A Terrible Interview with Author, Reza Aslan has been added as a related post - related requested by bareboards2 on that post.

This might be the first time I've been firmly behind Reza Aslan in a "debate".

Tags for this video have been changed from 'interview, reza aslan, foxnews, the life and times of jesus of nazareth' to 'interview, reza aslan, fox news, zealot, the life and times of jesus of nazareth' - edited by xxovercastxx

Tags for this video have been changed from 'christianity, islam, collective identity' to 'christianity, islam, collective identity, reza aslan, no god but god' - edited by kronosposeidon

>> ^longde:
Completely disagree; let's see the proof.
First of all, people don't spend so much time on the question of what culture they are. Secondly, except for a fringe group of right wingers, americans don't confound nationalism with their religion.


but many in other countries do.especially in muslim territories as reza explained.
i love me some reza!
*promote!

http://www.videosift.com/video/HARDBALL-reza-aslan-takes-mathews-to-school-over-IRAN

Reza Aslan said the same thing about not interfering.

Thank you.

In reply to this comment by chilaxe:
Excellently informative post. Thank you.

Sometimes we're vulnerable to accepting one side of a debate unquestioningly without hearing the other side, which is how many people seem to be approaching Reza Aslan's argument.

>> ^burdturgler:
It is complete speculation on his part that there is no nuclear weapon ambition or program in Iran.

The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran (pdf), the consensus opinion of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies:

"We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program."


The C.I.A. and the rest of Earth found out because India detonated one.

India announced the pursuit of atomics in 1946, in 1968 it did not sign the NPT, in 1974 it conducted its first tests. This doesn't sound like lack of knowledge to me. The information was kept from the general public to avoid a preemptive atomic confrontation between India and Pakistan. That issue as a whole is entirely different then the one in the Middle East.


Iran needs to dial back it's rhetoric and hate speech and get more in line with the international cooperation and dialog that it's people wants.

Shouldn't Israel then as well. Instead of telling the Palestinians what form of existence they should enjoy? I mean honestly you talking about a nation whose power structure was assassinated by the CIA for oil rights brought in a corrupt Shah. Eventually lead to the Islamic revolution. No US dialog has been maintained since. It's like me kicking over someones sand castle and then becoming shocked at their attempt to punch me in the face.


Does anyone honestly think a nuclear armed Iran is a viable option for world stability and peace?


Is a nuclear armed North Korea? Russia? US? Seems to be alot of tolerance for that there. A state a believe far more willing to put its entire population at nuclear apocalypse.

No nation attains nuclear weapons for the purpose of using them anymore. It just doesn't make sense politically, ever since the US detonated the Hiroshima bomb and the nuclear arms race of the Cold War that nuclear weapons simply exist as means of deterrence. First strike policy is not pursued by any state because its admission and allowance to be attacked first preemptively. Thus everyone claims base deterrence use.

I don't find it acceptable that Israel has UNDECLARED nuclear weapons still and somehow that is okay. The threat of them striking Iran is just as great in my eyes. Shit they bombed Syria and Iraq just for the smallest whiff of nuclear capability. But what kind of action is that? How is that acceptable.

Further more your entire line about Iranians being made into anti-Israel haters flies in face of the protests taking place now trying to depose a president who was clearly illegally placed into power and has spent the last 4 years doing nothing but talking garbage. I don't know why people are so willing to think Bush was retarded in his foreign policy assessments and somehow take Iran's president seriously.

Excellently informative post. Thank you.

Sometimes we're vulnerable to accepting one side of a debate unquestioningly without hearing the other side, which is how many people seem to be approaching Reza Aslan's argument.

In reply to this comment by burdturgler:
Was good until around 4:20 but after that Reza is full of shit on many counts.

- It is complete speculation on his part that there is no nuclear weapon ambition or program in Iran. He mentions the IAEA in 2003 but in 2003 the IAEA said the following:

"it is clear that Iran has failed in a number of instances over an extended period of time to meet its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with respect to the reporting of nuclear material and its processing and use, as well as the declaration of facilities where such material has been processed and stored." (PDF)

Meaning the nuclear material could be stored anywhere and processed for anything. They don't know.

- Saying that the U.S. has taken all military options off the table regarding Iran is complete bullshit. Never happened.

- The C.I.A. has never said that Iran is "many many many years away" from having a nuclear weapon. Regardless, how did the CIA discover that India had nukes? Anyone? They caught them when they were just a year away right? No, the CIA and the rest of Earth found out because India detonated one. Making the argument that Iran isn't pursuing nukes based on the fact that they say so is foolish.

