Hollywood Discovers Radical Islam

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | 1/06/05 | Daniel Pipes

[SuziQ]

Yeah I was really pi$$ed when they changed the Sum of All Fears villians to the neo-Nazis.

Keeping the enemy as radical Muslims would have been timely, considering the 9/11 attacks.

I wish someone would make a movie from Rainbow Six, leaving everything just as it is in the book. That would get the radical environmentalists' knickers in a twist!

[PFC]

Off the top of my head, There was "True Lies", "The Peacemaker", and "The Siege" all had Islamic terrorists.

[Schwaeky]

The book I read was NOT, not the one with Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman on the cover, the book based on the movie screnplay (btw, that version also has the USSR still existing--although it is post breakup in the movie), it was still neo-nazis in it. Unless its an oddball edit--in some books that have been reprinted have editing of charachters, etc..)

[kevkrom]

Considering that my copy is from the first printing (hardcover), and I owned it long before the movie... I can emphatically say the original book had no neo-Nazis.

[KeyLargo]

I saw "SMALLPOX" on FX and the bio-terrorist was a generic white European guy!

[Beckwith]

Jethro (Gibbs) was wounded by an al Qaeda terrorist on NCIS near the end of last season and escaped.

I fully expect that the relationship between Mark Harmon's character and the elusive terrorist will continue to play an ongoing subplot in this series.

[KeyLargo]

Here is a column from a Baptist apologist on behalf of Arab terrorists.

However, as I recall all of these movies had some sort of twist where the no good Americans were wrongly accusing the poor muslims of doing bad deeds.

This writer forgot one movie. I like the scene in " To Live and Die in L.A." where the Arab bomber said, "I'm ready to die!, I blow myself on you. Death to Israel and the enemies of Islam!." He then falls over the side of a building and detonates like a big fireworks display.
Oh yeah. One more.. "The Fury" 1978 - where some arab bad guys on an amusement ride go flying off of the ride into eternity.

---

Arab Images in Movies Matter

Cliff Vaughn
04-04-02

“With violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians again raging in the Middle East, their media images assume even greater weight and loom especially large,” wrote Howard Rosenberg in the Los Angeles Times. “It's hard telling which side is winning the crucial public relations duel in the news, as bitter charges fly back and forth between these Jews and Arabs, each blaming the other for fomenting violence in the most recent intifada.”

Rosenberg’s words resonate eerily because they were published on July 30, 2001. Just over a month later, terrorists attacked New York and Washington. And in recent weeks especially, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has frustrated the world.

As Americans process news images from the Middle East, they will likely be influenced by movie images. And for the last several years, Arab-Americans have increasingly spoken out about their portrayal in Hollywood.

Movies like “True Lies” (1994), “Executive Decision” (1996) and “Rules of Engagement” (2000) have drawn criticism from groups like the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (www.adc.org).

In 1998, the ADC criticized “The Siege,” starring Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington, for its representations of Arabs. “ADC is concerned that the film's plot will perpetuate negative stereotypes and fuel anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment among the public,” read an ADC press release.

In “The Siege,” terrorist attacks on New York prompt the U.S. government to declare martial law. Arab-Americans in the city are detained on suspicion of being terrorists.

Lawrence Wright, the screenwriter, responded to Arabs’ criticism of the movie in the New York Times: "I understand their anxiety and paranoia about the way Hollywood has depicted Muslims and Arabs. They're absolutely right. Arabs have been scapegoated. It's disgraceful. And yet that's just what this movie is about. … It's all about what happens when you blame a group for the violence of individuals."

Now, ADC’s Web site offers discussion questions for educators: “What are the images of Arabs that we see most frequently on TV, in the movies, in books? Make a list of images and ideas which students associate with Arabs. How many positive Arab or Arab American characters can students identify on TV, in movies?”

Jack Shaheen, former CBS news consultant on Middle East affairs and professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University, has authored several books on media images of Arabs: Arab and Muslim Stereotypes in American Popular Culture, The TV Arab, and Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.

Throughout his career, Shaheen has examined the “B” syndrome of Arab portrayals in media. That is, Arabs are most often portrayed as bombers, belly dancers or billionaires.

The Los Angeles Times’ Rosenberg, again writing prior to Sept. 11, noted that “the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was no dream and that Arab terrorists are no fantasy. History and news headlines tell us they are every bit as real and scary as Italian mobsters. The issue is balance. Arabs are depicted as disgusting or they're invisible.”

Rarely does Hollywood offer a positive portrayal of Arabs. In Shaheen’s survey of over 900 films for Reel Bad Arabs, he found that the “vast majority” of portrayals are negative.

When the ADC protested “Rules of Engagement” at a Washington, D.C. cineplex, it circulated a leaflet blasting the movie, saying the film could “only be considered in the same light as other films whose purpose is to deliberately and systematically vilify an entire people.” For examples, the leaflet cited “Birth of a Nation” and “The Eternal Jew,” according to Cincinnati City Beat.

Some suggest that Hollywood’s negative portrayals of Arabs are linked to Jewish influence in the film industry.

J.D. Hall, a Muslim actor and scriptwriter, told the New York Times: "I don't want to paint all Jews with one broad brush … but there's a Zionist element that is definitely against Islam, and to the degree you sympathize with that element, if you have the power to portray Muslims, that portrayal is not going to be favorable."

Others, however, say the Middle East conflict has not necessarily been transposed to Hollywood. The New York Times article goes on to suggest that the problem may stem more from the fact that most Americans haven’t bothered to gain firsthand knowledge about Islam or their Arab-American neighbors.

