The Fog Is Not Lifting: New DVD Whitewashes Islamism
A video being distributed to counter Obsession is nothing but Islamist propaganda.
Moreover, it is counterproductive for Muslim groups like the Bridges Foundation and so-called thought leaders like Professor Safi to support a proselytizing video of Salafist ideology in today’s post-9/11 climate, where moderate Muslims and non-Muslims battle against the root of Islamist terror, the ideology of political Islam. Even Khalilah Sabra with the Islamists at the Muslim American Society thought it obvious that the DVD “doesn’t address the real concerns people have about Islam.” It leaves out any discussion whatsoever of political Islam (Islamism), terrorism, and the root cause of both: militant Islamism (radicalized political Islam).
What seems to be missing in the debate is a candid effort to separate spiritual Islam from political Islam, which was at the heart of the DVD Obsession. The spirituality within Islam demands that Muslims assume the responsibility of tackling the root cause of terror which is perpetrated in Islam’s name. Any effort that fails to recognize and address the slippery slope that political Islam presents misses the mark and calls into question its intentions.
Consider the Bridges Foundation itself. Founded in Egypt, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam as envisioned by its founders, Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna, should the Bridges Foundation not be speaking out against the grand design of the Brotherhood?
This isn’t likely when one considers its director, Fadel Soliman, who is also the main narrator in the DVD. Soliman is a former national chaplain of a Saudi-based charity named the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) in Northern Virginia. According to the Washington Post, in May 2004, WAMY was shut down in a raid by the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in connection with a terrorism investigation. In addition, the U.S. branch of WAMY was founded in 1992 by Osama bin Laden’s nephew, Abdullah bin Laden, whose connections with WAMY were suspect.
The Post notes, “An affidavit signed by Customs Senior Special Agent David Kane contends that a WAMY publication lists people who have attacked Israelis, including a man who killed 14 people by driving a bus off a cliff, as ‘heroes from Palestine.’” Moreover, the same affidavit states that the document also claims that “Jews are humanity’s enemies: they foment immorality in the world.”
Given this background, the distribution of the DVD now takes on a whole different meaning. Despite its somewhat innocuous message to “educate and inform,” the sources of the DVD, and more importantly producers’ intentions, cannot be wholly discounted.
All of a sudden, one realizes that the fog has not lifted. In fact, it has gotten much thicker. The media did not do a thorough investigation into the ideology behind the DVD and its distributors with even a portion of the fervor it demonstrated with the fall release of the Obsession DVD. I guess the media is in the fog as well.
<- Prev Page 2 of 2
Sid Shahid is the director of research and publications for the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). He can be reached at sid@aifdemocracy.org. Research for this article was conducted under the auspices of Islamist Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum.
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
18 Comments
1. Proud_Kafir7908:“It’s a full-throated defense of the tradition in which Islam is presented as the perfect egalitarian, scientific, pluralistic, modern religion that doesn’t have the flaws of all the other religions. … It remains to be seen if it will be seen as preaching to the choir, or if it will succeed in persuading people outside the Muslim community.”
Let’s briefly go over those claims of egalitarianism and pluralism… How can we square that with the persecution of non-mahoundian minorities in every single damn mahound-worshiping naiton on this planet? How about a woman being worth half a man, according to mahoundianism’s insane tenets and its sharia? How about how Arabs refer to blacks, even mahoundian ones, as ‘abd’ and ‘abed’, the singular and plural forms of the word SLAVE in Arabic? On egalitarianism and pluralism, islam/mahoundianism fails.
As for the claims that islam/mahoundianism is a “scientific” religion, let’s have another look at Pajamas Media’s “Obama Flunks History at Cairo U”:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-flunks-history-at-cairo-u/
“The reason Muslims never developed fundamental physics is because the leading Muslim theologians declared the idea of fixed physical laws to be heretical. The Qur’an (verse 6:64) states: “The Jews have said, ‘God’s hand is fettered.’ Fettered are their hands, and they are cursed for what they have said. Nay, but His hands are outspread; He expends how He will.” The standard Muslim interpretation of this passage has been that there cannot be unchanging physical laws because Allah may change the laws at any moment. In 1982, the Institute for Policy Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan, criticized a chemistry textbook by saying: “There is latent poison present in the subheading Energy Causes Changes because it gives the impression that energy is the true cause rather than Allah. Similarly it is unIslamic to teach that mixing hydrogen and oxygen automatically produces water. The Islamic way is this: when atoms of hydrogen approach atoms of oxygen, then by the Will of Allah water is produced.” The implication is clear: next week, Allah may change his mind about water being a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. With this sort of worldview, how could one possibly be a scientist?”
