CURRENT WAVE OF ORGANIZED NEOCON ISLAMOPHOBIA « Cambridge Forecast Group Blog

CURRENT WAVE OF ORGANIZED NEOCON ISLAMOPHOBIA

September 25, 2008 at 1:36 am | In History, Islam, Israel, Research, USA, Zionism | Leave a Comment

Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West

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]