A 93-Minute Insult

Right now, through July 13, Islam: What the West Needs to Know is playing in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. This web site gives more details.

The film opens with cries of "Allahu Akhbar!" and, after showing various world leaders proclaiming "Islam is a religion of peace," then proceeds to segments with Robert Spencer, Serge Trifkovic, Walid Shoebat, Bat Ye'or, and Abdullah Al-Araby, as each of these individuals addressed various aspects of the Islamic threat which the West today faces.

But the film does not consist merely of talking heads. Maps are included to show that the 1400-year history of Islam has been one of militant expansion, as is film footage of Muslim demonstrations in London and of a particularly strident imam in Baghdad; the latter ends his "sermon" by drawing a sword and calling for jihad against all infidels. For many in the audience, the most disturbing footage was that of children, one only twelve years old, expressing the desire to be martyrs for the cause.

Many quotations from the Koran and the Hadith are incorporated as appropriate to the specific topic under discussion in each of the six portions of the ninety-three minute film. Those interviewed explain that the Medinan verses, the most recent "revelation" of Allah, nullify the earlier, peaceful Meccan verses — a fact which Western leaders don't appear to recognize, perhaps because the Koran itself is not ordered chronologically but rather by length of chapter. In fact, the most recent "revelation" of Allah, "dictated" directly to Muhammad the Prophet by the angel Gabriel, is Sura 9 and is the one chapter of the Koran which doesn't begin with "Allah the Merciful." The instructions in Sura 9 are the most militant and the most violent in the Koran!

I found the portions in which Walid Shoebat spoke especially riveting because he himself was once a terrorist. He explained how, as a teenager, he yearned to be a martyr for Allah and indeed carried out missions. One reason that he was so eager to give his life is that, according to the teachings of Islam, dying while waging the ultimate jihad guarantees the one sure way to eternal life. Mr. Shoebat spoke about how he felt after his first bombing mission in Jerusalem and emotionally related how his conscience troubled him; toward the end of that particular portion, he mentioned that his cousins had died for the cause. "What a waste of life!" he said. Mr. Shoebat managed to hold back the tears. The audience was absolutely still and, I think, stunned.

This film was advertised as a documentary and fulfilled the requirements of that genre. The use of black and white in the poster for the film conveyed the obvious symbolism regarding good and evil, but the word evil was never mentioned during the film. Adding to the effect of the contrast between Westernism and Islamism was the director's use of black and white throughout the film, even though this movie is filmed in color. For example, each on-camera speaker sat in a black leather chair, and as the lighting played upon the back of the chair and upon the interviewees' clothing and, in some cases, eyeglasses, the symbolism could not have been clearer.

Islam: What the West Needs to Know doesn't demonize Islam, but it does uncover the whitewash which political correctness has foisted upon the West. Furthermore, the film explains why recognizing the dangers of Islam itself is of supreme importance for the survival of Western civilization. This film presents the explanation in simple and well-documented terms so that both the uninformed and the informed leave the theater in a somber mood.

When this film is released on DVD, I'll be buying my own copy.