On the test to check whether or not mahoundianism is a “scientific” faith, the grade is an F too.
As for mahoundianism’s compatibility or (lack thereof) with modernity, do we need to go there too? Puh-lease…
The fact is that all of these claims to mahoundianism’s tolerance, modernity, egalitarianism, pluralism and science are nothing but baseless lies, and products of both conspiracy theories and a self-image which has never stood the test of criticism, which only mahoundians and their Western apologists believe in. The problem with the distribution of this “foggy” DVD is that it might lead those more ignorant among us to start believing in those outrageous lies as well.
Jul 5, 2009 - 3:34 am 2. Perry:The media is all too ready to criticize the pro-Judeo-Christian position and to provide cover for the Muslim position.
The American media and the American Constitution are Islam’s “Trojan Horses”.
Jul 5, 2009 - 6:00 am 3. tennesseebob:Dear Mr. Sahid,
You wrote:
“The spirituality within Islam demands that Muslims assume the responsibility of tackling the root cause of terror which is perpetrated in Islam’s name.”
Can you quote verses from the Quran that back up that statement?
If so, do those same verses also appear in what I have heard is the Wahabi version of the Quran?
Thank you
Jul 5, 2009 - 7:33 am 4. joeblough:If Americans can simply remain mindful of their own common sense and self respect this sort of crap is a non-starter.
It does not require a PHD in political science and a 200 IQ to figure out that the 9/11 attacks, the 7/7 attacks, the MAdrid train attack, the Mumbai murders, the various secessionist and racist wars around the world, and miscellaneous mohammedan murderousness on daily display are not the work of placid benign people, nor the work of a “tiny minority of extremists” who lack popular support and backing.
It is self-evidently the work of a global movement that shares an ideology and orientation grounded in mohammedanism and which enjoys widespread popular support, or at least passive acceptance by mohammedans around the world.
This is NOT hard to figure out.
Jul 5, 2009 - 11:01 am 5. Winston Churchill:Remember the Palistinian women dancing in the street as the towers on 9/11 collapsed.
Jul 5, 2009 - 11:16 am 6. tanstaafl:That’s what we are dealing with.
Yes, joeblough, a cursory glance at the near daily atrocities committed in the name of Islam, it’s not hard to figure out at all…no matter how many DVD’s the “Bridges Foundation” fabricates and distributes…
The Religion of Peace
Jul 5, 2009 - 6:31 pm 7. Jeffrey:Dear North Carolinians:
Please tell the Islamofascists to go home. Don’t but their lying garbage about being a friendly religion. The religion of Islam is the antichrist religion for they deny Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Yes they have even written it down that way. Oh they will say Jesus was a prophet and so was Moses and what’s his name their so called prophet. Islam is a religion of hate. They hate the people of the book (Jews and Christians) and will never recognize Israel as a state or nation or even their right to exist. The idea that we can cohabitate with a hateful religion will cause us all severe pain as is evidenced around the world now and was very evident here in 2001. They kill Christians by the thousands in Africa and the world does nothing. What makes you so different? That we have ever allowed Jimmy Carter or others broker false peace agreements or the UN to stand idly by has only prolonged this world wide disaster and is an abomination before God. Murderers of women and children deserve the penalty now. Their judgment is just before God. Yet we negotiate with them. Know your enemies and don’t take your eyes off of them for they seek your destruction.
Jul 6, 2009 - 12:14 am 8. mcfly:Now even your president seeks to appease the evil ones all around the world. We must wonder if he is selling us for some favor or just because he hates us for clinging to the Bible and our guns. The president of the United States is not your friend. Of course this is not condemning all of those who follow Islam for God is still able to save a few but there are enough radicals that the innocents in this religion will have no restraining effect.
Jesus has overcome the wicked one. This you must believe and stand upon. Stand tall North Carolina.
there is no separation between political islam & spiritual islam
while the competing DVD is undoubtedly full of shit – most Islamic propaganda is – what is AIFD’s motive in shooting it down? So they can sell more of their movies? so the handful of muslims at AIFD can get rich?
Why on earth would AIFD be quoting Khalida Sabra of MAS? MAS is a Muslim Brotherhood founded group and Sabra was recruited to Pakistan by bin Ladens mentor (according to previous N&O story) – that is certainly not someone to trust – she’s been trained in all aspects of deceit and warfare against unbelievers…
Jul 6, 2009 - 5:20 am 9. The Infidel Alliance:If these Islamists are going to “repair the image of Islam”, they have to start by admitting that their “prophet” Muhammed was a sadistic murdering sociopath, a decapitating, amputating, mutilating, torturing, stealing, raping, slaving, sex trafficking, child raping, lying, looting, self proclaimed terrorist, motivated by lust, greed & power.
How do start repairing the “image” of Islam, when the “prophet” of Islam was such an absolutely vile, repugnant human being whom they must revere?
Islam has “the flaws of all the other religions”??? Ok…let’s just accept that, whatever they are. But Islam has more, bigger “flaws” that the others don’t have…like the mandate to kill, convert and subjugate all the “infidels” of Dar al-Harb.
“The spirituality within Islam demands that Muslims assume the responsibility of tackling the root cause of terror which is perpetrated in Islam’s name.” The root cause of Islamic terror is its barbarian prophet Muhammed
Please help “repair the image of Islam” by spreading the truth about Muhammed.
~ The Infidel Alliance
Jul 6, 2009 - 6:47 am 10. MarkKruse:I’m not sure if our society has even a remote idea what we are really facing. The Muslims are tough, determined, clear in their mission and committed to victory in the form of building an Islamic society wherever they are. Their populations are young and growing rapidly. In the time it takes me to write this note, the average Muslim woman has probably had a child or two, while the average white western female had an abortion. The Muslims have fought this war of both direct combat and demographics for over a thousand years and have made a tremendous territorial progress. They have remained the force of Nature, while we have degenerated to being driven by disjointed musings of liberal academics. At this time, if things continue the same way, the prospects for our civilization look rather dismal.
Jul 6, 2009 - 2:19 pm 11. al Rassooli:MarkKruse (#10): I wholeheartedly agree with you – the complacent West in general (and it’s vague, often well meaning and almost always self-defeating and hypocritical “liberals” in particular) really have no idea what they are up against!
There is an excellent, and extremely unusual short movie made (surprisingly enough) by three ex-Muslims women and entitled “Rejecting Islam”. Part way thru this movie is an amusing but chilling animation illustrating “Birth-rate Jihad” (as this intentional demographic shift is sometimes known)… Well worth seeing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JTXF_ak-NE
For those who are interested we’ve posted a page of information about the movie at http://www.al-rassooli.com/movie
Kind Regards,
Jul 6, 2009 - 3:50 pm 12. al Rassooli:al Rassooli
Anybody who seriously imagines that Islam is, and I quote;
“the perfect egalitarian, scientific, pluralistic,
modern religion that doesn’t have the flaws of all
the other religions”
either knows nothing about it, has been completely immersed from birth in a culture of denial and brainwashing (as hundreds of millions of people routinely are under the system of Sharia) or is merely a sadly deluded fool (and who has never studied history, science or philosophy).
Having been born in Iraq, and growing up speaking Arabic, I’ve had ample opportunity to study every aspect of Islam and the system of Sharia close-up and in minute detail. Indeed for the last 25 years or so I have concentrated my studies & researches specifically on the subjects of Muhammad’s Quran, his Sunna, Ahadith & Tafsir (again all based on these texts read in ARABIC, my mother tongue).
