I agree with Reza that in the US, the leaders base their ideologies in religion. I agree that there then is hypocrisy from the West when the East does the same thing. But this so-called 'scholar' is missing some fundamental history on Iran and is a little too eager to hear himself talk.

Walking down a New York City street in his floral Dolce & Gabbana shirt, he talks to his agent like an out-of-work actor hoping to make it big one day. He admits that he got the call after 9/11 to cash in on what was going on and he has decided he can be a 'public intellectual'.

'Islam is hot right now, so let me talk about it and I can be on TV.'

Add a fake beard and big words like 'metaphysical contemplation' and Lou Dobbs will eat it UP. How religious is Reza Aslan really and where did the beard come from all of a sudden? Forget the clever agent; the man must have good character designers on his production team.

Reza warns people of a 'cataclysmic event' that will happen some time soon in the Muslim world, sounding part like Mohammad, and part like the 10 o'clock news anchor, scaring you into watching the rest of the show. Sadly, he views himself as a 'first generation Muslim American'.

You know what I think? I think he's spent just a little too much time in the tanning salon in Soho. I also gather he doesn't know much about Persian culture. And from the sound of his 'Ahmadinejad' pronunciation, I am willing to bet his Farsi is not so hot either. 

My advice to the young 'scholar' would be to learn a little about the real Iran. The one that has Jews and Armenians and Zoroastrians in it. The one that wrote an epic about our kings to save our language and our heritage. The place where wine was invented and where people still celebrate Norouz and Mehregan.