Scholar of religion Reza Aslan says he was an evangelical Christian, but Jesuit priests encouraged him to take a second look at Islam, the original religion of his family.Rod Dreher of The American Conservative recently told a surprising anecdote.
During my years as a Catholic, more than a few times I would meet someone who had left the faith, and would credit their Jesuit education for having opened their eyes. Just now, I heard the Muslim scholar Reza Aslan on Fresh Air, talking about his new book. Terry Gross mentioned that he (Aslan) had been born into Islam, but his parents fled with him from Iranian Revolution. In America, his father became atheist, but Aslan became an Evangelical Christian. His mother followed him into Christianity. But then, studying at the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University, Aslan encountered Jesuit priests who encouraged him to go deeper into Islam, the religion of his forefathers.
Aslan did, and subsequently renounced Christianity to return to Islam.
Dreher ironically called it “Another Jesuit Success Story.”
Originally published by Catholic Education Daily of the Cardinal Newman Society on July 26th, 2013.
