Controversial 'Obsession' Raises Issues

By Connect Mason Reporter Rachael Dickson
Photos by Broadside Assistant Photography Editor Laura Foltz

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, an event co-sponsored by the Hasbara Fellowships, GMU Israel Club, The David Project and GMU College Republicans, drew a mix of interested parties with a wide range of opinions Monday night.

The event began with a showing of Obsession, a film that uses a mix of interviews and archival footage from television channels in the Middle East to address jihad’s beginnings, culture and the threat it poses to America and other Western societies. From the very beginning, the film drew a specific line between the majority of Muslims and the radical jihadists, stating, “It’s important to remember that most Muslims are peaceful and do not support terror. This is not a film about them.”

The film showed disturbing clips from news shows in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries. It included a music video showing scenes of President George Bush and former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a song repeating the word “Satan.” There was also a news clip from Saudi Arabian TV reporting of a British man who killed an old woman and drank her blood.

Numerous videos of radical clerics in the Middle East and the United Kingdom were included, with a repeated refrain of “Death to America” and prayers for the ability to destroy the United States, Israel and Britain. A video of a 2005 demonstration in New York City by the Islamic Thinkers Society showed demonstrators putting the American flag on the ground and destroying it, saying that their loyalty is not to the flag, but to Allah.

The movie drew comparisons between Nazi Germany and radical jihadists as well, placing anti-Semitic propaganda from both camps side-by-side. A former member of the Hitler Youth interviewed for the film spoke of the strong cultural ingraining of hate at an early age that can be seen in both old Nazi photographs and in the Middle Eastern media today. A series of videos were shown of small children holding guns, dressed as terrorists and reciting poems about their desire to be suicide bombers.

The film also addressed the tendency of the jihadists to take advantage of the rights they are granted in western democracies, mentioning that the instigators of 9/11 trained for their mission in the United States legally. It also warned against the denial that the film claimed was prevalent in much of the media towards the threat that is out there, saying many times that people fear that by speaking out against terrorism, they are being politically incorrect.

Videos of Muslims who have spoken out against terrorism were also shown, including Islamic scholars, clerks and citizens. A film was shown of people marching through the streets in Iran saying, “Death to Terrorism” on 9/11.

At the end of the film, centrist radio talk show host Alan Nathan led a question and answer discussion about the film and some of the issues it raised. Several issues, including racism in the media, prejudiced language, the Israeli-Palestine Conflict and others were discussed.