Fox Reporter Shows Massive Anti-Islamic Bias

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 29, 2013 21:19:00 GMT -5 cereb said:

"I did literally five seconds of research and discovered the guy is a fraud."


Yes, obviously it was about 5 seconds worth.

What did you post that I didn't post?  Are you disputing the title of his thesis, or the fact that he was and now is a Muslim?  Are you disputing that he is not a professor of religion, but is in fact an associate professor in the Creative Writing department?  Just what is it you think you've discovered here? His brief flirtation with evangelical Christianity?  Gimme a break.  The guy is a fraud.  He fudged his credentials, and lied about his job.

[Shooby]

I love fudge. Very tasty!

[Opti]

"I did literally five seconds of research and discovered the guy is a fraud."


Yes, obviously it was about 5 seconds worth.



In my seconds of Internet research I found the guy's webpage.
rezaaslan.com/about/

Aslan has degrees in Religions from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. An Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he is also a member of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He serves on the board of directors of the Ploughshares Fund, which gives grants for peace and security issues; Narrative Four, which connects people through the exchange of stories; PEN USA, which champions the rights of writers under siege around the world; and the Levantine Cultural Center, which builds bridges between Americans and the Arab/Muslim world through the arts.

Aslan's first book is the International Bestseller, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, which has been translated into thirteen languages, and named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade. He is also the author of How to Win a Cosmic War (published in paperback as Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age), as well as editor of two volumes: Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, and Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalties, Contentions, and Complexities.

I didn't check any other sources, but I'll trust Cereb and her Wiki reference.

[Shooby]

Just because some one has w degree doesn't mean anyone should accept or give credibility to what they say.

[Opti]

His brief flirtation with evangelical Christianity? Gimme a break. The guy is a fraud. He fudged his credentials, and lied about his job.




Cue topic jump to Repubilican presidential candidate who recently converted to Catholicism
before marrying his mistress, his now current wife in 3 2 1 ...

(Personally I think anyone can write a book about anything they want. Its up to the reader to believe or
not. If I were to read those kinds of books on religion I'd rather read his than Paul's.)

[Opti]

Just because some one has w degree doesn't mean anyone should accept or give credibility to what they say.



True. And just because they don't have the credentials you prefer does not mean they aren't credible
or knowledgeable. Degrees are given for studying and taking tests on cetain material. One can study
the same things, never take the classes or tests yet know the same things as a degree holder. You have to be ignorant of world religions to miss the fact the Jesus Christ is addressed in the Bible, Koran,
and even the old Testament. Then you have the Gnostics, etc. etc. Only narrow minded unstudied Christians
feel they deserve a lock on Jesus. They are pretty close to the Muslims that go all crazy when Mohammed
is depicted in a cartoon. Some people be crazy.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 29, 2013 21:47:30 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Jul 29, 2013 21:19:00 GMT -5 cereb said:

"I did literally five seconds of research and discovered the guy is a fraud."


Yes, obviously it was about 5 seconds worth.

What did you post that I didn't post?  Are you disputing the title of his thesis, or the fact that he was and now is a Muslim?  Are you disputing that he is not a professor of religion, but is in fact an associate professor in the Creative Writing department?  Just what is it you think you've discovered here? His brief flirtation with evangelical Christianity?  Gimme a break.  The guy is a fraud.  He fudged his credentials, and lied about his job.

Paul's going to get all Rushy on us now.  Maybe Paul/Rush can do a Michael J. Fox imitation for us.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 29, 2013 22:03:34 GMT -5 Opti said:

Just because some one has w degree doesn't mean anyone should accept or give credibility to what they say.



True. And just because they don't have the credentials you prefer does not mean they aren't credible
or knowledgeable. Degrees are given for studying and taking tests on cetain material. One can study
the same things, never take the classes or tests yet know the same things as a degree holder. You have to be ignorant of world religions to miss the fact the Jesus Christ is addressed in the Bible, Koran,
and even the old Testament. Then you have the Gnostics, etc. etc. Only narrow minded unstudied Christians
feel they deserve a lock on Jesus. They are pretty close to the Muslims that go all crazy when Mohammed
is depicted in a cartoon. Some people be crazy.

None of the writers of the bible had college degrees.  They therefore have no credibility.

[mmhmm]

Mother and I were discussing this at dinner.  She expressed an interest in reading Zealot, so I had it sent to her Kindle.  Perhaps, she'll share her feelings about it once she's listened to it.

[Virgil Showlion]

It was a pointed question in an interview.

