Reza Aslan (Persian: رضا اصلان‎‎, IPA: [ˈɾezɒː æsˈlɒːn]; born May 3, 1972) is an Iranian-American writer, scholar of religions, and professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. His educational background is in religious studies and the history of religion, and includes a PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.