In the fall of 2008, Obsession DVDs were distributed to 28 million
swing state voters, trying to build
a distorted picture of international politics to boost the McCain campaign.
bigoted confusion of all Muslims with what Obsession calls
"radical
Islam."
Rebutting Obsession demolishes Obsession's case for fear and bigotry
Obsession falsely claims a direct connection between Hitler's Nazis and "Radical Islam"
Obsession falsely claims that, because of the Jerusalem Mufti's alliance with Hitler
during
World War II, today's violent Muslim fundamentalists are direct heirs of the Nazis.
The truth: many independence movements made
alliances of convenience with Hitler. Those alliances ended with Hitler's defeat.
Obsession bases its false claims about a Nazi legacy on Hitler's dealings with
the Mufti of Jerusalem
Fact: the Palestinian relationship with Hitler ended with the Nazis'
defeat
Through much of the Cold War period that followed World War II, the dominant ideology in the
Palestinian movement, and in the Arab world, was secular nationalism, not religious
fundamentalism.
The Palestinian Islamist movement did not emerge as a leading force until the 1980s.
Obsession unfairly uses the most extreme meaning of Jihad, a word with multiple
meanings
The film shows Dr. Khaleel Mohammed giving the traditional – and most common –
meaning of jihad: an internal struggle against one's own faults.
Then Walid Shoebat says, "Jihad may mean self-struggle...but
so does Mein Kampf," as if to imply that jihad means struggle against the Jews.
Obsession's extremism on Jihad and its intolerance &mdash the back story
Walid Shoebat (left), was exposed by the Jerusalem Post as
falsely
claiming to be an
ex-PLO terrorist.
Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, who offered the traditional meaning
of jihad, has denounced the video as "a vile piece of propaganda."
Howard Gordon, Executive Producer of the TV series, 24, withdrew his endorsement of
Obsession, saying: "The goal of co-existence and tolerance is not being served by films like
Obsession."
Obsession shows separate attacks by fundamentalist Muslims as connected fronts in a single
"war"
Obsession suggests that school hostage takers in Beslan,
Russia were connected to Al Qaeda. But the school was taken over by Chechen rebels,
a nationalist independence movement fighting Chechnya's annexation into Russia.
Obsession often conflates "Arab" and "Muslim,"
even when it shows footage from Iran, a non-Arab country.
Obsession ignores obvious contradictions to its fear-mongering premise of a radical Muslim
monolith
The extent to which conflicts between Muslim sects and national groups
influence politics among Muslims.
The Darfur genocide, which has been committed by a Muslim-dominated
government against fellow Muslims over politics, oil, money and
race – not religion.
Obsession claims Muslim support for "Radical Islam" is enormous
and growing
Self-styled "expert" Daniel Pipes, known to be hostile to Muslims,
asserts 10-15% of that billion "support terrorism."
Obsession never defines "support" and, as it progresses, increasingly seems to be referring
to all Muslims.
Fact: Most Muslims Reject Radical Islam, terrorism
The Pew Global Attitudes Project Poll found:
Majorities in 7 out of 10 Muslim countries disapprove
of terrorism. This is true even among people who disagree politically with policies of the United
States.
The vast majority of Western Muslims reject terrorism
altogether.
Obsession does not distinguish between religious fundamentalism and disapproval of U.S. policy
A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll found that:
Many Iranians have a favorable opinion of Europe,
but disapprove of U.S. policies.
Disapproval of the West is not necessarily sympathy
for violent religious fundamentalism.
Obsession shows Muslims as our internal enemy here in the U.S.
Through a range of images, Obsession portrays Muslims
as subversive
Obsession foments fear of our neighbors by warning of a growing underground of
"minorities" and "immigrants" who may dress and act "like Americans"
but are plotting our destruction.
The film misleads by interspersing images of ordinary American Muslims with those of fringe
extremists and foreign political leaders.
An Alternate Vision
What might a Muslim audience make of the following footage?
Fundamentalist Christian preachers predicting a world given to Jesus Christ along with calls to
"bring the world" to their faith.
Evangelical military chaplains who aver they are going to Iraq to fulfill a Christian mission.
The Oklahoma City bombing, which resulted in over 100 deaths, by white extremist Tim McVeigh.
The firebombed Holocaust Museum in Indiana, on the wall of which was written, "Remember Tim
McVeigh."
The Appropriate Response
We need not become the anti-Muslim bigots that Obsession wants us to be!
Some violent Muslim fundamentalists believe they
are engaged in a holy war against the West. Our government must
not allow them to carry out their murderous agenda.
But most U.S. Muslims oppose terrorism and aspire
to be part of our pluralist society, why should we give in to Obsession-inspired hysteria
and be terrified of them?