Reza Aslan's apologetics are dangerous

[rsacamano]

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[EdwardBernays]

1. ehhh

He spends the first 8 minutes blabbering about Reza's degrees, in a VERY non-convincing way, then says, "but that's not what's important".

So if that's not important, why is a third of your video about it?

He also goes on to bash Amnesty International...

I stopped watching after that... this guy obviously has some vendetta and is going WAAAAY out of his way to trash Aslan with dubious garbage even he thinks is not important.

Meh.

[Delver Rootnose]

2. David Pakamn...

...is generally anti Islam and pro Israel and has even less academic qualifications to criticize Reza Aslan.

[Out of Time Man]

4. Pakman may have his own agenda or preferences...

But I don't think Pakman's lack of academic qualifications makes it any less true that Reza Aslan is not an academic authority in an area he claims to be an authority in.

[Delver Rootnose]

5. Well that sounds odd to me though...

....Reza Aslan qualifications, even if not exactly what he claims, are far better to judge on this topic than David Pakman's.

Even if Aslan is guilty of academic puffery he is still in a better position to comment about Islam and radical Islam than Pakman is with his communication degrees. And Pakman is amoung the minority in reviewing Aslan's work.

[Out of Time Man]

9. I don't think that Pakman is a decent authority on Islam either...

But when Aslan uses an appeal to authority argument time and again, it would be nice if he was actually an authority in the areas he claims to be.

In doing this, Aslan does more harm than good, as this point can easily be used to discredit anything he claims. I happen to agree with his sentiments against painting Muslims with a broad brush, especially given the current climate in the west regarding Muslims.

I wish he made his arguments without attempting to brandish an academic authority that he cannot, in good faith, lay claim to.

[EdwardBernays]

7. But

Even Pakman doesn't really claim that.

He just claims that the NAME of his degree isn't correct. Or rather that Azlan lies about his title.

You can see however in the video that someone from the University thinks Azlan is justified...

Azlan's credentials are:

Aslan holds a BA in religious studies from Santa Clara University, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, an MFA from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, and a PhD in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.[7][8][9] His dissertation was titled "Global Jihadism as a Transnational Social Movement: A Theoretical Framework".[10]

In August 2000, while serving as the Truman Capote Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Aslan was a visiting faculty member in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Iowa.[11]

Aslan was the 2012–13 Wallerstein Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Drew University Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict.[12][13]

___

Hard to read that and then say he's not qualified to call himself a religious scholar or that he has no academic standing to comment on religion.

At least I'd consider that quite a stretch as far as criticism is concerned.

In addition at around 8 mins in Pakman himself says that it doesn't really matter.

So...

Not really sure what the issue you have is.

[Out of Time Man]

12. It's still a big leap...

To go from having a BA in religious studies to claiming to have a PhD in the history of religions.

And Pakman doesn't say that Aslan's use of "appeal to authority' doesn't really matter; he says that it's not as important in comparison to the other claims that Aslan makes about Islam, specifically Aslan's claims about FGM being strictly an African problem.

[EdwardBernays]

13. He doesn't just have a BA

Aslan holds a BA in religious studies from Santa Clara University, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, an MFA from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, and a PhD in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.[7][8][9] His dissertation was titled "Global Jihadism as a Transnational Social Movement: A Theoretical Framework".[10]

He has a doctorate and a masters degree.

The Masters is in Theological Studies.

So a BA in religious studies, a Masters in Theological Studies and a Doctorate in Sociology.

Sorry but I'm not impressed at all with the video and find it extremely unpersuasive. And I don't think Amnesty International hates Israel. And I think anyone can cherry pick a few words out of thousands and thousands of words to make up an attack.

And as you can see from the other comments I am not alone in thinking Pakman is not exactly doing a great job of making his case.

[Out of Time Man]

14. Sorry, my mistake!

I must have glossed over the Masters in Theological Studies when used as an acronym. It's close to 1:00AM where I'm at. I should make a note to save political discussions to non-twilight hours.

Thanks for the correction

[EdwardBernays]

15. no worries

I'm in Ireland so I feel your "out of time" pain!

[nesamenis]

22. Parkman doesn't make a good case?

I found Pakman's video to be the most compelling expose of intellectual deceit I have encountered in 25 years in the academy.

I was a fan of Aslan until I viewed the Pakman video.

He clearly misrepresents his credentials and expertise in the context of making a case for his expertise on the basis of his credentials.

And, needless to say, he utterly misleads his viewer on FMG.

He actually says that "nowhere in Muslim majority states [in Africa] is it an issue." This a lie of monumental proportions. It's greatest prevalence is in fact in Muslim majority states in Africa. See the Guardian's data in "70 Million More...."

In short, I am thoroughly impressed with Pakman's use of his communication skills. I find him completely persuasive, not least because my own research corroborates what he and other commentators, such as JT Eberhart, have shown: that Aslan is an inveterate liar.

[bananas]

19. Pakman is full of shit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Aslan

<snip>

... Aslan's dissertation adviser, Mark Juergensmeyer, ... did not have a problem with Aslan's characterization of his credentials.

<snip>

The Philadelphia Inquirer ... also defended Aslan's characterization of his academic credential ... UC Santa Barbara "is famous for its interdisciplinary program—students tailor their studies around a topic, not a department. They choose a department only for the diploma." ...

<snip>

[Out of Time Man]

21. Well that settles that...

I've seen a few of Reza Aslan's interviews and enjoyed his insights. I've only seen perhaps two segments with Pakman, this being one of them. I'll make a note that he doesn't always do thorough research, even if he is a progressive voice.

Thanks for the information!

[zeemike]

6. Well I watched it all

And to me it seemed comprehensive.

But I don't watch TV so I did not even know this guy or what he said. But I think this video gave me a good idea.

[EdwardBernays]

8. It doesn't

He's been on probably 200 TV shows and given hundreds of interviews and written two books.

One very slanted video doesn't give you any real idea what Azlan believes or stands for or talks about.

[zeemike]

10. Perhaps not.

But I dismiss TV as any intellectual source and Ann Coulter has written many books.
And I am naturally skeptical of them all.

[EdwardBernays]

11. Well let that

Natural scepticism of yours extend to YouTube videos

[Cowpunk]

16. I agree with the video. Aslan is a brilliant bullshit artist.

His main shtick is to pretend that most Muslims are just as progressive and enlightened as he is, when in fact he represents a small minority, according to research by actual experts on religion. He has created a positive straw man out of Islam that is just as distorted and dangerous as the negative ones he battles against.

[Bucky]

17. Damn. That's a take-down. Good work, David Pakman

[ellennelle]

18. wow

well, my opinion of packman just plummeted.

this smacks of israeli propaganda, frankly. i have no problem with his focus on ezlan's credentials, tho he does obsess.

but then, it's like a setup to leave the audience bent against islam, then the next phase is the female mutilation.

but the point of his tirade is clearly palestine. and his offerings here are so one-sided and skewed, i cannot even consider giving whatever he says any credence.

pretty sad. i'd always thought highly of his acumen. but this is obsessive, one-sided, and propagandist.

[Cowpunk]

20. The point of his tirade is clearly Palestine?

Packman focused on Hamas and Palestine for 3 minutes of a 25 minute video. You find this obsessive? Look in the mirror.