TED Talks: Lesley Hazelton On Faith, Doubt, Muhammed And The Koran

TED Talk Video: http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazleton_the_doubt_essential_to_faith

When Lesley Hazleton was writing a biography of Muhammad, she was struck by something: The night he received the revelation of the Koran, according to early accounts, his first reaction was doubt, awe, even fear. And yet this experience became the bedrock of his belief. Hazleton calls for a new appreciation of doubt and questioning as the foundation of faith — and an end to fundamentalism of all kinds.

pinThis talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.

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Lesley Hazleton

Accidental theologist

Writer Lesley Hazleton is the author of 'The First Muslim,' a new look at the life of Muhammad. Full bio

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TED Talk Video: http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelton_on_reading_the_koran

Excerpt: "The perverse of heart will seek out the ambiguities trying to create discord by pinning down meanings of their own. Only God knows the true meaning."

On Reading The Koran

Lesley Hazleton sat down one day to read the Koran. And what she found — as a non-Muslim, a self-identified "tourist" in the Islamic holy book — wasn't what she expected. With serious scholarship and warm humor, Hazleton shares the grace, flexibility and mystery she found, in this myth-debunking talk. (Filmed at TEDxRainier.)

pinThis talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxRainier, an independent event. TED editors featured it among our selections on the home page.

• Interactive transcriptInteractive transcript