spring wife's
I think that go ahead just sent so this past up
friday was a believe you are on a Fox News and I'm
I mean when they contact you I'm sure you you are feeling what they're gonna
get out here am i right
well yes I
familiar with Fox News for sure in they did a few days before the interview
they they published a an attack piece on me so I
I kind of had an idea what I was getting into yeah
I mean it's amazing to me that they get like I can mean
count how many times they had to bring up that and you're a muslim
as if I mean you said it on the second page you mention how your Muslim
as if it even matters to begin with but I mean it's not like you were even a
secret Muslim even though that's what we joke about
I mean you are out in the book I your house and your
hi I think that I do write in like the second page to the book that yes
that I at that I am a Muslim I I mean its and it did
today i mean do they even realize that Jesus is a historical figure in also I
mean
in in Islam Jesus is a profit it's not like you're just
I mean it's not like you even just discussing Christianity with this book
by talking about Jesus
right well so dare you you've got up to very very good point number one
is that yes absolutely muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet in fact
you note that this most of the Gospel story in a
kinda Reader's Digest version a bit a
is can be found in the koran
but on a larger point I'm not writing this book from a Muslim
perspective or from Jewish or Christian perspective on running it from a
scholarly
perspective I'm a scholar at what I do for a living though
a you know as i mentioned in that interview there's a lot of things that I
talk about jesus said actually
violate poor moslem ideas about Jesus and I've had a lot of Muslims who were
upset
with with the book a and and what I say about the historical Jesus so
I you know I think it's just a factually incorrect that this book is some sort of
Muslim account
have D its path there are some your books out there
about the Muslim Jesus in this isn't one of them and be
I think so too you know the fullest philosophical
backbone of the other question is that
it would be impossible for and
someone to write about Jesus without some kind of bait
based a you know prejudice
and and I would say that you know a lot of scholars who are
jewish christian muslim buddhist and atheist who
who write about religious figures have been doing this for centuries
I mean it's kinda too weird to all the sudden talk about it as though
only practitioners have the faith can write about
the profits about-face if that were true then there would be a lot
you were Islam book out there I
the almost done in the Erika I
but I and II think a final question I want to get you you wanna specifically
does
it seems to me that this is the
chip other campaign to really not allow
in some respects a Muslims to function in civic space
in america whether it's building a you know progressive important pluralistic
Moscow on ground zero or saying
hey your religion scholar but forget it
you have a certain you know you're muslim you can't write this book
I think that's what's been so a darkly hilarious but also just
shocking about how naked this outburst has been and i was just as an addendum
everybody should go and buy this book through the majority report link ed
on Amazon and buy sell it and also write a response the summer these just like
obscene reviews that are on the site that are
the foot soldiers love the Fox interview so to speak
yet this is i mean look I wish I could say that this is new it's not new I mean
I've been dealing with this pretty much my entire professional life there are
a very well-coordinated very well-funded
ball a organizations and individuals a
often referred to as the Islamophobia industry that have made
me a target they're fun
and and you know I deal with this all the time
I think the knives have come out perhaps a little bit more strongly because
in this particular case rather than talking about Muhammad or Islam talking
about Jesus and Judaism not necessarily christianity because
as I have to constantly remind people Jesus was not a Christian Jesus was a
Jew this book is not about Christianity the book is about two days I'm actually
I and you know it's kinda expected I mean I i'm not
I you know I'm not anyway surprised at at
the the level a victory all but I have received an
yeah you're right my Amazon page has been hijacked by
really a handful of people with about 200 fake
handles I who were just too or just cutting and pasting the
same a you know victory all over and over again
you know hopefully people will go on there and you can report abuse
on those comment on I mean I would hope eventually that Amazon
would recognize a you know what is going on on the page in will do something
about it but I don't really have any
pay in the Hat right well res I was on
as well before you actually I just want to say thank you so much for providing
that
entertainment on that that program I mean that by people want to come
Yahoo you had like that amazingly well have been one of the greatest
fact any sort of right-wing media Smackdown I've ever seen
it was its its legend and also the right should I thank you because you gave them
the idea of a PhD
in reagan which anybody who watches known
answers okay appreciated in spite them so I think the happy with her
Ypres Ivan thank you so much
everybody should by as sell it
fascinating book and as my grandmother Jewish grandmother would say Jesus was a
lovely man and he said nothing now
so I
thank you so much rather great is active