Reza Aslan talked about his book No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, published by Random House. He focused on the likelihood of creating an Islamic democracy in the Middle East. Mr. Aslan argued that in the United States both liberals and conservatives incorrectly talk about democracy in the Middle East in terms of secular and non-secular governments. Instead, he said, they should be talking in terms of pluralism. He said that the best democratic model for countries like Iraq and Egypt was Israel, where religion plays a strong, but not overwhelming, role. After his remarks he responded to questions from members of the audience.