza Aslan

Rhodes, founder of the De Beers diamond company and at one time the virtual dictator of modern-day South Africa, famously declared, "We Britons are the first race in the world, and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race." Among ~ Reza Aslan