A fierce debate and controversy is currently raging in the U.S. about whether a Muslim academic can write a book on Jesus. The Muslim author, Reza Aslan, has written a book, Zealot: The life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.
A reviewer writing in San Francisco Chronicle says, “‘Zealot’? A biography of Jesus could have no more provocative title. But it turns out to be the perfect one for Reza Aslan’s unearthing (or should that be un-heavening?) of “the Jesus before Christianity.” As he cogently demonstrates, the real Jesus — the radical Jew who preached, agitated, and was executed for his pains — was a far more complex figure than many Christians care to acknowledge.”
Zealot was already #2 on the Amazon bestseller list; by the next morning, it was #1.
But when Aslan went to Fox News to promote his book, interviewer Lauren Green, prodded him about why a Muslim would write a book about Jesus. Green, one of the first to interview Aslan, asked him; ” You are a Muslim. Why would you write a book about the founder of Christianity?”
I cannot honestly see the relevance of the question. If we are to follow Ms. Green’s line of questioning, then one should only stick to one’s religion when writing a book or even an article. Christians should not ever write about Prophet Mohammed or any other topic on Islam mainly because they do not belong to that religious persuasion.
To me this appears to be a narrow–minded view and if you take that argument further than doctors cannot comment on non-medical issues while an average person cannot express his or her views on, for example, euthanasia because he or she is a non-medical individual. The interviewer failed to acknowledge that in a free society – and the US happens to be one – people are free to express their views, however unacceptable they may be.
The fact that Aslan is an expert with a PH D in religion was immaterial to Ms. Green. Aslan is a scholar of religion with four degrees, including one in new testament, and to quote Aslan, he is not just “some Muslim writing a book but an expert with a PhD in history of religion.” His credentials are impeccable.
I felt sorry for Aslan who kept on defending himself and his credential to write the book. “It’s my job as an academic. I am a professor of religion including the New Testament that’s what I do for a living.”
It’s like asking a Christian why would he write a book about Islam? Aslan explained that his book is not an attack on Christianity. His mother and wife are Christians. “I am a historian in the history of religion. This is not a Muslim opinion,” he defended. What is his faith to do with 20 years of academic study?
Accepting that there are two sides to every story, I would like to suggest who ever is unhappy with the book is most welcome to have contrary views, criticize and express them. What is unacceptable is the fact that instead of debating arguments or contradicting them in the book, there is a debate on the writer’s right to write the book because he is a Muslim.
Ms. Green assumed that Aslan had some faith-based bias because he was a Muslim. Although he repeatedly pointed out that it was his job as a scholar to write about religion, adding that apart from Christianity, he has written about Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam, the interviewer was not impressed.
Thousands of scholars have written books about religion and it would be unfair to assume that writers have some hidden agenda or motive behind it.
To Green’s accusation that Aslan never disclosed that he was Muslim, Aslan promptly responded that it is mentioned on the second page of the book. Aslan is a prominent Muslim thinker and he has every right to write the book.
I was really impressed with Aslan who maintained his composure and professionalism despite the interviewer’s insensitive and shocking line of questioning. The interview also showed very clearly Ms. Green’s shallow knowledge and ignorance about the book that she was so vehemently set to discuss.
The shockingly tactless interview has started a debate about religion in the U.S. The good side of the controversy is that the interview has given media exposure to Aslan and his book. As usual, there was backlash from what Alsan calls “the anti-Muslim fringe, the rabid Islamophobes, who have been attacking me for a decade and calling me vile and racist names.”
This is what Aslan had to say about Jesus, “I’ve been obsessed with him for 20 years, this illiterate, poor peasant day laborer from the hills of Galilee [who] started a movement that was such a threat that he was crucified for it. His words and actions inspired the largest religious movement in the world. How could you not be obsessed with that guy?”
This doesn’t sound like the words of an anti-Christian or a Muslim, according to a commentator. They sound like the words of a religious scholar and that is what he is.
It would seem that Reza Aslan might have started a movement himself in which people will read, learn and talk about religion in a way they never have before. In a democratic country, nothing could be healthier. Are we also forgetting that free speech is one of fundamental principles of a democratic society?
Who cares if Aslan is Muslim or not? Anyone writing about the historical Jesus brings in a worldview or bias and one should merely take that into account when reading.
We should invite Christians to write about Prophet Mohammed in the same vein. I am glad that our friends in the Christian community haven’t resorted to burning Muslim embassies or issuing death threats to Aslan.
Let’s just hope we stick to a civilized intellectual discussion.
