Image courtesy of Aslan's website

Fox News received a spate of criticisms after an interview with Reza Aslan - a Muslim religions scholar who recently published a book about the life of Jesus.

In an interview which appeared on FoxNews.com's Spirited Debate, host Lauren Green did not even research on the background of Aslan and could not care less about the contents of Aslan's new book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.

Green even quickly pointed out at the start of the interview that Aslan as a Muslim is writing about Christianity and the life of Jesus. Aslan could not help but defend himself stating his educational background, his PHD and expertise in exploring different topics about religions.

During the interview, the host repeatedly nudged Aslan with questions about his religion. Laureen Green's first question "You're a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?" in which Aslan politely replied ""Well, to be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament, and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades, who also just happens to be a Muslim."

There was even a point when the host insinuated that Aslan is hiding his religion. "Ma'am, the second page of my book says I'm a Muslim," Aslan tells Green "Every single interview I have ever done on TV or in print says I'm a Muslim."

Buzzfeed after the interview called it the "The Most Embarrassing Interview Fox News Has Ever Done". The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum said that "This Fox interview with Reza Aslan is absolutely demented (he handled it with remarkable calm)". Wired Steve Silberman called the interview "embarrassing". Writer Chris Addison noted that "the level of stupidity and ignorance here is bewildering."

An Iranian-American writer, Reza Aslan is a scholar of religions. According to the profile posted in his personal website, Aslan has degrees in Religions from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. An Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he is also a member of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities and the Pacific Council on International Policy.

The website further stated that Aslan's first book is the International Bestseller No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, which has been translated into thirteen languages, and named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade.