Get Ready, America, for a Muslim Talking Religion on Trumps Favorite Fake News Channel
DEAN OBEIDALLAH
Watching Reza Aslan being chased on a beach in India by a scantily clad cannibal from the Aghora sect of Hinduism throwing his own pee at Aslan made me wonder if Aslan ever thought while working on his Ph.D. in religion that this is where he would end up? But there was Aslan, religious scholar and author of best-selling books, dodging cannibal pee on a remote beach, which is all part of his riveting new CNN series, Believer, in which he travels the world exploring the world’s religions.
Aslan’s show, which premiers March 5 at 10 p.m. ET, has understandably drawn comparisons to Anthony Bourdain’s wildly popular CNN show Parts Unknown. But there are clearly differences between the two. First off I can’t recall a cannibal looking at Bourdain and saying flesh is “sweet and tasty” the way one Aghora Hindu cannibal did while eyeing Aslan like he was a shawarma platter. (I asked if we could introduce Bill Maher to the cannibals, but Aslan responded that even a cannibal wouldn’t eat Maher.)
And secondly as Aslan explained: “When Bourdain eats a goat testicle and says it tastes good, he can make you believe it. In contrast, if I looked scared or anxious in the TV series that is what I’m really feeling. I’m simply not that good of an actor.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/03/get-ready-america-for-a-muslim-talking-religion-on-trump-s-favorite-fake-news-channel.html