In FrontPage, I discuss Reza Aslan’s risible claim that “Muslims are never going to feel like a part of the American family until people start to make fun of them on TV.” Great idea! How about a show about a young man whose parents fled Khomeini’s Iran and left Islam, only to see their son become a Board member of a lobbying group for the Islamic Republic and an apologist for Islam? To add to the laugh track, they could have a recurring character who is a non-Muslim member of the Leftist intelligentsia. Whenever the young Iranian-American turncoat utters some fatuous falsehood (see a long list of Aslan’s below), the sweater-wearing Leftist can hail him as a “profound intellectual” and “great thinker.” The audience will go wild!
“I’m waiting for a Muslim ‘All in the Family,’” says the Leftist media’s favorite Muslim, Reza Aslan. “Muslims are never going to feel like a part of the American family until people start to make fun of them on TV. That’s how minds have always been changed in this country.” Really? After all, we all know how much Muslims love being made fun of. And can Reza Aslan give us a single other example of a group that started “to feel like a part of the American family” when people started “to make fun of them on TV”?
This is just another spurious claim of Muslim victimhood from someone who has made a tidy living in the Muslims-Are-Victims industry, Reza Aslan. And it is more muddled thinking from a spectacularly muddled thinker. Which marginalized group began to “feel like a part of the American family” because they were made fun of “All in the Family”? Right-wing racist bigots? Polish hippies who were dubbed “Meathead” by their fathers-in-law?
Aslan here probably means not “All in the Family,” but something like “The Cosby Show,” which has been invoked before in the same way: Katie Couric said a few years ago that we need a Muslim “Cosby Show,” i.e., a TV show that shows Muslims as just ordinary folks, and this will supposedly melt away the alleged prejudice that Americans have toward them.
The fallacy of that reasoning lies in the fact that when “The Cosby Show” aired, there were no international black terror groups mounting terror attacks in the U.S. and around the world, and boasting of their imminent conquest of the U.S. The suspicion that Americans have of Islam comes from jihad terror and Islamic supremacism, not from racism and bigotry, and Americans know this distinction, despite the best efforts of people like Reza Aslan to obscure it and make people feel guilty for opposing jihad terror. Some slick TV show depicting funny, warm, attractive, cuddly Muslims would not end jihad terror, or blunt concern about it — it would only serve to further the idea that resisting jihad violence was somehow “bigoted.”
This is not the first time Aslan has revealed his abject intellectual vacuity. He regularly makes howling errors of fact, including his ridiculous claim that the idea of resurrection “simply doesn’t exist in Judaism,” despite numerous passages to the contrary in the Hebrew Scriptures. He has also referred to “the reincarnation, which Christianity talks about” — although he later claimed that one was a “typo.” In yet another howler he later insisted was a “typo,” he claimed that the Biblical story of Noah was barely four verses long — which he then corrected to forty, but that was wrong again, as it is 89 verses long. Aslan claimed that the “founding philosophy of the Jesuits” was “the preferential option for the poor,” when in reality, that phrase wasn’t even coined until 1968. He called Turkey the second most populous Muslim country, when it is actually the eighth most populous Muslim country. He thinks Pope Pius XI, who issued the anti-fascist encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge, was a fascist. He thinks Marx and Freud “gave birth to the Enlightenment,” when it ended in the late 18th century, before either of them were born. He claims that “the very first thing that Muhammad did was outlaw slavery,” when in fact Muhammad bought slaves, took female captives as sex slaves, and owned slaves until his death. He thinks Ethiopia and Eritrea are in Central Africa.
A “renowned religious scholar” such as Reza Aslan should not make such elementary mistakes. But this is, of course, the man who writes “than” for “then”; apparently thinks the Latin word “et” is an abbreviation; and writes “clown’s” for “clowns.” Aslan is less a “religious scholar” than he is a marginally literate, unevenly educated charlatan with a talent for telling the mainstream media what it wants to hear. He would be great to play Meathead on the new Muslim “All in the Family.”
He has a fast track to the role, too, after charming “All in the Family” producer Norman Lear, who gushed about Reza: “Spend three minutes with him and you’ll love him.”
Oh yes, Reza Aslan is an absolute sweetheart.
Invite me on your show, Reza, and I will make fun of you all you want.

ICH says
He would not have Robert on his show !!!
Bwarrrrrk bwarrkkkkkkkkk
Hold up ?! He has a show haha
What a tool
PRCS says
Asslan apparently missed the TLC’s awful, short lived (2011-12) “All American Muslim” program.
Didn’t that show make enough “fun” of the clowns it portrayed for him?
spartan says
And why not include Dzhokhar (“Joker”) Tsarnaev putting on the front of being the boozing, weed smoking and dealing college jock prancing around in a wrestling singlet, always brushing up on his Taqqiya technique (How’m I doing’ guys?) to delude the dhimmis at school – but occasionally getting something hilariously not quite on target – while planning his Boston Marathon bombing. Sure to have them rolling on the floor…..
Georg says
I like that. Palestinian Sesame Street was/is kind of funny, maybe they can work off of that somehow.
This all brings to mind a sculpture some non-meany Brit made of a statue clad in a white burka fixed with angel wings as a means of fighting Islamophobia. Someone remarked they should make one of Hitler in a tutu in order to address the stigmatization with him and get us loosened up about the whole thing that happened that time.