You'd swear this thread was about Christians rioting in the streets, demanding Dr. Aslan's head on a pike.

And the people in this thread that have a problem with it are pretty much the ones who think Islam is a mass delusion anyway.

[Shooby]

You know you have lost the argument when u have to toss in Trayvon Martin, Rush Limbaugh and the Bible! LMAO!!!!

[Tennesseer]

Jul 29, 2013 22:23:06 GMT -5 Shooby said:

You know you have lost the argument when u have to toss in Trayvon Martin, Rush Limbaugh and the Bible! LMAO!!!!

Oh sweety.  This thread was a gonner when paul started posting.  

[Deleted]

Yes, what does the bible have to do with a thread on books about religion? 

[Tennesseer]

Jul 29, 2013 22:20:11 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Mother and I were discussing this at dinner.  She expressed an interest in reading Zealot, so I had it sent to her Kindle.  Perhaps, she'll share her feelings about it once she's listened to it.

Listen to page two mmhmm.  The author states it is printed on page two he identifies himself as a Muslim.  

[mmhmm]

I can't check it right now, Tenn, as mother is listening to another book and she's the Queen of the Night Owls. 

[Deleted]

Jul 29, 2013 17:34:14 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Yet another example of the left thinking they've found a story ripe for one of their prescripted and well rehearsed phony outrage flip outs ending up in a fizzle.

Here- take my virtual hanky and wipe that egg off your faces.

Can't wait for the post duped again spin on this one.

 Sounds to me like the FOX apologists have their hands full... Fox, pandering to demands of their client base, served up a steaming fresh helping of contrived controversy. Out of the millions of authors out there pimping their various blatherings, FOX chose to put the Muslim in the spotlight.
 Was it in "Nineteen Eighty-Four" where the media/propaganda machine broadcast a "Daily Hate" rally?
 Oh, here it is... linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Minutes_Hate

[Deleted]

Jul 29, 2013 20:09:36 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Lots of people write books. So what?

 You're right. You needn't trouble worrying yourself about books, especially if you don't read them.
 Exactly right.

[Shooby]

Oh yes and toss in a healthy dose of we are sooo much smarter and well read. Honestly your play book is getting old. Sheesh.

[Virgil Showlion]

Question. Interview.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 29, 2013 21:52:09 GMT -5 Opti said:

"I did literally five seconds of research and discovered the guy is a fraud."


Yes, obviously it was about 5 seconds worth.



In my seconds of Internet research I found the guy's webpage.
rezaaslan.com/about/

Aslan has degrees in Religions from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. An Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he is also a member of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He serves on the board of directors of the Ploughshares Fund, which gives grants for peace and security issues; Narrative Four, which connects people through the exchange of stories; PEN USA, which champions the rights of writers under siege around the world; and the Levantine Cultural Center, which builds bridges between Americans and the Arab/Muslim world through the arts.

Aslan's first book is the International Bestseller, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, which has been translated into thirteen languages, and named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade. He is also the author of How to Win a Cosmic War (published in paperback as Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age), as well as editor of two volumes: Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, and Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalties, Contentions, and Complexities.

I didn't check any other sources, but I'll trust Cereb and her Wiki reference.

I don't understand- DOES THE AUTHOR HAVE A PhD IN HISTORY OR NOT?  NO.  IS THE AUTHOR A "PROFESSOR OF RELIGION" OR NOT? NO.  Credentials fudged, job description fudged.

[zdaddy]

I realized in my OP I hadn't posted this list of absurdist anti-Islamic stories that the same Fox news reporter has done in the recent past. In other words, if it was just this one circumstance I would give her the benefit of the doubt about just having a really bad day. But this is a pattern of anti-Islamic coverage that would never fly if say she was say covering the African American community:

mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/29/fox-reporter-lauren-greens-double-standard-on-r/195114

In other words, I'm not saying Fox is anti-Islam for this one story, but rather because they regularly run slanted and bigoted stories. If this just a problem with one reporter, then the smart thing would be to fire her.

Also, FYI, the author's biggest critics Jihad Watch have been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad_Watch

[Virgil Showlion]

Jul 30, 2013 11:20:58 GMT -5 zdaddy said:

I realized in my OP I hadn't posted this list of absurdist anti-Islamic stories that the same Fox news reporter has done in the recent past. In other words, if it was just this one circumstance I would give her the benefit of the doubt about just having a really bad day. But this is a pattern of anti-Islamic coverage that would never fly if say she was say covering the African American community:

mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/29/fox-reporter-lauren-greens-double-standard-on-r/195114

In other words, I'm not saying Fox is anti-Islam for this one story, but rather because they regularly run slanted and bigoted stories. If this just a problem with one reporter, then the smart thing would be to fire her.

