This segment originally aired live on July 16, 2013. That original audio is posted here, although an edited version was included as part of a best-of Brian Lehrer Show episode on December 27. 

It's Five Pillars of Islam week on The Brian Lehrer Show. Every day this week, we're hosting an interfaith conversation based around the Five Pillars: Shahadah (faith), Salat (prayer), Sawm (Ramadan), Zakat (charity) and Hajj (pilgrimage). Today: we'll talk to our guest and take calls on Shahadah (faith) in relation to Islam and all the major monotheistic religions. Reza Aslan, associate professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside and author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Random House, 2013), talks about his book on the "historical" Jesus. 

It's Five Pillars of Islam week on the Brian Lehrer Show. Every day this week, we're convening an interfaith conversation based around the Five Pillars: Shahadah (Faith), Salat (Prayer), Sawm (Ramadan), Zakat (Charity), and Hajj (Pilgrimage). Today: we open the phones to discuss prayer. How do you pray and what does prayer mean to your religion? Call 212-433-9692 or post here.

It's Five Pillars of Islam week on The Brian Lehrer Show. Every day this week, we're hosting an interfaith conversation based around the Five Pillars: Shahadah (faith), Salat (prayer), Sawm (Ramadan), Zakat (charity) and Hajj (pilgrimage). Today: we open the phones to discuss fasting for Ramadan or any other religious practice. Call 212-433-9692 or post a comment here.

It's Five Pillars of Islam week on The Brian Lehrer Show. Every day this week, we're hosting an interfaith conversation based around the Five Pillars: Shahadah (faith), Salat (prayer), Sawm (Ramadan), Zakat (charity) and Hajj (pilgrimage). Today: we open the phones to discuss charity, giving, and service as part of your religious practice. Call 212-433-9692 or post a comment here.

This was Five Pillars week on The Brian Lehrer Show -- five interfaith conversations based around the Five Pillars of Islam: Shahadah (faith), Salat (prayer), Sawm (Ramadan), Zakat (charity) and Hajj (pilgrimage). This podcast compiles all five of the conversations into one file. Thanks for listening! Tune in to the Brian Lehrer Show every day at 10am on WNYC.