-Israel has nukes. They have had them for decades. To say they are threatening Iran with them is ridiculous. Israel has made no demands from Iran other than to recognize that it is a sovereign nation. The weapons are a deterrent against Iran and the other nations in the region which have said in no uncertain terms that Israel, as a nation state, should not exist.

- Just because some person ("Benny Morris" who is a hero of the Palestinians) wrote an article for the NY Times, does not make it the policy that Israel will launch a nuclear first strike against Iran. That person does not speak for the government of Israel. He doesn't determine the foreign policy of any nation. He does not control or affect in any way Israel's nuclear launch capability. In other words, it's bullshit.

-It has never been the policy of Israel to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike upon anyone unless they were themselves threatened by nukes. That is U.S. policy also. That doesn't mean you can't have a scenario where you strike first. Some people just refuse to understand this. They can not have an enemy on their doorstep that has vowed their destruction to obtain the weapons and strategy needed to carry that threat out. It's just that simple. We didn't allow the missiles in Cuba for the very same reason. Iran needs to dial back it's rhetoric and hate speech and get more in line with the international cooperation and dialog that it's people wants. The type of dialog we all need. Open handed Vs. clenched fist. But that isn't happening and now we see that elections there to make it happen have no meaning.

The hard line psychos in charge of Iran, not the people in general, view Israel as an abomination. They "should be wiped off the face of the map". I've seen this translated as "vanish from time" and several other iterations but however you want to play out the semantics of the translation of that quote from Ahmadinejad the end result is the same. He is echoing and fomenting the sentiment of his supporters .. Israel as a state should not exist. These are the same people who say the Holocaust never happened. Now I've seen some bad comments here, including someone wishing all Christians would die, but I hope most rational people can see this isn't just a religious point of view, it's a wish for genocide. They teach their children that Israeli's are less than human. They are pigs and it is good to slaughter them.

With that ugliness behind me, I will say, it is fun to watch Chris when he has a guest who isn't intimidated, but I don't see where he was "schooled" here. Reza is being naive at best. Iran knows what it's doing. It can't let itself be perceived as the weaker nation. Acquiescing to mandates and sanctions. They want to be a super power. They want to be at the table like India and Pakistan. They know they are close and have decades of work behind them (not in front of them) and will never give up until they have the same strength that is possessed by their perceived aggressors.

There won't be any dialog to stem the tide of a nuclear Iran with the current regime in power.

Does anyone honestly think a nuclear armed Iran is a viable option for world stability and peace?

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Seems to me that Matthews gave him a pretty fair shake. It was a very good dialogue.



>> ^gwiz665:
I like that Matthews didn't YELL OVER ASLAN'S STATMENTS as would certain other members of the press. Aslan (King of Narnia) is very straight and to the point here. It's nice to see a bit of competence in the news.

In reply to this comment by Farhad2000:
>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Nentanyahu’s speech was Sunday. In it he said that he wanted Isreal recognized as a Jewish state.

You deal in half truths.

The recognition of Israel as a Jewish state means that there is no chance for any resettlement of Palestinians in those areas that Israel pushed them out of them. It means no right of return.

It means Israeli Arabs within Israel become second class citizens.

It means no land returns to those areas settled illegally by Israelis in Palestinian areas. Because de facto these are Jewish holy sites. Those should belong to Israel.

The conditions also required Palestine that has no military force. Nor has any control of it's own airspace.

It means Palestine as a state would simply exist as it does today, an open air prison ringed by military walls and incurred on by illegal settlements. It offers no compromise beyond making sure that the peace process continues to exist in a dead zombie state giving false hope to Palestinians while allowing Israel to further capture areas in the West bank through encroaching settlements.


this was GREAT my friend.
how many americans are aware of the machinations and subtrefuge by political lobbyists to control the information they see or read?
its just sad in its simplicity to rectify.
great response bud..fantastic!
till next time.
namaste.

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>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Nentanyahu’s speech was Sunday. In it he said that he wanted Isreal recognized as a Jewish state.

You deal in half truths.

The recognition of Israel as a Jewish state means that there is no chance for any resettlement of Palestinians in those areas that Israel pushed them out of them. It means no right of return.

It means Israeli Arabs within Israel become second class citizens.

It means no land returns to those areas settled illegally by Israelis in Palestinian areas. Because de facto these are Jewish holy sites. Those should belong to Israel.

The conditions also required Palestine that has no military force. Nor has any control of it's own airspace.

It means Palestine as a state would simply exist as it does today, an open air prison ringed by military walls and incurred on by illegal settlements. It offers no compromise beyond making sure that the peace process continues to exist in a dead zombie state giving false hope to Palestinians while allowing Israel to further capture areas in the West bank through encroaching settlements.

Aslan means "Lion".

>> ^gwiz665:
Aslan (King of Narnia)