# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/61 "2013-07-31T00:37:48Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Fine, but you’re the one who said he was writing about “somebody else’s religion.” He is, really. Both Islam and Christianity have only one key Hero figure, and it’s naive to think people of both those religions don’t see it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/62 "2013-07-31T00:44:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Aslan was not acting like he doesn’t understand why people might be bothered by his topic (and if he was, who cares?) Well if you say so. I haven’t seen the interview. **BigT** said he was acting like he doesn’t understand why people might be “bothered by the topic”. As to who cares, well, one can’t just let people be wrong on the internet, can one? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/63 "2013-07-31T01:15:01Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Especially amusing is that, by 1 minute into the interview, Mr. Aslan is addressing the Foxette with the slow exaggerated diction one uses with hard-to-teach nine year-olds. And she **still** does not appear to understand a word he says. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/64 "2013-07-31T01:29:35Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And she **still** does not appear to understand a word he says. To be fair to her, this is Fox News, not A Night at the Improv. She’s been handed a script with a list of the official talking points that Fox management expects her to hit. Her job is to hit the points during the interview, perhaps throwing in a little filler to make it sound like she might be interacting with the guest. If she goes off script, they will find someone else to do the show next week. Remember last election night when the anchor on Fox News stormed off the set and walked to the election analysis room to get the analysts to explain why they were calling Ohio for Obama? That was completely rehearsed ahead of time. She admitted that on camera when she said that she hoped they had worked out the microphone problems. That wasn’t her suddenly deciding to do a hard-hitting journalistic investigation and get to the bottom of things. Fox has a single-minded dedication to getting out the message, nothing else gets in the way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/65 "2013-07-31T01:36:21Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Remember last election night when the anchor on Fox News stormed off the set and walked to the election analysis room to get the analysts to explain why they were calling Ohio for Obama? That was completely rehearsed ahead of time. She admitted that on camera when she said that she hoped they had worked out the microphone problems. That wasn’t her suddenly deciding to do a hard-hitting journalistic investigation and get to the bottom of things. :eek: I had no idea it was **that** bad! ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/66 "2013-07-31T01:43:51Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > He is, really. Both Islam and Christianity have only one key Hero figure, and it’s naive to think people of both those religions don’t see it that way. But religious scholars generally write for people who don’t, in fact, see it that way. They don’t write books about Christianity for Christians, or books about Islam for Muslims - they write books about religions for people who study religions. Certainly, some people who study religion also practice religion, but those practicing scholars are unlikely to be the people you’re talking about. It’s important to recognize that _Zealot_ is a book written primarily for a scholarly reader. It’s being marketed to a wider audience, but the intended reader is somebody who takes a more nuanced view of religion than the people you’re describing. As **Marley** said, Aslan wasn’t surprised that the Fox interviewer wanted to talk about his religion rather than his book. Your issue here is with **BigT** , not with Aslan. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/67 "2013-07-31T02:29:32Z")
My fave comment so far has been from a friend on FB who posted “Fox News to follow up Reza Aslan debacle with exclusive J.K. Rowling interview on why a middle-aged woman would write a book about a boy wizard.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/68 "2013-07-31T03:25:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :eek: I had no idea it was **that** bad! Seriously! This isn’t just biased journalism, this is the cable-news equivalent of professional wrestling! ---
**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, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/69 "2013-07-31T03:35:47Z")
I don’t remember that as “storming off.” I don’t know if they were trying to calm their viewers or Karl Rove. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/70 "2013-07-31T03:42:24Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s a nitpick. Aslan gave an accurate summary of his credentials at the beginning of the interview and the blogger is complaining about a shorter explanation later on. And even that is pretty debatable: he says Aslan can’t call himself a historian because he doesn’t have a degree in history and he says Aslan can’t say he has a doctorate in the religious history when he has a doctorate in the sociology of religion. It sounds like a pretty dumb complaint, but of course the point is calling his credentials into question. It doesn’t matter if they’re really questionable; as long as his critics can say they’re under question, the debate takes place on their terms. Agreed. It would be like saying “Howard Zinn isn’t a historian. His Ph.D is in Political Science!” It’s also the kind of argument that I’ve never heard any actual university professor make. I should add I’ve always had mixed reactions to Aslan for a number of reasons, but I thought he handled himself well and