Extreme competition in the media industry necessitates each news provider to set themselves apart from their competitors in some way. Some choose to do so through content quality or regions covered, or most commonly in big corporation news, through having some sort of political bias. Occasionally a news group will go too far in the attempt to set themselves apart, bringing ridicule and scorn down upon themselves.

To those of left-wing or center thinking (and even many right-winged thinkers), Fox News has proven itself to be the most outrageously extreme conservative news source out there. Its most recent and very amusing blunder is its blatantly bigoted questioning of writer and historian Reza Aslan, author of newly published “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth”.

Lauren Green, host of Fox’s online show “Spirited Debate”, conducted a nearly 10 minute interview with Aslan, who appeared on the show in order to promote his book. Though probably expecting to be questioned about the content of his new work, Aslan was instead met with a barrage of questions concerning why he would write the book.

Because you see, Green was less interested in Aslan’s scholarly qualifications as she was in his Muslim faith.

The very first question posed by Green was, “You’re a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?”

With an audible note of irritation in his tone, Aslan 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.”

Throughout the rest of the interview, Green continues to ask the same or similar questions, stubbornly puzzling over why a Muslim would write such a book. Aslan is forced to remind her over and over again of his qualifications as an academic and historian, reinforcing that his faith has nothing to do with his scholarly findings.

Fox News is not alone in being a news source widely mocked by the public, but the gaffes made by big name news have more value than the brief laughs they create. For groups like Fox News to still have a following, there have to be viewers who agree with the opinions and information presented. What this means is that the root of the problem is not Fox or Green’s “Spirited Debate” but rather much larger: A sizable chunk of the U.S. populace.

Green’s disbelief that a Muslim man could write an unbiased piece about Christianity shows that many people have a warped view of the Muslim community. For some, the knowledge that Aslan was of Islamic faith was enough for them to categorize him as a person.

However, the truth is that no person should be defined by their beliefs, whether they be atheistic, Christian or Muslim. One of Aslan’s counters in the interview is the suggestion that if a Christian man can write about Muslims, then why can’t a Muslim write about Christians? In short, an individual’s qualifications are not confined by faith.

One response to Fox News’s embarrassing interview has been to make the video go viral, as has already been done by hundreds of indignant bloggers. However, bringing the interview to the public’s attention is hardly a solution. If the problem lies not with Fox but rather with the general public, then a true solution is a widened awareness of the Muslim faith and Islamic principles.

Blind fear and mistrust of Muslims has been a theme in the U.S. since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, it is time the public lets go of its unwarranted hate and bias toward all members of the Islamic faith.

The re-education of America’s public is not going to happen overnight. In the meantime, go watch the interview and have a chuckle. Aslan himself may be doing the same, as the outrage and ridicule surrounding the interview have boosted “Zealot” to a top spot on Amazon book sales.