# Fox News hits a new low with Reza Aslan interview **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794 "2013-07-29T06:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/41 "2013-07-30T12:59:41Z")
Apparently the interview was a big sales [boost](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/business/media/odd-fox-news-interview-lifts-reza-aslans-biography-on-jesus.html?partner=rss&emc=rss). ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/42 "2013-07-30T13:13:10Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Apparently the interview was a big sales [boost](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/business/media/odd-fox-news-interview-lifts-reza-aslans-biography-on-jesus.html?partner=rss&emc=rss). hee! \*Since then, the Buzzfeed page featuring the video has been viewed nearly four million times. Mr. Aslan quickly amassed an additional 5,000 Twitter followers. On Monday, Random House, Mr. Aslan’s publisher, said the interview had clearly helped the book: in two days, sales increased 35 percent. On Friday, “Zealot” was in the No. 8 spot on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), the nation’s biggest seller of books; by Sunday, it had hit No. 1.\* (will nobody comment on the author being a Narnian God? ) ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/43 "2013-07-30T13:21:44Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > If Christians want to find someone to be offended by, biblical scholars would be a strange group to pick. That’s just getting silly. I don’t think even the poor Fox News lady has a problem with the idea of someone writing a book about Jesus _per se_, let alone one that’s meticulously researched and well written. She’s just on Aslan’s case because he’s a muslim. Also, as I mentioned upthread, I suspect that she’s picking on him in particular because of the other stuff he’s written, not least the book _[No God but God](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_God_but_God:_The_Origins,_Evolution,_and_Future_of_Islam)_, which in some people’s view argued for a too “liberal” approach to Islam. He’s on certain paranoid people’s shitlist, and now they think he must have an “agenda”. I’m willing to bet she hasn’t read _No God but God_ either. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/44 "2013-07-30T13:22:48Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I was waiting to hear him say, “I’ve written many books on religion and I’d welcome discussion with you about any one of them _after you have read it_.” The first words out of a writer’s mouth in any interview should be: “Have you read my book?”. It would shut down a lot of stupidity right away. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/45 "2013-07-30T13:24:24Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Aslan also had a good interview on NPR a couple of weeks ago. I can’t remember which show it was. I think I heard him on “Interfaith Voices.” He has probably done other shows recently as well. > [@Princhester](#): > > Which really is just making \*\*BigT’s \*\*point for him. The guy may be a religious scholar but if he doesn’t understand why a scholar from a different religion writing realistic and accurate things about somebody else’s religion would offend them, he doesn’t know jack about religion, or he’s pretending he doesn’t. So any work by a white, European-American scholar from a Christian backround about anything non-white, non-European, non-American, or non-Christian is automatically suspect too? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/46 "2013-07-30T13:27:29Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Apparently the interview was a big sales [boost](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/business/media/odd-fox-news-interview-lifts-reza-aslans-biography-on-jesus.html?partner=rss&emc=rss). Cue the old [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uAbaqzk66Vc&t=17)… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/47 "2013-07-30T14:04:56Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > You might legitimately criticize Dr. Aslan for over-simplifying his complex academic and publishing careers, but the fact is, his credentials are not reasonably in question to anyone with a brain. He was on Fox News, so you can make your own joke about Green’s intended audience. > [@Princhester](#): > > Which really is just making \*\*BigT’s \*\*point for him. The guy may be a religious scholar but if he doesn’t understand why a scholar from a different religion writing realistic and accurate things about somebody else’s religion would offend them, he doesn’t know jack about religion, or he’s pretending he doesn’t. He had no reason to expect he was going to have to deal with anybody’s offense in that interview. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/48 "2013-07-30T15:13:28Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Aslan also had a good interview on NPR a couple of weeks ago. I can’t remember which show it was. I heard him on _Fresh Air_ recently. For those who have been saying he’s a Muslim writing about Christianity, in the _Fresh Air_ interview he talked about his family background and childhood, and (as I see **Martian Bigfoot** has mentioned) he did convert to Christianity as a teenager. (His religious views have shifted since then.) He also said that his father was more or less an atheist and that his mother eventually converted to Christianity herself. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/49 "2013-07-30T15:50:47Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I am in no way defending Fox News and the interviewer, but if that “gotcha” piece is at all accurate, Dr. Aslan did somewhat exaggerate his credentials in the interview. I’ve got to disagree. How can you study sociology of religions without studying history of religions? The two disciplines are intimately intertwined. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/50 "2013-07-30T17:23:51Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Which really is just making \*\*BigT’s \*\*point for him. The guy may be a religious scholar but if he doesn’t understand why a scholar from a different religion writing realistic and accurate things about somebody else’s religion would offend them, he doesn’t know jack about religion, or he’s pretending he doesn’t. But he’s not writing about somebody else’s religion, Jesus is an important person in Islam. He’s writing about his own religion. Are Christian scholars not allowed to talk about Moses, King David or Isaiah now? ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/51 "2013-07-30T17:35:17Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The guy may be a religious scholar but if he doesn’t understand why a scholar from a different religion writing realistic and accurate things about somebody else’s religion would offend them, he doesn’t know jack about religion, or he’s pretending he doesn’t. You might have a point, but only if you fail to notice the man is a scholar of religions. Insisting one can only be a scholar and write scholarly work about one’s own religion is just nonsense, pure and simple nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/52 "2013-07-30T17:38:37Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I heard him on _Fresh Air_ recently. > > For those who have been saying he’s a Muslim writing about Christianity, in the _Fresh Air_ interview he talked about his family background and childhood, and (as I see **Martian Bigfoot** has mentioned) he did convert to Christianity as a teenager. (His religious views have shifted since then.) He also said that his father was more or less an atheist and that his mother eventually converted to Christianity herself. He converted his mother while he was a very active evangelical! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/53 "2013-07-30T18:34:58Z")