Basically, Islam has gone around the world being an #@*()_! for however many years and so nobody wants to touch it even with a Muslims’ pole. Well, isn’t that just too inconvenient for Reza? The kuffar perception that Islam takes itself really to the trillionth power seriously is, as it turns out, on us and will be patched up by plagiarizing All In the Family. Seems likely.
Karen says
Brilliant casting by Robert Spencer! Mike Stivic (i.e. Meathead) was on the faculty of UC Santa Barbara, just like darling Reza.
DJM says
Someone needs to make this show! I can see the hilarity now.
Edith (in hijab): “Archie, Gloria went out last night without her hair covered!”
Archie (in Arabic robe & kufi): “WHAT?! That is unforgivable! Where’s Meathead?”
Meathead (also in robe & kufi) : “Here, Arch. What is going on?”
Archie: “Your wife! She is immoral! Have you beaten her yet?”
Meatball: “I have, repeatedly. But she insists on unIslamic behavior. I don’t know what else I can do.”
Archie: “We’ll have to stone her.”
[audience laughtrack]
Edith: “Oohhh, Archie, do we really have to?”
Archie: “Of course we do! If Allah wills it, she will survive. Meathead, go dig the pit.”
Meathead: “I’ll gather some stones, too!”
[audience laughtrack – commercial break]
Angemon says
Anymore than three and the glamour is dispelled.
Pong says
His book about Jesus is shameless plagiarism of the book by a supreme court judge of Israel – The Trial of Jesus.
Georg says
Is that his book Jesus Was Mean, Too?
Karen says
No offense to Muslims reading this blog, but the culture just isn’t very funny. It’s just too rooted in honor/shame and group mentality. The paradox is that the person who is rooted in Western individualism is often better able to laugh off the slings and arrows thrown at them. Not so the ‘honor’ societies, where ‘honor’ is about personal pride, often derived from what others think.
eduardo odraude says
The group mentality exemplified by the honor/shame culture is linked with the rejection of independent reason and thus independent conscience by Islamic theologians about a thousand years ago. Since then, mainstream Islam, at least in the Islamic world, has mainly taught that reason was to operate only within the bounds set down by the Qur’an and the canonical traditions of Muhammad. See, for example, The Closing of the Muslim Mind by Robert Reilly.
Georg says
Is Reza Aslan suggesting humor can exist with Islam? Actually, that is pretty funny!
On a more serious note: I want Reza Aslan to get sick(another instance of Islam being hilarious… shucks). But we can’t always get what we want. Sorry, Reza 🙁
Georg says
There is no fun in Islam
-Reza’s “Dad” Ayatollah “Don’t I look like Merlin?” Khomeini
For those who don’t know who Merlin or Khomeini are: Picture a guy dressed like an Islamic whacko. Now picture him being funny. I can’t either.
faboutlaws says
I would imagine that an islamic Archie Bunker would actually carry out all the threats uttered in ignorant jest over the years by the original Archie. Does Reslan actually think that Americans will find beheadings, beatings and honor killings to be hilarious? What a comedian.
Georg says
“Does Reslan actually think that Americans will find beheadings, beatings and honor killings to be hilarious?”
Nope. But he’s just-a thinkin’ ‘n thinkin’ of a way, somehow, to finally convince Americans Muslims aren’t really Muslim. Something’ll stick eventually. Or not.
Champ says
Reza: what a clown!
خَليفة says
I can just see the show starting off with a big family the husband and his 4-wives, 6 sons, and 6 daughters, and a few sex slaves to mix things up. As the season goes on 2 of the sons die in suicide bomb events, and one wife and the 2 eldest daughters are honor killed for being too western.
I’m not sure if this is a family show or a horror show.
citycat says
This soppy pretence is an attention diversion.
The underlying warfaring nature that is inspired by the Qur’an should be looked at, aired, and discussed.
The tyrants of sexuality and survival, who ordain inspiration from the Qur’an, also should be looked at, aired, and discussed.
Georg says
“Which marginalized group began to “feel like a part of the American family” because they were made fun of “All in the Family”? Right-wing racist bigots? Polish hippies who were dubbed “Meathead” by their fathers-in-law?”
Hilarious.
“Spend three minutes with him and you’ll love him.”
Well, this guy obviously enjoys being fooled. What a dork.
Expat88 says
The fact that Reza would even make such comments shows his agenda of trying to “normalize” Islam, as if it is like any other group that could have a TV sitcom made about it.
Denis says
Reza Aslan- The phony Muslim who converted to Christianity then back to Islam. Well Aslan have you looked north into Canada. Their national public TV the CBC carried a program from 2007 to 2012 called the “Little Mosque on the Prairie.” A comedy. Did you see ONE episode, probably not, Its probably in syndication somewhere. It failed miserably to show Islamic life. It had an Imam with no beard, but a pastor with a beard, It had a Muslim who married a non Muslim who converted, and a few other characters. The CBC for the whole series played the politically correct card and never put Islam in nothing but a good light. It was a big lie.
Mark says
Please view share and give a thumbs up to the following documentary, https://youtu.be/t_Qpy0mXg8Y. This would be good for people with any sympathy for Islam.