Also, FYI, the author's biggest critics Jihad Watch have been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad_Watch

And a quick look at the mediamatters article reveals that all (excepting possibly one) of the stories that Ms. Green "shouldn't have reported on" are in fact stories Ms. Green should have reported on.

If that's the best they can cherry pick...

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 17:25:12 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Jul 29, 2013 16:01:26 GMT -5 zdaddy said:

Are we really at a point where the rest of the media isn't just biased, but openly attacks journalists who ask reasonable questions?

no.  but that is not a reasonable question, imo.  a persons religion has nothing to do with their ability to pontificate about religion in general.  the ponitification can be judged on it's OWN MERITS, and found to be sound OR NOT.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 18:09:25 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Oh please. If Rick Warren wrote a book critical of Islam libs would be lining up to castrate him. Geez.

why would Rich Warren criticize Islamic LIBERALS?  they are more open to Christianity BY FAR than Islamic CONSERVATIVES.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 18:10:31 GMT -5 Shooby said:

The feigned outrage over Fox news is wearing thin.

so is the feigned outrage over Obama.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 17:55:46 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Jul 29, 2013 17:37:09 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Face it: You libs have been had. Again.  I did literally five seconds of research and discovered the guy is a fraud.

define "fraud".  do you mean that he is unqualified to speak on this subject?

He deserved the questions he got, and now he owes an answer to the question of why he outright lied in response to Green's questions.

not really.  i often say that solving problems is what i do for a living.  i didn't get my degree in problem solving.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 21:08:36 GMT -5 cereb said:

Jul 29, 2013 17:55:46 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

The only logical conclusion here is that this guy's real mission is advancing an Islamic geopolitical point of view. That is why his PhD is in Sociology and hy he wrote his thesis is entitled Global Jihadism as a Transnational Movement: A Theorhetical Framework 

And it's logical that he would lie about that, because an Associate Professor in the Creative Writing department (what hereally does for a living) whose relevant credential is his terminal MFA in Fiction from Iowa who wrote a thesis on Global Jihad probably wouldn't attract near the audience, and might actually raise more eyebrows than just the uniquely astute journalists at Fox, to his book on Jesus.  

Face it: You libs have been had. Again.  I did literally five seconds of research and discovered the guy is a fraud. He deserved the questions he got, and now he owes an answer to the question of why he outright lied in response to Green's questions.

Aslan's family came to the United States from Tehran in 1979, fleeing the Iranian Revolution. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the age of 15 he converted to evangelical Christianity.[6] In the early 1990s, Aslan taught courses at De La Salle High School in Concord, California.

Aslan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religions from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School, a Doctor of Philosophy in the sociology of religion from the University of California, Santa Barbara,[7][8] and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. It was during the summer before he went to Harvard that he converted back to Islam.[9]

In August 2000, while serving as the Truman Capote Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Aslan was named Visiting Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Iowa, becoming the first full-time professor of Islam in the history of the state.[10]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Aslan




Nah... not qualified to write that sort of book at all. <sarcasm>

BTWpaul, you did not quote or cite a link for your stolen blog paragraph. Just sayin... if you are going to harp on about the honesty of others.

....yet somehow it is "us libs" that have been had.

confession time: i will freely admit that because of the fact that this was FOX, i automatically assumed that they got it wrong.  that is my own personal bias.  and after reading all of this, i am pretty comfortable with it.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 21:53:54 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Just because some one has w degree doesn't mean anyone should accept or give credibility to what they say.

i think that one actually DOES have credibility if one has studied and wrote on a subject.  that is kind of the definition of credibility.

that doesn't mean that they should be believed simply BECAUSE they are credible.  their beliefs should be examined for credibility.

but what FOX did is precisely the opposite of that.  they didn't question what this guy wrote, but who he is.  it is ad-hominem, and it is logically invalid- but it is extremely effective rhetorically, as you and Paul would attest.

[Virgil Showlion]

What did FOX "get wrong", exactly?

[djAdvocate]

Jul 29, 2013 22:20:54 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It was a pointed question in an interview.

You'd swear this thread was about Christians rioting in the streets, demanding Dr. Aslan's head on a pike.

you have to admit, Virgil, attempting to discredit someone STRICTLY on the basis of their religion is a pretty low blow. 

i would hope that you, above most people, would appreciate that FACT.