making several other sweeping generalizations about the faith." Aslan was reported as saying that "To say 'Muslim countries', as though Pakistan and Turkey are the same ... it's frankly, and I use this word seriously, stupid!" His criticism was not just of Maher, but of the way Muslims are portrayed in mainstream media. Prachi Gupta, in Salon, wrote that Aslan believed that the U.S. was partnering with Saudi Arabia while simultaneously condemning ISIS. On October 8, 2014, The New York Times published an article by Aslan, "Bill Maher Isn't the Only One Who Misunderstands Religion". In it, Aslan wrote, "Bill Maher is right to condemn religious practises that violate fundamental human rights. Religious communities must do more to counter extremist interpretations of their faith. But failing to recognize that religion is embedded in culture—and making a blanket judgment about the world's second largest religion—is simply bigotry." In The New Republic, Eric Sasson took issue with Aslan's claim in the CNN interview that men and women are treated equally in Indonesia and Turkey due to the countries having elected female leaders, pointing out that the Human Rights Watch reported a "significant rollback" of women's rights in both countries. Sasson also challenged Aslan's claim that female genital mutilation is a problem only in central Africa, saying that it's also an issue in the predominantly Muslim country of Malaysia. The television and radio host David Pakman also cast doubt on some of Aslan's claims from the interview. Sam Harris criticized Aslan for blaming individuals rather than Islam as a whole for violence in the Muslim world, calling his approach "post-modernist nonsense." Personal life Aslan and his ex-fiancée, journalist Amanda Fortini, ended their engagement in 2008. He married entrepreneur and author Jessica Jackley, a Christian, in 2011, forming an interfaith family. They have three sons. His aunt is the Iranian-American pop singer Leila Forouhar. Aslan is a fan of the professional football team the Las Vegas Raiders. Awards 2014 Intersections Honoree, Intersections International 2013 Media Bridge-Builder Award, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding 2013 Peter J. Gomes Memorial Honor, Harvard Divinity School 2012 East–West Media Award, The Levantine Center Publications "The Struggle for Islam's Soul", in Will Marshall (ed.), With All Our Might: A Progressive Strategy for Defeating Jihadism and Defending Liberty, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006. "From Here to Mullahcracy", in Lila Azam Zanganeh (ed.), My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard