RELI 101 University of California Reza Aslan Believer Criticism Essay 5-7 pages, double-spaced, reasonable font and margins. Submit as a pdf file via canva

RELI 101 University of California Reza Aslan Believer Criticism Essay 5-7 pages, double-spaced, reasonable font and margins. Submit as a pdf file via canvas March 20 by 11:59pm. Remember to
include Last, First name in the title of y our file. Y ou are not required t o includ e additio nal sources bey ond those listed here, thus
I do not require you to include a bibliography or reference page. However, if you quote from the articles listed below, include a
parenthetical citation in the body of the paper (See appendix). Likewise, when referring to scenes in the Believer, note the time
stamp in your citation. RELI 101-Second Short Essay
Due March 20 @ 11:59pm, via canvas (.pdf file)
Part I: Background
Reza Aslan (1972-)
An Iranian-American Scholar of religious studies, writer, and former television host. He has written four books on
Religion: No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam; Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism
in the Age of Globalization; Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013); God: A Human History. He is a regular
contributer to the Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, the Washington Post, Slate, The Nation, The
Guardian, etc.
BoomGen Studios (2006)
Stated goal – bringing stories from and about the Middle East to US audiences.
[e.g., National Geographic’s Amreeka, Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time; Broadway adaption of Aladdin.]
2013 Fox News Interview
On July 26, 2013, Aslan appeared on Spirited Debate, a Fox News Webcast with Lauren Green (chief religion
correspondent for Fox News).
Green side-stepped discussion about Aslan’s book, The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, to instead question the
authority or legitimacy of Aslan’s book in light of his religious background.
“Why would a Muslim write about Jesus?????”
Aslan’s Answer: “Because it’s my job as an academic. I am a professor of religion, including then New Testament.
That’s what I do for a living, actually.”
The video which went viral immediately bolstered book sales; by late July, it had topped the US best seller list on
Amazon.
Outrage was swift and polarized.
1) Scholars of religious studies condemning the all too familiar conflation of academic study of religion with personal
religious identification (as well as Fox News inherent anti-Muslim bias)
2) Others asked, “Is Reza Aslan a scholar of religious studies, though????”
Believer (2016-17)
A “spiritual travel series” on CNN. Aslan referred to the series as the “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” for the
religious epicurean. Aslan immerses himself in various religious traditions internationally. He focuses deliberately on
sects considered fringe and disreputable by larger religions.
Episode One—The Aghori sect of Hinduism.
The Episode and Reza Aslan fell under immediate criticism after the episode was released. He was accused of
sensationalism and anti-Hinduism when he ate part of a human brain while meeting Aghori sadhus.
➢
The United States India Political Action Committee: “[w]ith multiple reports of hate-fueled attackes against
people of Indian origin across the U.S., the show characterizes Hinduism as cannibalistic, which is bizarre way
of looking at the third largest religion of the world.”
1
➢
Vamsee Juluri, professor of media studies at the University of San Francisco, described the episode as
“reckless, racist, and anti-immigrant.”
➢
Aseem Shula, the Hindu American Foundation, accused Aslan of being “poorly informed,” circulating
“common stereotypical misconceptions” about Hinduism and indulging in “religion porn” “to grab ratings,”
with the “most cliched, spurious confations of the Hindu religion with the caste system.”
➢
Tulsi Gabbard, US congresswoman, compared the show to “touring a zoo”
➢
American Hindus against Defamation (AHAD) & the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) have questions why
Aslan’s show does not cover Islam.
Aslan responded that he had planned to cover the Ashura festival in Pakistan but prohibitive insurance costs forced
him to abandon the plan, pledging to cover Islam if the show had a second season.
Alas, Believer did not survive—Aslan himself being the cause of its cancelation.
On June 17, 2017 (in the wake of the London Bridge attack), Aslan posted incendiary remarks about
President Trump on Twitter: “man baby”,” a piece of shit”
In this episode, and others, Aslan has offered more than a few declarative statements regarding his own view/definition
of religion:
“Religion isn’t about scripture or temples or priests or rules or regulations … It’s about the individual, and
the quest for meaning, the idea that there is something more to life than just what we see with our eyes, what
we feel with our hands.”
Elias Muhanna has drawn attention to this and similar statements in his article “The Contradictions of Reza Aslan’s
“Believer” [The New Yorker, 4/9/17]—in an effort to draw attention to the problematic nature of Aslan’s perspective
in the series—an implicit, value-laden view of religion that projects a negative cast over the religious practices Aslan
highlights.
“Believer amounts to a canny sort of evangelism—not for any one religion in particular, but for Aslan’s own
brand of universal spirituality, which regards religions as nothing more than different languages for expressing
the same meanings.” [Elias Muhanna, “The Contradictions of Reza Aslan’s “Believer”, The New Yorker,
4/9/17]
PART II: Essay Prompt
Do you agree or disagree with those the criticisms lodged at Aslan’s Believer series—especially Episode 1 on the Aghori sect?
Why or why not?
.
This requires a close “reading” of Episode 1 as well as the articles listed.
As you assess the material, remember to consider and include discussion of the following:
1. [The tension/irreconcilability or cohesion between] Reza Aslan’s two hats: 1) self-proclaimed professor/scholar of
religious history 2) public spokesperson (TV personality)/expert on the topic of religion. Are these two career
paths irreconcilable in general? Or just in Aslan’s case? Why or Why not?
2. How do you feel he reacts to and interacts with the Aghori sect? How does the show shape our view of Aslan’s
experience in this episode more generally and his interactions with the Aghori in particular [consider how editing,
camera focus, music, etc. shapes the audience’s perspective].
3. Do you agree or disagree with Muhanna’s comment that Believer amounts to “a canny sort of evangelism”? Is Aslan
working with an implicit definition of religion that negatively colors his presentation of the Aghori?
PART III: Logistics
2
5-7 pages, double-spaced, reasonable font and margins. Submit as a pdf file via canvas March 20 by 11:59pm. Remember to
include Last, First name in the title of your file. You are not required to include additional sources beyond those listed here, thus
I do not require you to include a bibliography or reference page. However, if you quote from the articles listed below, include a
parenthetical citation in the body of the paper (See appendix). Likewise, when referring to scenes in the Believer, note the time
stamp in your citation.
Sources:
Aslan, Believer

Reza Aslan, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Aslan
David A. Graham, “Is Muslim Academic Reza Aslan More Biased Than a Christian Scholar?” The Atlantic,
July 29, 2013.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/is-muslim-academic-reza-aslan-more-biased-than-a-christianscholar/278175/
Elizabeth Castelli, Reza Aslan—Historian?, The Nation, August 9, 2013.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/reza-aslan-historian/
Devdutt Pattanaik, “CNN’s Believer: Reza Aslan’s show on Hindu mendicants is bigoted no matter how you look at it,” Scroll.in,
March 11, 2017.
https://scroll.in/article/831510/cnns-believer-does-reza-aslan-really-know-what-hindus-believe
Vamsee Juluri, “CNN’s ‘Believer’ Is Reckless, Racist And Dangerously Anti-Immigrant,” Huffpost, 3/5/17.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cannibals-and-corpses-cnns-believer-is-reckless-racist_b_58bbc5fee4b02eac8876cfad
Aseem Shukla, “Reza Aslan’s ‘Believer’ sensationalizes and stereotypes Hindus,” Religion News Service March 7, 2017.

Reza Aslan’s ‘Believer’ sensationalizes and stereotypes Hindus

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