Fox News missed an opportunity to caption him _Ra’s al Ghul_ during the interview. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/54 "2013-07-30T20:18:10Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > If I could point to two sentences on the internet which demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of scholarship, then this would be a good candidate. > > First, I don’t know if he has specifically made that claim the people couldn’t be accurate because they didn’t know him personally. From his interviews, his argument appears to be that the writers of the Gospels were not attempting to portray him historically accurately because they had a different motivation. > > This is well-established among Biblical scholars. One such book would be _The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics_ by Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Yale University who writes that in order to understand the Gospels, you must understand they were written in the context of war propaganda. > > Historians look at a period of time, study it to see how people would feel and then make conclusions. I have not read his book, and therefore cannot say if I feel his conclusions are reasonable or not or if he is overly reaching, but to say that it is impossible to know anything about a person because one did not know them personally betrays a lack of understanding of scholarship. This is a good analysis and it bears out in his Daily Show interview. He actually specifically mentions the fact that the people who wrote the bible weren’t going for literal truth but more of a parable. They spend a few minutes on what Colbert would call “truthiness”, about how Jesus was said to be born in Bethlahem but the writers knew he was from Nazareth, but the “truthiness” was that he was an important person so it was necessary to show him as coming from a town that connects him with Solomon or King David or somebody. The Fox News lady was obviously just trying to score political points by repeatedly mentioning he was a Muslim but luckily John Oliver actually did read the book and didn’t dwell on his religion. It turned out to be a much much more fascinating interview and elucidated the book moreso than that right wing tirade, not that its a surprise to anyone ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/55 "2013-07-30T20:22:32Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Fox News missed an opportunity to caption him _Ra’s al Ghul_ during the interview. And add “(D)” after his name. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/56 "2013-07-30T23:29:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He was on Fox News, so you can make your own joke about Green’s intended audience. > > He had no reason to expect he was going to have to deal with anybody’s offense in that interview. You contradict yourself. Compare your first comment to your second. Fox is all about controversy and offence. If he didn’t think they might play up the tribal angle, he was being naive. > [@Acsenray](#): > > So any work by a white, European-American scholar from a Christian backround about anything non-white, non-European, non-American, or non-Christian is automatically suspect too? > [@Knorf](#): > > You might have a point, but only if you fail to notice the man is a scholar of religions. > > Insisting one can only be a scholar and write scholarly work about one’s own religion is just nonsense, pure and simple nonsense. > [@Nava](#): > > But he’s not writing about somebody else’s religion, Jesus is an important person in Islam. He’s writing about his own religion. Are Christian scholars not allowed to talk about Moses, King David or Isaiah now? Strawmanning much? What I said was “The guy may be a religious scholar but if he doesn’t understand why a scholar from a different religion writing realistic and accurate things about somebody else’s religion would offend them, he doesn’t know jack about religion, or he’s pretending he doesn’t.” I didn’t say he is not allowed to talk about anything, or that one can only write scholarly work about one’s own religion or that his work was automatically suspect. Anyone who knows a damn thing about religion would or should know it is exceedingly tribal. Anyone who knows a damn thing about religion would or should know also know that if you write something completely reasonable and accurate about the Hero figure from another tribe’s religion, a substantial proportion of the other tribe are going to get huffy about this. The more so if what you say is or can be twisted to be negative. Half of all people are of lower than average intelligence, and amongst the religious, I suspect the figure is greater than half. Like I said (and you guys might like to try reading for comprehension) if you don’t understand people are going to be offended, you either know jack about religion or you are pretending you don’t. Whether people should be offended is another question entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/57 "2013-07-30T23:37:53Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Strawmanning much? What I said was “The guy may be a religious scholar but if he doesn’t understand why a scholar from a different religion writing realistic and accurate things about somebody else’s religion would offend them, he doesn’t know jack about religion, or he’s pretending he doesn’t.” Read post 50, if you haven’t already. I haven’t read the book, but I haven’t yet found any context to indicate that he’s examining Jesus as a figure of Christianity, rather than as a figure of Islam. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/58 "2013-07-30T23:53:12Z")
I’m sure that religious offenderati are going to be completely happy to make that distinction. Wait. No they’re not. Phew. For a moment there I mistook myself for someone who didn’t have a clue about the reality of many religious people. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/59 "2013-07-31T00:00:21Z")
Fine, but you’re the one who said he was writing about “somebody else’s religion.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/60 "2013-07-31T00:08:28Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > You contradict yourself. Compare your first comment to your second. Fox is all about controversy and offence. If he didn’t think they might play up the tribal angle, he was being naive. I get the sense you’re determined to find him at fault for something. Can I ask why? You’re right that my points were a little consistent, so I’ll revise to say he probably did expect something. In hindsight his response seems pretty well prepared, and it’s likely he’d heard this stupid complaint before. The issue is this: **BigT** ’s complaint (and yours in the same vein) sort of came out of nowhere. Aslan was not acting like he doesn’t understand why people might be bothered by his topic (and if he was, who cares?) The issue here is that he treated Green as if she’d asked a stupid and hostile question because she did. Being offended by what he wrote and challenging his right to discuss the subject at all because of his religion are two different things. The first one is at least related to the content of his work. The second one isn’t. [There’s some irony at work there.](http://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/29/fox-reporter-lauren-greens-double-standard-on-r/195114) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794.md?page=4)