Still others say that somebody has to be the villain.

“The collapse of the Soviet Empire left Hollywood with a bit of a problem,” wrote the Middle East Times. “The New World Order needed a New World bad guy. The strange, bearded, hand-chopping mystery men from the East fitted the role perfectly.”

Thus, Arabs joined a long list of favorite Hollywood villains that has included Native Americans, Germans, Japanese and African-Americans.

Cliff Vaughn is BCE’s associate director.

Source:
Baptist Center for Ethics’ mission
http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=562

[VOA]

bump

[KeyLargo]

CAIR-CANADA Sued for $1 Trillion

Complaint: "CAIR and CAIR-Canada have, since their inception, been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism."

5 January 2005-- The family of a former FBI counterterrorism official killed in the 9/11 attacks has filed suit against a Canadian Muslim lobby group, alleging it has "aided, abetted and materially sponsored" terrorism.

The Council on American Islamic Relations Canada (CAIR-CAN) was added as a defendant last week to a US$1-trillion lawsuit filed by relatives of John P. O'Neill, who died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. "CAIR and CAIR-Canada have, since their inception, been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism," says the amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New York December 30th, 2004.

The complaint claims that *CAIR* and *CAIR*-CAN have "actively sought to hamper government anti-terrorism efforts" by spreading propaganda against police and intelligence agencies, and by levelling false accusations of slander against commentators and media outlets.

"Their goal is to create as much self-doubt, hesitation, fear and name-calling, and litigation within police departments and intelligence agencies as possible so as to render such authorities ineffective in pursuing international and domestic terrorist entities." The suit contains only allegations that have not been proven in court. A CAIR-CAN spokesman said yesterday the group had not yet been served with the suit and did not want to comment until the group's lawyers and board had examined it.

The Canadian branches of three other non-profit groups are also named in the suit -- Benevolence International Canada, World Muslim League and International Islamic Relief Organization. The suit accuses them of negligence and wrongful death, alleging they were part of a network of groups, companies and individuals that supported al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11.

"What we've alleged is a global conspiracy to aid al-Qaeda which ultimately led to the tragedy of September 11," said Jerry Goldman, one of the lawyers representing the O'Neills. CAIR-CAN says on its Web site its mission is to "educate Canadians and empower Canadian Muslims" through media relations, anti-discrimination and political advocacy. It often complains about the treatment and depiction of Muslims in Canada, and says counter-terrorism measures unfairly target Muslims. It is one of several groups lobbying to abolish the process used by Canada to deport suspected terrorists.

The New York lawsuit is one of many filed since the Sept. 11, 2001,attacks that ask U.S. courts to find that al-Qaeda has been supported by a wide network of international groups that should be held accountable. The suit claims that CAIR and CAIR-CAN use "psychological warfare" and disinformation on behalf of Islamic extremists. "They are the intellectual 'shock troops' of Islamic terrorism. In the years and months leading up to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, these organizations were very effective in helping to ensure that North American law enforcement and intelligence officials were sufficiently deaf, dumb and blind to help pave the way for the attacks on the United States. "The role played by these entities is an absolutely essential part of the mix of forces arrayed against the United States as they help soften-up targeted countries so as to facilitate and enhance the likelihood for a successful attack."

Mr. O'Neill led the FBI's counter-terrorism division and was a bin Laden expert. After retiring, he headed security for the WTC for less than two weeks before 9/11. He directed rescue efforts from the North Tower, but returned to the South Tower after the second plane hit and was killed when the building collapsed. Source: National Post

[USF]

Hmmm, they should rewrite the "24" plot to show that the Great Satan the Joooos are the cause of all the "suffering" and "humiliation" of the "oppressed" Muslim peoples and thus we deserved to be attacked.

Then the Koranimals at CAIR will be happy.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

NCIS has shown Muslim terrorist several times.

Same producer.

[Valin]

They ain't gonna be the ones to blow yer butt to smithereens!!!!
It'd be the OTHER 98.4%!!!!!!!



If that were true you'd think there be a lot more acts of terror in this country wouldn't you? Could it be you're WRONG?

[Elsie]

But.... who will they obey when the CALL goes out??

[nutmeg]

"24" - Fox.com

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[nutmeg]

I never understood why James "I`m King of the world" Cameron would go through all that trouble to re-create the Titanic, to even be meticulous about the color of the paint in the hallways, then blow it all on two idiots who couldn`t act themselves out of a paper bag

Exactly! In "Titanic", Cameron got the details down to the paint colors on the ship, the beautiful costumes and furniture, even re-creating the first-class china, etc. Then he casts that idiot diCaprio in the lead, with his wrong era/modern-day speech. Kate Winslet was OK, but not much better than Leo... What a shame, it could've been a classic film.

BTW, my husband and I visited Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia a few years ago, about a year after "Titanic" was released (we planned to go there anyway, regardless of the movie). In this cemetery, there's a headstone for a "Jack Dawson".

I'm not kidding - there were HORDES of weeping teenage girls standing over this grave, and the grave was covered with TONS of flowers left by even more teenage girls. Unreal... they actually believed (?) that below the headstone lay the dead body of Leo diCaprio/"Jack Dawson". LOL

[nutmeg]

[RaceBannon]

[longtermmemmory]

True Lies? that was a movie right on point. The bad guys were called "crimson jihad"

[nutmeg]

LOL! ;-D

[nutmeg]

See posts 35 and 36. People can be so stupid!