For the last two years or so I have been steadily recording and uploading to YouTube a comprehensive series of short talks (typically about 8 – 9 minutes each) covering every aspect of Islam and the thoughts, motives and behaviour of it’s believers (whom for reasons I explain early on in the series I call Muhammadan Muslims).
Rather than elaborate further I’d be delighted to share all of this information with you – the more who listen and respond the better. I’m still eagerly awaiting the day when a genuinely knowledgeable “Islamic Cleric” or “scholar” is able to successfully refute even a small part of my findings (it would be a very great relief to me if it turn out that Islam was not quite as bad as it really does currently appear – under scrutiny – to be).
So far not a single person has.
You need only read the many comments on my channel from Muhammadan Muslims to realise just how desperate they are to silence any discussion and stifle any knowledge about their perverse and despicable system of bigoted and illogical beliefs. At the same time you will see just how ill equipped they all are in holding even the most rudimentary conversation or dialogue on the subject – all they can manage are an endless incoherent babble of threats and obscenities (contrasting markedly from the many well informed and perfectly literate comments posted by everyone else).
I cordially invite you all to visit my channel – listen to my talks and tear them all apart!
http://www.youtube.com/user/AhmadsQuran3
with a full index (for ease of navigation) on my own website
http://www.al-rassooli.com/ahmadsquran3
With Kind Regards,
Jul 6, 2009 - 3:52 pm 13. Abdullah:Ibn al Rassooli
It is good that Sid Shahid exposes this whitewash of Islamism, and I hope that his article will be given wide publicity. That said, there is still one major flaw. Shahid writes: “It leaves out any discussion whatsoever of political Islam (Islamism), terrorism, and the root cause of both: militant islamism.” This itself is a whitewash — of Islam, itself. The root cause of political Islam and terrorism are the Koran and the hadith. There is no way to separate “spiritual Islam” from “political Islam” because both of them are firmly anchored in the Koran and the sayings of Muhammad. Sid Shahid cannot take “political Islam” out of Islam no matter how much he would like to do so. Whitewashing Islam will not help us to solve the problem with “political Islam”.
Jul 7, 2009 - 12:33 pm 14. jamil hanna:In Berlin, inside the court and in front of the judge and the police and other judicaries a fanatic German citizen stabbed a Moslem woman Marwa Alsharbini an Egyptian ,until death.It is certainly a crime but can we say that because he is Christian he has committed this crime ,definitly no Hetler was Christian and criminal .Do not my friends generalise your judgements about Islam. What the western media introduces is terrorism but it is not at all .Do you remember that Islam coexisted 14 centuries with Christanity and Judism peacefully and still in the levant.
Jul 8, 2009 - 9:43 am 15. Paul -Indiana:What we read from racials and fanatic is not strange but it is important to draw the attention of free and democratic people to the danger of these allegations.
“the DVD aims to “repair the image of Islam”
Jul 8, 2009 - 12:43 pm 16. Paul -Indiana:==============
Too late. We have access to the Koran and aHadith.
“.Do you remember that Islam coexisted 14 centuries with Christanity and Judism peacefully and still in the levant.
Jul 8, 2009 - 12:44 pm 17. jamil hanna:”
================
You can’t count Dhimmitude as peaceful.
Hello who is Dhimmitude? and what do you count 2 centuries of Euoropean (Crusade) invasions to the Levant which in spite of them the coexistence is lasted till now and still?.What threatens this coexistence is the stupid war in Iraq and Washington support of the Wahhabi rejime in Saudi Arabia which still produces terrorists as Al Qaeda and other suicide attackers in Iraq. The US MUST stop misleading about Islam and cheating by supporting the Wahhabis which are the cultural source of Alqaeda and terrorism.
Jul 9, 2009 - 6:13 pm 18. Historyscoper:As history ignoramus Western govts. allow mass Muslim immigration followed by Muslim disinformation campaigns, remaining a history ignoramus any longer is getting dangerous. Too bad, the school system hasn’t responded. Never fear, there is one place you can get a free lesson on the key facts of the rise and spread of the mental AIDS of Islam to catch up quick, click the url.
Oct 22, 2009 - 11:50 am