( CNN ) -- A scholar of world religions writes a book about Jesus . A woman , whose politician husband is caught in a sex scandal twice , decides to stand by him . Nothing out of the ordinary . But two giants of American mainstream media -- one on the right , the other left-of-center -- have come under criticism this week for interpreting the actions of the two through glasses tainted with ethnic slant . A FoxNews.com interview segment was widely derided online when the anchor kept asking author Reza Aslan how a Muslim can write a book about Jesus . While Aslan patiently explains -- repeatedly -- that it 's his scholastic expertise that qualifies him to do so , the anchor presses on with the same question . On the other end , New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd posited in an editorial that Huma Abedin continues to stay by the side of her philandering husband , Anthony Weiner , because of her alleged harsh upbringing in Saudi Arabia . Foxnews.com interview . Aslan spoke to Piers Morgan on Monday night about his experience on Fox . `` Truly , I was kind of embarrassed , '' he said . He felt uncomfortable having to repetitively parade his academic credentials by Fox anchor Lauren Green . `` You really come off as a jerk , when you do that , '' said Aslan , who holds three degrees in religion . He has studied the life of Jesus for 20 years and calls him his `` hero . '' Green seemed wholly uninterested in Aslan 's qualifications . Her first question set the tone for the rest of the conversation , in which she spent nearly 10 minutes casting religious doubt on his motivations for writing the book . `` You 're a Muslim , so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity ? '' The video of the interview went viral , and Green 's reduction of Aslan to his religion triggered a backlash on social media . `` reza aslan 's interview on fox news was so painful to watch , he was basically being interviewed by a wall , '' said @ nimbaaa on Twitter . Some lambasted Green for tenaciously skirting Aslan 's academic credentials , posting satirical comparisons , like this one on Twitter from @ RadhikaMadhani : . `` I 'm a vet who has a Ph.D. in treating animals . Lauren Green : But you 're a human . Reza Aslan : But I have a Ph.D ... '' `` I have a Ph.D. in oceanography , I study the ocean . But you live on land . Yes , but my area of study is the ocean , '' tweeted @ lamaquinapls in the same vein . Critics from established media joined in . The Los Angeles Times called the interview `` strange , '' adding that Green gave Aslan the `` proverbial third degree . '' Slate.com called the interview `` cringe-worthy . '' `` Is This The Most Embarrassing Interview Fox News Has Ever Done ? '' BuzzFeed asked in a headline . Aslan told Morgan that he feels bad for Green . People get emotional , when academics write about their religion , fearing it is being attacked , he said . `` Nothing could be further from the truth . The most important people in my life are Christian -- my wife and my mother , '' he said . Aslan was born a Muslim but felt inspired by Christianity in his youth and converted , as he explains in an essay he wrote for CNN . `` When I was 15 years old , I found Jesus , '' he wrote . He later converted back to Islam , the religion of his ancestors . The Fox interview and subsequent media coverage have garnered his book more attention . On Monday , it was the bestselling title on Amazon . Times article . The New York Times ' ethnic slant was less belabored . It did n't take up a 10-minute segment but instead just one single paragraph . Huma Abedin is a longtime aide of Hillary Clinton . Her husband , Anthony Weiner , has been caught twice sending explicit messages to women on social media . He was recently caught for the second time sending out lewd photos of himself . Abedin pledged her love for him at a news conference . Columnist Maureen Dowd explained Abedin 's decision this way : `` Huma was raised in Saudi Arabia , where women are treated worse by men than anywhere else on the planet . '' First , Abedin is not exactly Saudi Arabian . Her late father was from India ; her mother from Pakistan . She was born in Kalamazoo , Michigan , but the family moved to Saudi Arabia when she was 2 . She moved back to the United States to attend George Washington University . She began her Washington career as a White house intern , before working in Hillary Clinton 's office , when Clinton was first lady . Some could not help but see the irony in the same situation connecting both women , in light of the Monica Lewinsky affair during the presidency of Bill Clinton . `` Commentary on Huma Abedin 's ethnic reasons for standing by her man ignores the fact that her white boss Hillary Clinton did the same # Weiner , '' @ SaeedShah posted to Twitter . Moroccan author and novelist Laila Lalami tweeted : . `` Maureen Dowd : Huma Abedin stands by Anthony Weiner because she was raised in Saudi Arabia . Remind me , where was Hillary Clinton raised ? ''
The New York Times and The New York Times come under fire for ethnic slant . A reporter kept asking author Anthony Weiner 's how a Saudi Arabian can write a book about Jesus . Columnist : Anthony Weiner 's wife stands by him because she 's from Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia has studied Reza Aslan for 20 years and calls him his `` hero ''