BFM: Bad for Muslims 89.9

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Master of Fiction. "Reza Aslan has continuously presented himself as a professor of religion. This is done in an attempt to sell his few books, which lack academic and credible references. In one of his recent interviews, Aslan claims, “I am a scholar of religions with four degrees including one in the New Testament . . . I am an expert with a Ph.D. in the history of religions . . . I am a professor of religions, including the New Testament – that’s what I do for a living, actually . . . To be clear, I want to emphasize one more time, I am a historian, I am a Ph.D. in the history of religions.” Aslan also recently said on Twitter, “I have a BA, MA and PhD in the history of Western Religions so yes, again, I am an ACTUAL expert in Judaism.”In actuality, Reza Aslan is not a “professor of religion,” and what he claims he does “for a living” is an outrageous inaccuracy. Reza Aslan is an associate professor in the Creative Writing program at the University of California, Riverside.  He teaches there based on his Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction from Iowa."- The Lies and Misrepresentations of Reza Aslan, Frontpage Mag, 5 Aug 2013

Original Posting:

On Allah ruling, Reza and BFM tell Malaysian Muslims: "We laugh at you .."

Business FM 89.9 used to be one of my favorite radio stations because it used to be so good at being critical of the Government. Then one fine day it started to become a little too partisan for my liking. WIth the interview with Reza Aslan h e r e, the line is drawn for me. I mean, you can be as anti-government or anti-BN as you like but when you put a foreigner on air - even an award-winning one - so that be can laugh at our faith and thrash this country's judiciary system, you are not worth a dime. 

In doing so, I'm told that BFM has flouted the cardinal rule of public broadcast in this country. Under the terms and scope of operations, the radio station agreed that it would not insult or ridicule any race or religion in this country. 

I suppose by now the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission would have analyzed the content of the Bible For Muslims interview. Let's see if MCMC boss Sharil Tarmizi has any idea of what he should do under such circumstances. Let's see if Information Minister Shabery Cheek has the political balls to act. Let's see if Attorney-General Gani Patail is consistent in his lack of tolerance towards any quarters who think they can insult this country's official religion and get away with it.

As for the award-wininng Reza Aslan, not everyone is as impressed as the giggling dudes from BFM. Try reading Lies and Misrepresentations of Reza Aslan, for e.g. 

Reza Aslan's best seller No God But God came to me last year highly recommended but right from the Prologue, when he finds himself between an offended Muslim and a missionary couple on a train in Morocco, he comes across to me as not only ignorant but presumptuous, and therefore too eager to poke his nose where he shouldn't. There's a reason why I haven't been able to finish the book, I suppose. In the BFM interview, Reza Aslan somehow manages to come across as even more ignorant and presumptuous (or, in Melayu, bodoh sombong) about the Allah issue.

I'd recommend Anas Zubedy's Can we use Allah in the Bible any time. Honest, not pretentious, educational.

Please also read:

1. We Laugh at You by Zakhir Mohamad
2. The Swinging pendulum of Isa alMasih and Yesus Kristus by SatD