Obsession: Documented Terror
By Joe Mariani (03/28/06)
The documentary "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" is a film that every person who isn't a radical Islamic fascist (or who doesn't aspire to live under shari'a law) ought to see. Those who think it's possible to negotiate with terrorists will have their worldview shaken, and those who think they understand the enemy will learn something new about how deeply true hatred can run.
Using footage taken from television broadcasts most of us never get to see, and interviews with those who have studied or lived with radical Islam, Obsession gives the viewer a glimpse into the lifelong anti-Semitic, anti-American hate propaganda Muslims are subjected to on a daily basis. From birth, they receive indoctrination through television, schools, mosques, books and newspapers. In some ! Middle Eastern countries, most people never get to hear an opposing point of view. Despite this, the majority of Muslims are not Islamic fanatics, as Obsession takes the time to point out... but those who are -- those who swallow the proselytism -- pose a terrible danger to the entire world.
The purpose of Islamic terrorists is to enslave the entire world under fundamentalist Muslim rule, making every country on Earth resemble Afghanistan under the Taliban as far as personal freedoms and rights are concerned. In short: none for men, and less for women. They dream of replacing our Constitution with the Qur'an, our cherished freedoms with shari'a law, and our democratically elected leaders ! with imams. Their leaders make frequent speeches preaching these aims and praising mass murderers. We in the West like to pretend that it's only rhetoric, but it's long past time we take the enemy at their literal word. Every day, they tell us exactly what their intentions are, openly and unapologetically, and we do almost nothing to prevent them from making new converts to their cause. In fact, they use our media and our own values, like our tolerance for different religions and viewpoints and our freedom of speech, against us. We have been too naive, too trusting in the hope that exposure to our way of life would soften the hatred the radicals feel.
Obsession makes clear to the viewer the similarities between radical Islam and Naziism -- another fanatical ideology, based on hatred, bent on world domination. Appeasers then, like now, thought they could deal rationally with the enemy by acceding to their demands. Just as Neville Chamberlain gave Hitler the Sudetenland in a futile attempt to buy peace, Israel gave the Palestinians Gaza to buy peace... and with the same basic result. In fact, the terror group Hamas, which is specifically committed to the death of all Jews, was elected to head the Palestinian government. Appeasement only shows weakness, and weakness only emboldens this enemy.
I saw the Philadelphia premiere of Obsession with Skye, and we found ourselves gripped by the graphic exposition of radical Islam's nature, history, motives and intentions. The sold out 800-seat auditorium was almost completely silent during the film, except for the occasional disbelieving gasp or saddened murmur. One reference to Hollywood's attitude of moral equivalence did merit a derisive chuckle, however. The most shocking parts of the movie were the many videos of children, taught the ideology of pure hatred in madrassa schools and mosques and even their homes all over the world. One little girl -- no more than seven or eight -- chanted, voice shaking and eyes blazing with hate, about her desire to strap on a suicide vest and blow up Jews for Allah. When the teacher -- for this was a school lesson -- praised her dedication, I couldn't tell whether I felt more like c! rying or vomiting.
I wasn't the only one sickened by that and many other scenes -- scenes repeated daily wherever radical Islam has taken root in the world, even here in America. In 2003, Alex Alexiev of the Center for Security Policy testified before Congress that "the Saudis have built over 1500 mosques, 210 Islamic centers, 202 Islamic colleges and 2000 schools for educating Muslims in non-Muslim countries. Most of these institutions continue to be on the Saudi payroll for substantial yearly donations assuring that Wahhabi control is not likely to weaken any time soon." Stephen Schwartz of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies testified that radical Islam's "influence extends to prison and military chaplaincies, Islamic elementary and secondary schools (academies), college campus activity, endowment of academic chairs and programs in Middle ! East studies, and most notoriously, charities ostensibly helping Muslims abroad, many of which have been linked to or designated as sponsors of terrorism."
My only criticism of the film was one of omission. The documentary detailed the ties between the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Nazis, and discussed the Muslim SS troops raised in Bosnia. Yet the filmmakers neglected to mention that the Mufti (Haj Amin el-Husseini, Yasser Arafat's uncle) acted as a go-between for Muslim Brotherhood leader Hassan al-Banna and Hitler. Their similar hatreds and aims drew them together. The Muslim Brotherhood even acted as a branch of Nazi intelligence during the war. It seems to me that a more direct link between Naziism and present-day terrorism cou! ld have been drawn here, as the Muslim Brotherhood gave rise to Hamas in 1987 and was a seminal influence in the formation of al-Qaeda.
If you want to learn more about the enemy we face, make sure you see Obsession. More information can be found at http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/
http://guardian.blogdrive.com/archive/cm-03_cy-2006_m-03_d-27_y-2006_o-0.html
(Printer friendly version) Email: Joe Mariani
