Having accepted an offer to view and post on Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West as part of a new round of promotion for the film, I was also afforded an opportunity to speak with Gregory Ross, Director of Communications for Clarion Fund. They are beginning to publicize Watch Obsession Week, scheduled to take place September 8th - 12th.
I also learned of some new developments - a new anti-radical Islam website for political activists and another film set to wrap just next week. I summarized the talk and announcements in a companion item here. What follows is my review/reaction piece after having viewed Obsession.
Men Gather And They Pray
As you read this, men gather ... and they pray. Usually bearded, often be-robed, one of their most fervent and consistent prayers calls for you to die. Ultimately, it is the demise of your way of life for which they probably pray the most. But, of course, you know all that nonsense can't really be the truth.
No doubt the 3,000 or so innocents who perished on 9/11 knew it couldn't be true. And the three-hundred-plus hostages of Beslan - 186 of them children - now all dead, probably would have agreed. In fact, I'd wager the majority of an ever growing, already seemingly endless list of innocents, dead from unexpected encounters with Radical Islam, probably knew it wasn't possible to be hated so much for the sin of simply being alive.
In reality, perhaps what is most difficult, if not impossible, is to try and comprehend such an evil hatred when one doesn't actually feel it themselves. Fortunately, Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against The West gives one a clear-eyed, non-inflammatory look into just what Radical Islam is all about. Short on sensationalism, long on information, Obsession is a must view.
In the end, I suppose we'll never really know exactly what, or how any of the innocents mentioned above felt or thought of Radical Islam, ... after all, none of them escaped alive to tell us. Had they viewed Clarion Fund's Obsession, they at least might have recognized the face of the insidious and spreading evil that so randomly took their lives.
In hindsight, perhaps they, like so many in the West, didn't really think of Radical Islam much at all. And, that, more than any other single factor, might have been precisely what contributed most to their tragic end. And it is also the best argument in recommending that you take the time to view Obsession.
From Spain, to London, to Kenya and Bali - it simply can't be true that someone would want all those innocent people killed. However, in reality, they had all offended Radical Islam ... just as surely as you regularly provoke and offend Radical Islam today.
If you take the time to watch the film and are intellectually honest, you must admit to yourself that it is indeed true that radical Islamists (estimated to be approximately 15% of the world's 1.2 Billion Muslims) seek to destroy your life, or at least the way you live it. Otherwise, you must turn your head dismissively in a sort of security-seeking ignorance because you cannot stand to comprehend, or even simply entertain the bedeviling notion that you have antagonized the deadly extremists of Radical Islam the way you have.
The provocative and antagonistic actions toward Islam of which I speak and you have already been found guilty are not proactive in nature - not at all. You are guilty simply for being you. In Obsession, the images, video and audio of Radical Islamists in their own environment, expressing their own thoughts in their own words makes the fact that they wish to destroy you frighteningly clear. You offend them simply by living and thinking freely, ... classically-liberal, or Westernized, if you will.
And when faced with such antagonism, it is not compromise and accommodation the radical Islamist desires, nor is that something they are prepared to accept. That is clearly expressed in Obsession by them, not by Christian, Jewish, or even Muslim analysts and scholars. Comity with you, the West, our way of life, is simply not an acceptable result.
If, as current American President George W. Bush pronounced, 9/11 was not an act of terrorism but an act of war, then you too commit little but not unnoticed acts of war against radical Islam every day you wake, work, live and breathe as a free and free-thinking human being.
And it is ultimately that freedom radical Islam seeks to take away, even if through circumstance they choose to somehow cede you your life. Theirs is a way of life, a world view that does not allow for the existence of another view, let alone another God. And by hearing their statements, watching some few of their deeds and witnessing acts such as the actual training of children as young as three to hate, destroy and ultimately kill ... there can be no escaping what is a pitiful, yet dangerous truth. Radical Islam is seriously determined to end your way of life and, if it cannot immediately do so, it will attempt to satisfy itself by ending you in the interim.
Obsession the movie is not bombastic, nor does it seek to inflame. It doesn't trade in bloody images and endless carnage to make its point; nor does it rely on the opinions and analysis of Western scholars remote from Radical Islam. The movie makers simply present you with Radical Islamists, Muslim journalists and Muslim moderates telling you in their own words exactly what they've seen, experienced and / or believe.
As for the extremist, if this is a people you feel we should respect and somehow come to understand in order to ameliorate their hatred of us, then how is it you can argue that we should not also respect them enough to take them at their word when they vow to destroy you, America, Israel and the entire West? Their words and desires, unscripted for the movie, but repeated over and over, nonetheless, are clear. Death to America; Death to Israel; and death to you my Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, agnostic, or atheist friend. If you doubt it, you need only see Obsession for yourself.
As I finished watching Obsession, I found myself thinking in terms of these men who gather and pray, so often for death. And then I found myself thinking of a another who gathered herself to pray on 9/11, not for death but for life. It's contained in the short unsynchronized audio and video posted below.
Unfortunately for that young woman, through no fault of her own, her prayers may have come too late. I am unconvinced all of the prayers uttered in what has become a global conflict are the province of the Divine. And it may just be the case that whose prayers get answered, yours, or those of the radical Islamist, has more to do with your actions than any act of God.