think it’s quite ironic that this whole fiasco has probably helped him out. I do hope it causes people to take a look at his distinctions between Islamists and Jihadists. I was also really startled to find out that at one point he was an Evangelical Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/71 "2013-07-31T03:55:18Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > He is, really. Both Islam and Christianity have only one key Hero figure, and it’s naive to think people of both those religions don’t see it that way. Ok, first of all Islam doesn’t have “one key Hero figure”. It’s also worth noting that Muslims do believe that Jesus was a great prophet, was the Christ and that he will return to Earth to defeat the anti-Christ on Judgement Day. Islam grew out of Christianity and you truly can’t understand Islam without understanding Christianity. When he discusses Jesus he’s being like a Christian scholar writing about the Old Testament. Beyond that, the Fox anchor certainly wouldn’t have asked such questions if he was Jewish. Finally lots of fantastic well-respected scholars of Islam have been either Christian or Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/72 "2013-07-31T04:04:16Z")
My favorite part: “You haven’t disclosed to anyone that you’re a Muslim.” “Ma’am, it’s on the second fucking page of the book!” … or words to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/73 "2013-07-31T05:25:38Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > It’s also worth noting that Muslims do believe that Jesus was a great prophet, was the Christ and that he will return to Earth to defeat the anti-Christ on Judgement Day. Maybe so, but somehow I don’t think the word “Christ” means the same thing to Muslims as Christians. Is he the Only Son of God? Is he God Incarnate? The Redeemer who died for your sins? The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/74 "2013-07-31T05:25:55Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Remember last election night when the anchor on Fox News stormed off the set and walked to the election analysis room to get the analysts to explain why they were calling Ohio for Obama? That was completely rehearsed ahead of time. She admitted that on camera when she said that she hoped they had worked out the microphone problems. That wasn’t her suddenly deciding to do a hard-hitting journalistic investigation and get to the bottom of things. > > Fox has a single-minded dedication to getting out the message, nothing else gets in the way. Now I’m confused. That incident made Rove a laughingstock, and he’s one of Fox’s cash cows. Why would they do that? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/75 "2013-07-31T05:28:56Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Now I’m confused. That incident made Rove a laughingstock, and he’s one of Fox’s cash cows. Why would they do that? They’re dishonest. Nobody ever said they’re **smart.** ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/76 "2013-07-31T05:34:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Seriously! This isn’t just biased journalism, this is the cable-news equivalent of professional wrestling! Pfft. Cable news _is_ the “journalistic” equivalent of professional wrestling. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/77 "2013-07-31T05:37:16Z")
> [@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. Going back to this quote, I saw the Fox interview and the Daily Show interview, and I do not see him making statement you claim he does. In the Fox interview, the announcer is attacking him because he is Muslim and he keeps repeating that he can write because he’s a scholar. The point was never an issue on the Daily Show. Is there somewhere that he specifically states or it’s obvious the he’s unable to understand that people may not like their religion discussed realistically, as you are claiming? Or is this is a straw man argument? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/78 "2013-07-31T05:40:57Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Going back to this quote, I saw the Fox interview and the Daily Show interview, and I do not see him making statement you claim he does. Dunno, it was **BigT** who made the claim, and since the first person to respond to \*\*BigT \*\*didn’t challenge \*\*BigT’s \*\*claim but only the conclusions \*\*BigT \*\*drew from the claim I was assuming it was correct. If the claim is baseless, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/79 "2013-07-31T06:30:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [There’s some irony at work there.](http://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/29/fox-reporter-lauren-greens-double-standard-on-r/195114) While I don’t agree with what she writes, I’m surprised to see that Green can even string two coherent sentences together, when in the interview her contribution basically amounted to “Some say you’re a poopy head”. Clearly she hadn’t even just not read the book, she wasn’t given a one-paragraph summary of what might be in it. Why a so-called journalist would even go into an interview prepared like that is beyond me. Of course she is going to get creamed by an expert with four degrees and a PhD. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794/80 "2013-07-31T08:50:38Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Dunno, it was **BigT** who made the claim, and since the first person to respond to \*\*BigT \*\*didn’t challenge \*\*BigT’s \*\*claim but only the conclusions \*\*BigT \*\*drew from the claim I was assuming it was correct. If the claim is baseless, so be it. Well, you certainly ran with that assumption, which is why people were questioning you so much. This was exactly his point, he is a professional. As such he would very well know that some people don’t like their world challenged. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-news-hits-a-new-low-with-reza-aslan-interview/664794.md?page=5)