In a world where very little seems to shock people anymore, devouring what is described as part of a human brain, albeit charred to a crisp, is enough to shock many folks, even if the alleged brain-eating is described as part of a religious exercise. Perhaps, especially so.
Such is the lot of Reza Aslan, who has parlayed making outrageous utterances about religion into a career of “explaining” faith to the rest of us. Aslan – not to be confused with The Chronicles of Narnia hero – is (surprise, surprise) fronting a new series on CNN, “Believer.” In this series, viewers must understand that Aslan “immerses himself in the world’s most fascinating faith-based groups to experience life as a true believer.”
Eric Hoffer this ain’t. Which is where the alleged brain-munching comes in: Aslan devours what he described as barbecued gray matter on the first episode. He says he did this on a visit to the Aghori, a Hindu sect in India regarded as, well, rather iconoclastic. Aghoris reject the caste system, among other things, it’s reported.
This caused no little excitement for more mainstream Hindus around the globe, which brought it to the attention of a general assignment reporter for The Washington Post:
A story on The Atlantic magazine’s website brings in other dissenting voices:
That same Atlantic article, which examined other episodes, noted that Aslan tends to contrast extremists within a particular religion with more rational actors: there are Aghoris who aren’t cannibals, but who are charitable. Along with ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel who seek near-constant ecstasy, there are more traditional ones, and so on. Yin and yang, so to speak.
As the magazine notes:
The “going up in flames” reference is to the many global problems posed by sincere religious belief, the Atlantic writer posits, including – wait for it! – “the 81 percent of white evangelicals who voted for Trump despite his attacks on vulnerable minorities like Muslims and immigrants?”
Can there be nothing in the present mass-media age that isn’t tinged by Trumpism? #AskingForAFriend
A more dispassionate observer might ask whether or not Aslan has anything to do with the alleged flame-throwing. After all, he begins a series on “true believers” with possibly the most incendiary example of extreme religious devotion he found, however obscure. There are millions and millions of devout believers who wouldn’t identify with the Aghori, but there they are, front and center, courtesy of Aslan and his producers.
Being a provocateur is nothing new for Aslan, however, and that is the journalistic angle most media outlets miss. Even the Washington Post only hints at it by linking from the brain-eating story to a years-earlier takedown of Aslan’s alleged scholarship in religion, beginning with an anecdote about a young Reza posing as Mexican during a time when Iranian-Americans were not in vogue. It’s a story worth returning to:
Nor is “Believer” Aslan’s first attempt at pouring journalism gasoline on a subject and lighting a match. Is this the story here?
Having claimed a Christian experience as a teenager while attending an evangelical youth retreat, Aslan later returned to Islam. He later wrote a book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,”the contents of which many sincere Christian readers might have difficulty relating to the Jesus of Scripture. Disclosure: I was very much one of those doubters, and remain one now.
Let’s sum it up: There is plenty of information online about Aslan’s background, his work and his worldview. Where are the journalists, then, asking Aslan about his claimed background of religious scholarship, his earlier polemic against traditional Christian faith and whether or not he’s doing anything more than sensationalizing religion for ratings in his new series?
Such reporting would give readers more to, ahem, chew on.