See Obsession with an open mind. Or you could always pray that you never live to regret not having done so, I suppose.
I was going to say someting to the effect that radical Islamists were the real-world incarnation of the Daleks (killer robots from the Dr. Who TV series known for their extreme, fanatical devotion to exterminating every non-Dalek life form)...
...but I'd hate to ruin the moment.
That YT clip above is one very sobering movie.
Posted by: seekeronos | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 01:32 PM
Wow, "Obsession." There's an oldie but a goodie. Must be an election coming up.
Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear.
Fear = more welfare for wingnut bloggers.
Posted by: Totally Heterosexual Conservative | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 01:50 PM
Fear or vigilance? I guess you dont lock your doors at night. Hmmm, hey some guys just set off a bomb in the WTC...Don't be askeered, we caught 'em it wont happen again.....Some guys want to learn to fly big aircraft, without learning to land.....Oh, dont worry the planes fly themselves...........Nothing to be afraid of or vigilant against.
Posted by: WAHOO WILLIE | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 02:24 PM
No, inspector, I lock my doors because I am rationally concerned that someone might break in and take my very valuable collection of pint glasses - same with my car (protecting the pennies and nickles in my ashtray). Why? Because it's common place. Dudes break into people's stuff and take their junk daily. All the time. Always have. Always will.
The day that a bunch of backward fruitcakes who spend more time praying than building shit on their own, become an actual and common place threat to me and/or mine, is the day I start looking for Islamohippies behind every lamp post.
The folks who bring you "vigilance" are the people who bring you color-coded threat levels that adjust according to how close we are to an election; duct tape and plastic sheeting; the TSA; et al.
The elites always need something to keep the prols stupid and scared. And the prols always need something to be scared of, so that they can properly blame it for their miserable lives.
Posted by: Totally Heterosexual Conservative | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 04:26 PM
Spoken like a good and true member of the Revolution, Comrade Totally Heterosexual Conservative.
Posted by: Comrade Socialist Sheep for Obaaaaa-ma | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 04:54 PM
I bet he's afraid of "global warming", seek. And for you, Totally Homosexual Liberal, I have this. The World's going to end. Global Warming, Climate Change, as if the Earth is not always warming and cooling. I say there is an election coming up and the liberals are fear-mongering.
Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear.
And here's a couple of oldies but goldies for everyone, just to prove how liberals were wrong then, and are wrong now.
1. In the 1970s the liberals were saying that the Earth was about to enter another ice age. Well, that didn't happen.
2. Again in the 1970s, liberals predicted that the world would run out of food sometime in the 1990s or before. Another failure.
Now, we see the liberals have their nutroot minions running around like Chicken Little, predicting the end of everything if we don't do what they say.
And you have the audacity, little man, to accuse someone of fearmongering. What a fricking hypocrite you are.
Posted by: templar knight | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 05:21 PM
Very original THC Abuser! Why don't you just use all CAPS and really impress with your posting skills!
Posted by: SacTownMan | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 05:36 PM
"The elites always need something to keep the prols stupid and scared."
Damn somebody already mentioned "global warming" and some of the other silliness. I'm glad to know you're with me that GWB had no fault in 9/11. Whew, I thought all of you were whining that he shoulda stopped it. We're apparently of the same mind that as long as it is buildings in NYC that are being flown into there's nothing to concern myself with. Like you I am more concerned about the crack head down the street than some muzzie half a world away. I'm not sure I will wait until attacks come every seven minutes to become concerned though.
Colored coded warnings: I always thought that was fun! What do you expect when one hires lawyers and horse groomers to take care of safety and security.
Posted by: WAHOO WILLIE | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 06:36 PM
That phone call ......... I am frozen. And the world feeds this barbaric enemy.Coddles it, appeases it, submits.
That young woman is us. She is the West. I cannot believe seven years later this country is in a zombie freefall.
Posted by: Pamela | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 07:45 PM
"I cannot believe seven years later this country is in a zombie freefall."
Pamela you must remember that there's nothing to be concerned about from these people who have stated their goals over and again. These people who are even attacking China now...You know the Chinese, the people who not long ago were drowning female children until they learned it's more beneficial to sell them to Americans. There is absolutely nothing to fear from people who stone their daughters for dating infidels.
Posted by: WAHOO WILLIE | Monday, August 04, 2008 at 08:06 PM
Ahhh, sweet. Nothing like a good, old-fashioned a---kicking delivered by some of my favorite authors. I think Totally picked the wrong topic on which to carp.
Posted by: Fred Beloit | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 09:47 AM
"--- These people who are even attacking China now...You know the Chinese ---"
It will be somewhat instructive, if not unsurprising, to see how the Red Chinese deal with their homegrown 'splodeydopes.
Even money that this (along with various people) will disappear under the tank treads, sans any actual video footage... although you might hear about an "earthquake" or a "wildfire" of some unknown origin wiping out a village or three in remote, far Xianjiang province.
Posted by: seekeronos | Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 09:52 AM