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Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West

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Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West
Directed byWayne Kopping
Written byWayne Kopping
Raphael Shore
Produced byPeter Mier
Raphael Shore
Release date
September 2007
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic
French
Budget$250,000

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, also called Obsession, is a 2006 documentary movie about Islamist teachings and goals which uses extensive Arab and Iranian television footage.[1] Obsession compares the threat of radical Islamism with that of Nazism before World War II,[2] and draws parallels between radical Islamists and the Nazi Party during the War, specifically Adolf Hitler's relationship with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem as an inspiration for radical Islamic movements in the Middle East today.

The film features analysis by counter-terrorism figures such as Nonie Darwish (the daughter of a Fedayeen soldier), Alan M. Dershowitz, Steven Emerson, Brigitte Gabriel, Martin Gilbert, Caroline Glick, Alfons Heck, Glen Jenvey, John Loftus, Salim Mansur, Itamar Marcus, Khaleel Mohammed, Daniel Pipes, Tashbih Sayyed, Walid Shoebat, Khaled Abu Toameh, Robert Wistrich and interviews with Israeli officials and a former PLO operative.

Public screening

Segments of the documentary have aired on CNN Headline News,[3] and Fox News.[4] The documentary has been screened on 30 major US campuses including Hofstra, Pace, USC, UCLA and NYU.[3]

Congressional screening

In December, 2006, U.S. Representatives Eric Cantor (R-VA), Chief Deputy Majority Whip, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) co-sponsored a screening of the film on Capitol Hill. Cantor's cousin and Wasserman's constituent Daniel Cantor Wultz was murdered by an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber.[5]

Campus screening

After a showing on November 13 at the University of Florida, a forum sponsored by Law School Republicans read: "Radical Islam Wants You Dead" prompted Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president of student affairs, to call for an apology for "promoting a negative stereotype".[6] Law professor Steven Willis, faculty adviser for the Law School Republicans, who sponsored the film, responded, "Your arguments about 'diversity' and 'responsibility' and 'divisiveness' are irrelevant to that fundamental issue: The actions are protected speech and you have no right - in your "official" capacity - to censure them, either before or after the fact. Indeed, you have the obligation not to do so," he said.[6] The call for an apology was quickly responded to by Florida's Attorney General and House Majority Leader. Both claimed the university was completely out of line and stifled free speech on campus. Afterwords the University rescinded its call for apology. In a Dec. 13 editorial, the Tampa Tribune called for Patricia Telles-Irvin, "the overly sensitive vice president of student affairs," to resign.[6]

Mail and newspaper distribution

In September 2008, the Clarion Fund distributed DVDs of the film by mail,[7] and in newspaper advertising supplements, predominantly in swing states.[8]

The Huffington Post called the Clarion Fund:"a shadowy outfit whose financial backers are unclear"

Newspapers carrying the DVD included The New York Times, The Charlotte Observer, The Miami Herald, and the Raleigh News & Observer.[9]

According to a News & Observer blog post, whether the advertisement should be accepted was discussed, but publisher Orage Quarles made the "ultimate decision". The newspaper's vice president of display advertising noted, "Obviously, we have distributed other product samples, whether it's cereal or toothpaste."[10]

Many of the newspapers carrying the DVD also published articles about the film, including the Allentown, Pa. Morning Call,[11] the Charlotte Observer,[12] the Fort Myers, Florida News-Press,[13] and the Raleigh, N.C. News & Observer.[14]

Criticism

The movie misquotes a Palestinian school book. When the school book correctly explains what racism is (notably institutionalized racism), ending with giving two examples of it (Nazism and Zionism), the English translation instead claims that the text says that Jihad will defeat all other religions[15]. Unless they wish to claim that the school book was issued by Muslim extremists, they thus contradict their assertion that the movie is not directed against Islam. Given the inaccuracies and the presentation (starting with a long series of video footage from terrorist attacks carried out by purported extremist Muslims) the impression it leaves is that it is designed expressly to influence the U.S. elections.

See also

Similar documentaries

References

  1. ^ "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West". imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  2. ^ "The Threat to Western Civilization". ctsastl.org. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  3. ^ a b "Film's View of Islam Stirs Anger on Campuses". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  4. ^ "Documentary Portrays Islamic Extremists' Call to Arms Against the Free World". Fox News Channel. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2008-09-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Reps. Cantor, Wasserman Schultz Statement on Capitol Hill Screening of "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West"". 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  6. ^ a b c "Suppressing Speech On Campus Hurts University's Prestige". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  7. ^ Cassidy, Carrie (2008-09-11). "Some see politics in terrorism DVDs". PennLive.com. The Patriot-News. Retrieved 2008-09-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ William E. Jackson, Jr. (2008-09-13). "Delivering Propaganda, As If It is Toothpaste". Editor & Publisher. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  9. ^ Greg Mitchell (2008-09-13). "Newspapers Deliver Millions of 'Terror' DVDs to Subscribers -- In 'Swing States'". Editor & Publisher. Retrieved 2008-09-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "N&O subscribers to receive Islam DVD". Under the Dome. The News & Observer. 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-09-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Drobnyk, Josh (2008-09-13). "Is DVD a wake-up call or propaganda?". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  12. ^ Funk, Tim (2008-09-13). "Muslims rap DVD ad in Observer". The Charlotte Observer. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Myers, Rachel (2008-09-14). "DVD inside The News-Press controversial". news-press.com. Fort Myers, Florida: The News-Press. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  14. ^ Shimron, Yonat (2008-09-13). "Controversial film on Islam delivered nationwide". The News & Observer. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  15. ^ "Obsession Watch". Retrieved 2008-09-17.
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