American Hummus

“Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West”

This past December, CNN ran a horrific segment on the film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West”. Kyra Philips devoted 10 minutes of valuable airtime to the film but made no attempt to provide any objectivity or balance and simply gushed and fawned over the producer as well as Nonie Darwish, one of those featured in the film. Phillips literally peddled the propaganda of the film as established fact. CNN did not provide a single voice to question any aspect of the film.

Another Palestinian featured in the film is Walid Shoebat, a man who travels extensively at the expense of various pro-Israeli groups speaking as a reformed Palestinian terrorist. Writing for “Counterpunch” in 2004, Will Youmans, who now writes for Kabobfest raises many questions about the legitimacy of Shoebat’s story.

According to Khody Akhavi, writing in yesterday’s Interpress News Service Agency,

neither station disclosed the film’s connection to HonestReporting, a watchdog group that monitors the media for allegedly negative portrayals of Israel.

HonestReporting marketed “Obsession” but denies it produced or funded the project.

“We initially gave some guidance to the ‘Obsession’ staff,” wrote Pesach Bensen, editor of Mediabackspin.com, the organisation’s weblog, in an email response to IPS. “We’re thrilled to see it succeed beyond our wildest expectations.”

When “Obsession” was released last year, news pundits and anchors on FOX and CNN praised the independent film for its candid look at Islamic militancy. FOX incorporated footage from the film into a one-hour special, which aired seven times in November 2006. CNN’s right-wing pundit Glen Beck called it “one of the most important films of our time”. Sean Hannity of FOX News described it as “shocking beyond belief”.

While such enthusiasm from right-wing talk show personalities comes as no surprise, mainstream cable news programmes also appeared to accept, without question, the premise of the film, which explicitly compares the threat posed by radical Islam to that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Consider, for example, CNN news anchor Kyra Phillips’s exhortations during an adulatory interview in December 2006 with Raphael Shore, the film’s producer: “I encourage everybody to see this movie you definitely get an incredible education from watching this film The movie left many of us speechless We appreciate what you’ve done.”

HonestReporting was founded in 2000 by British university students who objected to what they considered anti-Israel coverage by European media in response to the second Palestinian intifada.

Read the complete article here

Some quotes about the film from the film’s website. None of these media folk took two seconds to to even consider a critical look at such an obvious piece of propaganda. It’s no wonder Americans are oblivious about what is happening in the Middle East.

Kyra Phillips, Anchor, CNN Newsroom

“Heart wrenching…I encourage everybody to see this film…you definitely get an incredible education by watching this film…the movie left many of us speechless…we appreciate what you’ve done. ”

Monica Crowley, MSNBC Anchor and Host of the Monica Crowley Show, Westwood One Radio

“This is the film the enemy doesn’t want you to see. Obsession lays bare the true nature of the threat from radical Islam, and the true intentions of those who embrace it: expansion of their heinous ideology by the sword. This film takes an unblinking look at their past, current, and even more frightening, future actions. For your security and the security of the country, Obsession is a must-see. ”

Nolan Finley, The Detroit News, editorial page
“This movie ought to be shown . in every community center, every school, every church, synagogue and mosque, every living room in America.”

Glenn Beck, The Glenn Beck Show, CNN Healine News
” I believe this is the most important movie of our lifetime, I was born in 1964, I can’t tell you of a movie that I think is more important. ”